Present simple verb tenses show actions that happen regularly or that are permanently happening.
You might be wondering what I'm talking about with this whole principal parts of a verb business.
I bring this up because it's very important, and it will help you to form the present simple verb tense.
All verbs can be broken down into four parts called the principal parts of a verb.
You form the present simple tense by using one of those principal parts - the present part. Let's look at a chart of the principal parts of a verb so that you know what I mean.
Present | Present Participle | Past | Past Participle |
come | (is) coming | came | (have) come |
fall | (is) falling | fell | (have) fallen |
go | (is) going | went | (have) gone |
graduate | (is) graduating | graduated | (have) graduated |
know | (is) knowing | knew | (have) known |
walk | (is) walking | walk | (have) walked |
write | (is) writing | wrote | (have) written |
Hello! I'm Elizabeth, and my goal is to get you jazzed about grammar. Click here to see how I can help you.
I gave my regular ESL class yesterday, and I knew how to answer a question about dependent clauses and another about participles being used as adjectives. This was in my more advanced class. Hurray! Thanks.
- Lana, ESL Teacher
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