Simple Tense

1. SIMPLE PAST TENSE

DEFINITION

• The Simple Past Tense is used to talk about a completed action in a time before now.
• The Simple Past Tense is the basic form of past tense in English.
• The time of the action can be in the recent past or the distant past and action duration is not important.
• The Simple Past is used to indicate an action completed in the past. It often occurs with adverbs or adverb phrases of past time.

Example: I received his letter a week ago.

2. SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

Definition

• The Simple Present Tense is one of several forms of present tense in English.
• It is used to describe habits, unchanging situations, general truths, and fixed arrangements.
• The Simple Present Tense is formed by using the base form of the verb: (I take, you take, we take, they take). The 3rd person singular takes an -s at the end. (he takes, she takes)

Simple present tense is used in many ways:

(1) To express a habitual action

Examples:

• He drinks tea every morning.  
• I get up every day at five o’clock.  
• My watch keeps good time. 

(2) To express general truths.

Examples:

• The sun rises in the east. 
• Honey is sweet. 
• Fortune favours the brave.

(3) In exclamatory sentences, beginning with here and there, simple present tense is used to express what is actually taking place in the present.

Examples:

• Here comes the train !  
• There she goes ! 

(4) To express a future event that is part of a fixed timetable or fixed programme.

Examples: 

• The next flight is at 7,00 tomorrow morning. 
• The match starts at 9 o’clock. 
• The train leaves at 5.20. 
• When does the coffee shop reopen? 

3. SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE

The Simple Future Tense is used to talk about things which we cannot control or to predict what may happen. It expresses the future as fact.

Example:

I shall be thirty next Wednesday.

It will be Christmas in a week.

We will know our exam results by end of June.

IMPORTANT RULES

TENSE	PAST	PRESENT	FUTURE
SIMPLE	VERB + D/ED (SECOND FORM OF THE VERB)	VERB + S/ES	WILL/SHALL + VERB
VERB = BE	WAS/WERE	IS/AM/ARE	WILL BE
VERB = EAT	ATE	EATS	WILL EAT
VERB = STUDY	STUDIED	STUDIES	WILL STUDY
VERB = WRITE	WROTE	WRITES	WILL WRITE

VERB = BE

I ran. They ran.

She runs. She is an athlete. I run. I am an athlete. They run. They are athletes.

I will run. I will be an athlete.