Simple Present Tense
FORM S + V1/VES-S
SIGN The Simple Present tense usually goes with “always, sometimes, rarely, hardly, often, frequently,…”
USES The Simple Present tense is used:
- For repeated or habitual actions.
EX: He goes to church every Sunday morning.
- For a general truth.
EX: Water boils at 100oC.
- For an existing fact.
EX: Gerald lives in Dallas.
For planned future actions (programs, schedules) in which such verbs of movement as “leave, come, return, arrive, go” are usually used.
EX: When does the movie start?

EX: We leave London at 10 next Tuesday and arrive in Paris at 13. We spend two hours in Paris and leave again at 15.
- For replacing the simple future tense after If- clauses, adverbial clauses of time (when, whenever, as soon as, before, after, …).
EX: If I see Ann, I’ll ask her.
When it stops raining, we’ll go out.
- For perceptions, feelings, or states in replacement for the present continuous tense.
EX: This flower smells very good.