Present Simple Quiz
20 multiple-choice questions on habits, routines, facts, states, and third-person forms. Test your present simple at A1–A2 level. Free, instant results, no sign-up required.
Present Simple — FAQ
The present simple is used for four main purposes: habitual actions and routines (I walk to work every day); permanent states or facts (She lives in London); general truths and scientific facts (Water boils at 100°C); and timetabled future events (The train leaves at 8 am). It is one of the most frequently used tenses in English and is essential at every level.
For most subjects (I, you, we, they), use the base form of the verb: I work, they play. For third-person singular subjects (he, she, it), add -s or -es: he works, she watches. Negatives use do not / does not + base verb: I do not know; she does not live here. Questions use do / does + subject + base verb: Do you speak English? Does he like coffee?
Add -es to verbs ending in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, or -z: goes, misses, washes, watches, fixes, buzzes. Also add -es to the verb 'do': he does. For verbs ending in a consonant + y, change the y to i and add -es: study → studies, fly → flies. For verbs ending in a vowel + y, just add -s: plays, says.
Common adverbs of frequency used with the present simple include: always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, seldom, hardly ever, and never. They typically come before the main verb but after the verb 'to be': She always eats breakfast. He is never late. Frequency expressions like 'every day', 'once a week', and 'on Mondays' usually come at the beginning or end of the sentence.
The present simple describes habits, routines, and permanent states (I live in London; She drinks coffee every morning). The present continuous describes actions happening right now or temporary situations (I am working from home this week; She is drinking coffee at the moment). Stative verbs like know, believe, love, and want are not normally used in the continuous form.
English marks the third-person singular (he, she, it) differently from other persons in the present simple. The auxiliary verb changes from 'do' to 'does' in negatives and questions: Does she know? He does not understand. The main verb also takes -s/-es in positive sentences: he works, it runs. Both changes signal the third-person singular — only one applies at a time.
Yes, the present simple can refer to the future in two situations. First, for fixed timetables and schedules: The conference starts on Monday; The bus leaves at 9:30. Second, in subordinate time and condition clauses after conjunctions such as when, after, before, if, and unless: I will call you when I arrive. In these clauses, English does not use the future tense.
The most common mistakes include: forgetting to add -s/-es for third-person singular (He work → He works); using 'does' and also inflecting the main verb (She does likes → She likes); omitting the auxiliary in negatives (He not like → He does not like); using the present continuous for habits (I am walking to work every day → I walk to work every day); and confusing 'do' and 'make' in fixed expressions.
Stative verbs describe states rather than actions — emotions (love, hate), mental states (know, believe, understand), possession (have, own, belong), and perception (see, hear, smell). These verbs are normally used in the present simple rather than the continuous, even for a current state: I understand you (NOT I am understanding you); She owns a car (NOT She is owning a car).
For yes/no questions, use do or does before the subject, followed by the base form of the verb: Do you like jazz? Does he travel often? For Wh- questions, put the question word first, then do/does, then subject, then base verb: Where do they live? What time does she start work? When the question word is the subject, no auxiliary is needed: Who teaches this class? What happens next?