Present Tense

The simple present tense is used to discuss permanant situations and the frequency of events.


There are three important exceptions:


For positive sentences, we do not normally use the auxiliary.
For the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), we add s to the main verb or es to the auxiliary.
For the verb to be, we do not use an auxiliary, even for questions and negatives.
Look at these examples with the main verb like:

+ i, you, we, they play volleyball
he, she, it plays volleyball

- i, you, we, they do not play volleyball 
he, she, it does not play volleyball

? do i, you, we, theyplay volleyball ?
does she, he, it palay volleyball ?


Look at these examples with the main verb be. Notice that there is no auxiliary:

+ i am French
you, we, they are French
he, she ,it is French

- i am not young
you, we, they are not young
he, she, it is not young

? am i late ?
are you, we, they late ?
is she, he, it late ?