Simple Present and Past Tense in English: Rules, Examples, Meanings and Exercises

1. Simple Present – Affirmative Form

The simple present is used to express general truths, habits, routines, or emotions.

To conjugate a verb in the simple present affirmative, we use the base form for all subjects except the third person singular (he, she, it), where we add an “s” to the verb.

Structure:

[Subject + Verb (or Verb + -s for he/she/it)]

Subject	Verb “to play”
I	play
You	play
He / She / It	plays
We	play
They	play

Important spelling notes:

🔹 1. Verbs ending in: o, s, ss, sh, ch, x, z
Add “es” at the end for the 3rd person singular:

Infinitive	3rd Person Singular
go	goes
finish	finishes
kiss	kisses

🔹 2. Verbs ending in consonant + “y”
Replace the “y” with “i” and add “es”:

Infinitive	3rd Person Singular
try	tries
fly	flies
cry	cries

🔹 3. Verbs ending in vowel + “y”
Simply add an “s”:

Infinitive	3rd Person Singular
play	plays
destroy	destroys
buy	buys

Examples:

English sentence	Meaning
I wake up at 7 a.m.	I get out of bed at 7 in the morning.
She studies every evening.	She does her schoolwork or learning each evening.
They live in London.	They have their home or residence in London.
We play football on Sundays.	We participate in football games every Sunday.
He drinks coffee every morning.	He drinks coffee each morning regularly.

2. Simple Present – Negative Form

To form a negative sentence in the simple present, we use “do not” (don’t) or “does not” (doesn’t) followed by the base form of the verb (infinitive without “to”).

🔹 The word “not” always comes after an auxiliary (like to be or to have). But if the verb does not contain an auxiliary (like walk), we add the **neutral auxiliary “do”** which carries no meaning but allows us to form negative, interrogative, and interro-negative sentences.

🔸 At the third person singular (he, she, it), “do” becomes “does” (because of the final “o” in “do”), and the verb does not take an “s”.

Structure:

[Subject + do/does + not + base verb]

Example with the verb “walk”:

Subject	Long form	Short form
I	I do not walk	I don’t walk
You	You do not walk	You don’t walk
He	He does not walk	He doesn’t walk
She	She does not walk	She doesn’t walk
It	It does not walk	It doesn’t walk
We	We do not walk	We don’t walk
You	You do not walk	You don’t walk
They	They do not walk	They don’t walk

Example with the verb “finish”:

Subject	Long form	Short form
I	I do not finish	I don’t finish
You	You do not finish	You don’t finish
He	He does not finish	He doesn’t finish
She	She does not finish	She doesn’t finish
It	It does not finish	It doesn’t finish
We	We do not finish	We don’t finish
You	You do not finish	You don’t finish
They	They do not finish	They don’t finish

Other examples in context:

English sentence	Meaning
I don’t like spicy food.	I do not enjoy food that has a strong hot flavor.
She doesn’t work on Saturdays.	She does not do her job on the day between Friday and Sunday.
They don’t watch TV at night.	They do not look at television programs after the evening starts.
He doesn’t play the guitar.	He does not use a string musical instrument to make music.
We don’t have English today.	We do not attend an English class on this day.

3. Simple Present – Interrogative Form

To ask a question in the simple present, we use the auxiliary “do” or “does” at the beginning of the sentence, followed by the subject and the base form of the verb.

🔹 Use “do” with I, you, we, they
🔹 Use “does” with he, she, it
⛔️ Never add “-s” to the verb in a question, even for “he/she/it”.

Structure:

[Do / Does + subject + base verb + ?]

Subject	Question	Meaning
I	Do I play?	Asking if I participate in a game or activity.
You	Do you play?	Asking if you participate in a game or activity.
He / She / It	Does he play?	Asking if he takes part in a game or activity.
We	Do we play?	Asking if we participate in a game or activity together.
They	Do they play?	Asking if they participate in a game or activity.

Examples:

English question	Meaning
Do you speak English?	Asking if you can use English to communicate.
Does she live in Paris?	Asking if she resides in Paris.
Do they understand the lesson?	Asking if they know or follow the lesson.
Does it work?	Asking if it functions properly.
Do we have class today?	Asking if there is a lesson or course today.

Questions with interrogative words:

Place the question word (what, where, why...) before “do” or “does”.

Question	Meaning
Where do you live?	Asking for the place where you live.
Why does he cry?	Asking for the reason he is crying.
What do they eat?	Asking about the food they consume.
When does she arrive?	Asking at what time she comes.
How do you spell that?	Asking for the letters that form the word.

3b. Simple Present – Interro-Negative Form

The interro-negative form combines a question with a negative meaning. It is often used to confirm something, express surprise, or raise doubt.

➤ As with the interrogative form, we use “do” or “does” at the beginning, followed by the subject, then “not”, and the base verb.

🔸 You can use the long form (“do not”, “does not”) or the contracted form (“don’t”, “doesn’t”) — the latter is more common in spoken English.

Structure:

[Do / Does + subject + not + base verb + ?]

Examples – long form:

Question	Meaning
Do you not like chocolate?	Asking if you do not enjoy chocolate.
Does she not speak French?	Asking if she cannot speak French.
Do they not understand?	Asking if they do not comprehend.

Examples – contracted form (spoken English):

Question	Meaning
Don’t you like chocolate?	Asking if you do not enjoy chocolate.
Doesn’t he work here?	Asking if he does not have a job at this place.
Don’t they have school today?	Asking if they do not attend school today.
Doesn’t it sound weird?	Asking if something does not seem strange.
Don’t we need more time?	Asking if more time is necessary for us.

Note:

In spoken English (especially American), the contracted form is more natural and frequent. Use the long form in writing or for emphasis.

4. Interactive Exercise – Simple Present

Complete each sentence with the correct form of the verb in the simple present (affirmative, negative, interrogative or interro-negative).

1. I ______ (watch) TV every evening.
   ✅ Answer

   I watch TV every evening. (affirmative)
2. She ______ (not like) cold weather.
   ✅ Answer

   She does not like cold weather. / She doesn’t like cold weather. (negative)
3. ______ you ______ (play) the guitar?
   ✅ Answer

   Do you play the guitar? (interrogative)
4. He ______ (go) to the gym on Mondays.
   ✅ Answer

   He goes to the gym on Mondays. (affirmative)
5. ______ she ______ (not eat) meat?
   ✅ Answer

   Doesn’t she eat meat? (interro-negative)

Tip: Always identify the subject (I / he / they...) and choose the correct auxiliary (do / does / don’t / doesn’t) before conjugating the verb.

5. Simple Past – Affirmative Form

The simple past is used to describe actions that are finished and took place in the past. It is often used with time markers like yesterday, last week, in 2020, two days ago...

1. Regular Verbs

To conjugate a regular verb in the simple past, add “-ed” to the base form.

Structure:

[Subject + verb + -ed]

Infinitive	Past	Meaning
walk	walked	to move by putting one foot in front of the other → past tense
play	played	to take part in an activity for fun → past tense
clean	cleaned	to make something free from dirt → past tense
call	called	to speak or shout to someone → past tense
open	opened	to make something not closed → past tense

2. Spelling rules

• 🔹 Verbs ending in “e”: just add -d → like → liked
• 🔹 Verbs ending in consonant + “y”: change “y” to “i” → study → studied
• 🔹 Some verbs double the final consonant → stop → stopped

Examples – regular verbs:

English sentence	Meaning
I cleaned the kitchen yesterday.	I made the kitchen free of dirt yesterday.
She called her friend last night.	She spoke to her friend on the phone last night.
They opened the store at 9 a.m.	They made the store not closed at 9 a.m.
We played football last weekend.	We took part in a football game last weekend.
He stopped at the red light.	He ended moving when the traffic light was red.

3. Introduction to irregular verbs

⚠️ Some verbs do not follow the “-ed” rule. These are called irregular verbs, and their past forms must be memorized. ➤ We will study them in the next block.

6. Simple Past – Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs in English do not follow the “-ed” pattern. Their past forms change completely and must be memorized individually.

There’s no fixed rule – they must be learned by heart. Here are some of the most common:

Infinitive	Past (simple past)
go	went
have	had
see	saw
do	did
come	came

Structure:

[Subject + irregular verb (past form) + complement]

Examples with irregular verbs:

English sentence	Meaning
I saw a shooting star last night.	I saw a bright streak of light in the sky at night.
He went to the cinema on Saturday.	He traveled to the place where movies are shown on Saturday.
We had dinner at 8 p.m.	We ate our main evening meal at 8 o'clock in the evening.
They came late to the party.	They arrived after the expected time at the social gathering.
She did her homework quickly.	She completed her school tasks fast.

Tip:

There are many lists of irregular verbs available. Start by memorizing the most frequent ones used in daily conversation, such as be, do, go, have, say, see, get, take.

7. Simple Past – Negative, Interrogative and Interro-Negative Forms

To conjugate a regular or irregular verb in the negative, interrogative, or interro-negative form in the simple past, we use the auxiliary “did” followed by the base form of the verb (infinitive without “to”).

“did” is invariable — it does not change with the subject (I, you, he, we...).
➤ The main verb no longer takes “-ed”, even if it’s regular.
➤ Irregular verbs also return to their base form.

1. Negative form:

[Subject + did not (didn’t) + base verb]

Examples:

• I did not play football yesterday. ➤ (not “played”)
• She did not go to school. ➤ (not “went”)
• They didn’t watch the movie. ➤ (not “watched”)

2. Interrogative form:

[Did + subject + base verb + ?]

Examples:

• Did you play football yesterday?
• Did he see the doctor?
• Did they travel last summer?

3. Interro-negative form:

[Did + subject + not + base verb + ?] or contracted: [Didn’t + subject + base verb]

Examples:

• Did you not finish your homework?
• Didn’t she call you?
• Didn’t they come to the meeting?

Summary:

🔹 In the past, “did” replaces “do” and is used for all subjects.
🔹 The verb does not take “-ed” in these forms, even if regular.
🔹 The verb always stays in the base (neutral) form.

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I played football.	I did not play football.	Did I play football?
She saw him.	She did not see him.	Did she see him?
They arrived late.	They didn’t arrive late.	Did they arrive late?

8. Interactive Exercise – Simple Past

Complete each sentence using the correct form of the verb in the simple past (affirmative, negative, interrogative, or interro-negative).

1. They ______ (visit) the museum last Sunday.
   ✅ Answer

   They visited the museum last Sunday. (affirmative – regular verb)
2. She ______ (not go) to the party.
   ✅ Answer

   She did not go to the party. / She didn’t go to the party. (negative – irregular verb)
3. ______ you ______ (see) that movie?
   ✅ Answer

   Did you see that movie? (interrogative – irregular verb)
4. I ______ (finish) my homework before dinner.
   ✅ Answer

   I finished my homework before dinner. (affirmative – regular verb)
5. ______ she ______ (not call) you yesterday?
   ✅ Answer

   Didn’t she call you yesterday? (interro-negative – regular verb)

Tip: In negative, interrogative, and interro-negative forms, the verb stays in the base form – even if it’s irregular or would normally take “-ed.”

9. Common Mistakes and Grammar Tips

1. Don't confuse verb endings!

• ✅ Simple present (affirmative): Add -s to the verb with he/she/it
  → He plays football.
• ⛔️ Wrong: He plays not football ❌
  → ✅ Correct: He does not play football.

2. In the past: never add “-ed” after “did”

• ⛔️ Wrong: He didn’t went to school. ❌
  → ✅ Correct: He didn’t go to school.
• ⛔️ Wrong: Did you saw her? ❌
  → ✅ Correct: Did you see her?

3. Quick comparison chart

Tense	Form	Structure	Example
Present	Affirmative	He plays	He plays the piano.
Present	Negative	He does not play	He does not play the piano.
Present	Interrogative	Does he play?	Does he play the piano?
Past	Affirmative	He played	He played the piano yesterday.
Past	Negative	He did not play	He did not play the piano.
Past	Interrogative	Did he play?	Did he play the piano?

4. Useful time markers

• Simple Present: every day, always, often, usually, sometimes, never, on Mondays...
• Simple Past: yesterday, last week, in 2020, two days ago, when I was a child...

💡 Tip: When you see a time marker, it’s often a clue to which tense you should use.