Present Indefinite Tense | English Grammar Advanced - Class 10 PDF Download

Understanding the Simple Present Tense

The simple present tense is used to describe actions that are habitual, universal truths, or experiences. This tense conveys actions that are routine, general truths, or facts that are accepted universally. It is typically employed for factual or habitual actions—events that occur in the present but may not be happening at this exact moment. Additionally, the simple present tense can indicate scheduled events, whether determined by nature or arranged by individuals.

Key Points about the Simple Present Tense

• The simple present tense signifies habitual actions that occur regularly.
• It is used to express universal truths and general facts that are always valid.
• This tense commonly conveys actions that are factual or habitual in nature.
• The simple present tense can also denote scheduled events set by natural cycles or human arrangements.

Simple Present Tense Formula for First Person Singular

The formula for the simple present tense in the first person singular involves starting with "I," followed by a verb in its base form, and optionally including an object. This can be summarized as: "I" + verb (base form) + object (optional)

Examples of Simple Present Tense in First Person Singular

• 1) I study hard for exams.
• 2) I go to work every day.
• 3) I sleep late on Saturdays.
• 4) I watch a movie every week.
• 5) I swim on Sundays.

Transforming into Negative Sentences

• To change these sentences into negative form, insert "do not" or "does not" before the verb in its base form, while keeping the rest of the structure intact.
• Structure: "I" + do not/does not + verb (base form) + object (optional)

Examples of Negative Sentences

• 1) I do not study hard for exams.
• 2) I do not go to work every day.
• 3) I do not sleep late on Saturdays.

Formulating Interrogative Sentences

• To create interrogative sentences, begin with "do" or "does," keeping the rest of the structure the same. These sentences conclude with a question mark (?).
• Structure: Do/Does + "I" + verb (base form) + object (optional)?

Examples of Interrogative Sentences

• 1) Do I study hard for exams?
• 2) Do I go to work every day?
• 3) Do I sleep late on Saturdays?

Creating Negative Interrogative Sentences

• To form negative interrogative sentences, add "do" or "does" at the beginning, followed by "not" after the subject. The rest of the structure remains the same. These sentences also end with a question mark (?).
• Structure: Do/Does + "I" + "not" + verb (base form) + object (optional)?

Examples of Negative Interrogative Sentences

• 1) Do I not study hard for exams?
• 2) Do I not go to work every day?
• 3) Do I not sleep late on Saturdays?

Simple Present Tense Formula for First Person Plural

The simple present tense formula for the first-person plural subject 'we' is: 'We' + verb (base form) + object (optional)

Examples of Affirmative Sentences:

• We study hard for exams.
• We go to work every day.
• We sleep late on Saturdays.

Negative Sentences: To form negative sentences, add "do not" before the base form of the verb. Formula: 'We' + do not + verb (base form) + object (optional)

• We do not study hard for the exams.
• We do not go to work every day.
• We do not sleep late on Saturdays.

Interrogative Sentences: To create interrogative sentences, start with "do" followed by "we" and keep the rest of the structure the same. Formula: Do + 'we' + verb (base form) + object (optional)?

• Do we study hard for the exams?
• Do we go to work every day?
• Do we sleep late on Saturdays?

Negative Interrogative Sentences: For negative interrogative sentences, add "do" at the beginning and "not" after the subject. Formula: Do + 'we' + 'not' + verb (base form) + object (optional)?

• Do we not study hard for the exams?
• Do we not go to work every day?
• Do we not sleep late on Saturdays?

Simple Present Tense Formula for Second Person

The formula for the simple present tense in the second person is structured as follows: ‘You’ + verb (base form) + object (optional).

Examples of Simple Present Tense in the Second Person

• 1) You study hard for exams.
• 2) You go to work every day.
• 3) You sleep late on Saturdays.

 Negative Sentences 

To form negative sentences in the simple present tense for the second person, use the formula: ‘You’ + do/does not + verb (base form) + object (optional).

Examples of Negative Sentences

• 1) You do not study hard for the exams.
• 2) You do not go to work every day.
• 3) You do not sleep late on Saturdays.

 Interrogative Sentences 

To create interrogative sentences in the simple present tense for the second person, use the formula: Do/Does + ‘you’ + verb (base form) + object (optional)?

Examples of Interrogative Sentences

• 1) Do you study hard for the exams?
• 2) Do you go to work every day?
• 3) Do you sleep late on Saturdays?

Negative Interrogative Sentences

To form negative interrogative sentences in the simple present tense for the second person, use the formula: Do/Does + ‘you’ + ‘not’ + verb (base form) + object (optional)?

Examples of Negative Interrogative Sentences

• 1) Do you not study hard for the exams?
• 2) Do you not go to work every day?
• 3) Do you not sleep late on Saturdays?

Understanding the Simple Present Tense for Third Person Singular

In the simple present tense for the Third Person Singular, we typically start with subjects like He, She, a Common Noun, or a Proper Noun. The verb follows in its base form, but with an 's' or 'es' added, depending on the verb. An object can be included, but it's optional.

To summarize, the formula is:

• He/ She/ Common Noun/ Proper Noun + verb (base form) + s/es + object (optional)

Examples of Simple Present Tense for Third Person Singular

• 1) He studies hard for exams.
• 2) Father goes to work every day.
• 3) Ram sleeps late on Saturdays.

Negative Sentences in Simple Present Tense

To transform these sentences into negative forms, we add "do" or "does not" before the base form of the verb, keeping the rest of the sentence unchanged.

The formula is:

• He/ She/ Proper Noun/ Common Noun + do/ does not + verb (base form) + object (optional)

Examples of negative sentences:

• 1) He does not study hard for exams.
• 2) Father does not go to work every day.
• 3) Ram does not sleep late on Saturdays.

Interrogative Sentences in Simple Present Tense

To form interrogative sentences, we place "do" or "does" at the beginning of the sentence and keep the structure the same, ending with a question mark.

The formula is:

• Do/ Does + he/ she/ common noun/ proper noun + verb (base form) + object (optional)?

Examples of interrogative sentences:

• 1) Does he study hard for the exam?
• 2) Does father go to work every day?
• 3) Does Ram sleep late on Saturdays?

Negative Interrogative Sentences in Simple Present Tense

For negative interrogative sentences, we start with "do" or "does" and add "not" after the subject, keeping the rest of the structure the same. The sentence ends with a question mark.

The formula is:

• Do/ Does + he/ she/ proper noun/ common noun + "not" + verb (base form) + object (optional)?

Examples of negative interrogative sentences:

• 1) Does he not study hard for the exam?
• 2) Does father not go to work every day?
• 3) Does Ram not sleep late on Saturdays?

Simple Present Tense Formula for Third Person Plural

The structure for forming sentences in the simple present tense for the third person plural involves starting with "They" or a common noun, followed by a verb in its base form, and an optional object. This can be represented as: They/ Common Noun + verb (base form) + object (optional)

Here are some example sentences using this formula:

• 1) They study hard for exams.
• 2) Boys go to work every day.
• 3) They sleep late on Saturdays.

To make these sentences negative, add "do not" or "does not" before the verb while keeping the rest of the structure the same:

• They/ common noun + do/does not + verb (base form) + object (optional)

Here are examples of negative sentences:

• 1) They do not study hard for the exams.
• 2) Boys do not go to work every day.
• 3) They do not sleep late on Saturdays.

For interrogative sentences, start with "do" or "does" followed by the subject and the rest of the sentence: Do/ Does + They/common noun + verb (base form) + object (optional)?

• 1) Do they study hard for the exams?
• 2) Do boys go to work every day?
• 3) Do they sleep late on Saturdays?

To form negative interrogative sentences, place "do" or "does" at the beginning and "not" after the subject: Do/ Does + They/ common noun + ‘not’ + verb (base form) + object (optional)?

• 1) Do they not study hard for the exams?
• 2) Do boys not go to work every day?
• 3) Do they not sleep late on Saturdays?

Exercise on the Simple Present Tense

Question: Translate the following sentences into English using the correct form of the Simple Present Tense. Afterward, compare your answers with the ones provided below.

• 1.. eat a mango.
• 2. He memorises the lesson.
• 3. The dhobi irons clothes.
• 4. Students make noise.
• 5. Mohan plays cricket.

Answers:

• 1.. eat a mango.
• 2. He memorises the lesson.
• 3. The dhobi irons clothes.
• 4. Students make noise.
• 5. Mohan plays cricket.