The Pitfalls of the Simple Present in English

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I am, you are, he is… The present simple tense of the verb to be is probably one of the first things you learned in English. Almost all of us have this basic form more or less mastered, but be careful! The present simple tense hides some very tricky secrets and traps that can get you into trouble . Today we are going to teach you some of them.


A review of the basics: what is the simple present used for?
The simple present is the most common verb tense in English. We will use it in the following cases:

To refer to things that usually happen : I eat chocolate every day. He azerbaijan phone number list to the gym often. They travel to Madrid for work.
To talk about generalities or scientific facts . She likes cheese. Adults don't know everything. Elephants live in Africa.
For events that are certain to occur in the near future . The plane leaves at 8:00. The event is this afternoon. Does the conference start next Monday?
For instructions (imperative mood). Open the door. Do your English exercises. Prepare the presentation for tomorrow.
Important: remember that the present simple is NOT used for events that are happening at the moment of speaking. In that case, we will use the present continuous: I am learning how to use the present simple in English.