The simple present tense is one of the most common tenses in English.

This page will

explain the rules for forming the tense with regular verbs.

Forming the simple present tense

There are only two basic forms for the simple present tense; one ends with -s and the
other doesn't. Here are the rules, using the example verb "sing":

Subject Verb Form Example

I simple form I sing

You simple form You sing

He simple form + S He sings

She simple form + S She sings

It simple form + S It sings

We simple form We sing

They simple form They sing

In other words, only THIRD PERSON SINGULAR subjects (he, she and it) have to
have a verb with -S.

-S or -ES?
With most verbs, the third person singular form is created simply by adding -S.
However, with some verbs, you need to add -ES or change the ending a little. Here are
the rules:

Verb ending How to make the 3rd person

Example
in... singular
s Add -ES He passes

z Add -ES She dozes

sh Add -ES She wishes

ch Add -ES He watches

consonant + y Change Y to I, then add -ES It flies

[anything else] Add -S He sings

Forming the Simple Present Tense

Click on the correct answer

1 I ________ in a bank. (work)

work
works
workes

2 She ________ in Florida. (live)

live
lives
livees

3 It ________ almost every day in Manchester. (rain)

rain
rains
raines

4 We ________ to Spain every summer. (fly)

fly
flys
flies

5 My mother ________ eggs for breakfast every morning. (fry)

fry
frys
fries

6 The bank ________ at four o'clock. (close)

 close
closies
closes

7 John ________ very hard in class, but I don't think he'll pass the
course. (try)
try
trys
tries

8 Jo is so smart that she ________ every exam without even trying.

(pass)
pass
passies
passes

9 My life is so boring -- I just ________ TV every night. (watch)

watch
watchies
watches

10 My best friend ________ to me every week. (write)

write
writies
writes

Forming the Simple Present Tense

Type the correct form of the word in brackets to fill each space

Mary and I (work) in the same office, but we're completely different. She (like)
coffee, but I (like) tea. She (wash) her car every weekend, but I never (clean) mine.
She (smile) all the time at work, but I (feel) miserable. I (complain) about the boss all
the time, but Mary (think) the boss is a nice person. When I (finish) work, I like to
drink beer with my friends, but Mary (study) at night school. The boss (think) Mary is
perfect, but she (drive) me nuts!
Forming the present continuous tense
This tense is formed using two components: the verb BE (in the present tense), and
the -ING form of a verb. Here are the rules, using the example verb "sing":

Subject BE -ING FORM

I am singing

You are singing

He is singing

She is singing

It is singing

We are singing

They are singing

How to make the -ING form

With many verbs, the you can simply add -ING to the end of the verb. However, with
some verbs, you need to change the ending a little. Here are the rules:

How to make the -ING

Verb ending in... Examples
form
swim - swimming
Double the consonant, then add
1 vowel + 1 consonant hit - hitting
-ING
get - getting

come - coming
1 vowel + 1 consonant
Remove E, then add -ING lose - losing
+E
live - living

[anything else] Add -ING say - saying

 go - going
walk - walking

Present Continuous Tense

Create a sentence in the present continuous

1. She / wear / earrings

2. It / rain / today

3. I / have / good time

4. Train / come

5. They / wait / train

6. I / study

7. We / walk / school

8. We / plan / our work