En inglés, el presente simple—también denominado presente indefinido— es el tiempo verbal presente (de aspecto no perfecto).Es uno de los tiempos verbales del presente utilizados en inglés, además del presente progresivo, el presente perfecto y el presente perfecto progresivo. Se utiliza para hablar de cosas, hábitos diarios o actividades que suelen hacerse todos los días y siempre son verdad. Con I, you y we se utiliza la base léxica del verbo, y con he y she se añade el lexema -s.
El "simple present" se utiliza:
- Para expresar hábitos y rutinas, hechos generales, acciones repetidas o situaciones, emociones y deseos permanentes:
I smoke (hábito); I work in London (permanencia); London is a large city (hecho general) - Para dar instrucciones o indicaciones:
You walk for two hundred meters, then you turn left. - Para hablar de eventos programados, presentes o futuros:
Your exam starts at 09.00. - Para referirse al futuro, detrás de algunas conjunciones: after, when, before, as soon as, until:
He'll give it to you when you come next Saturday.
Ejemplos
- Hábitos y rutinas
He drinks tea at breakfast.
She only eats fish.
They watch television regularly. - Eventos y acciones repetidos
We catch the bus every morning.
It rains every afternoon in the hot season.
They drive to Monaco every summer. - Hechos generales
Water freezes at zero degrees.
The Earth revolves around the Sun.
Her mother is Peruvian.
- Instrucciones o indicaciones
Open the packet and pour the contents into hot water.
You take the No.6 bus to Watney and then the No.10 to Bedford. - Eventos programados
His mother arrives tomorrow.
Our holiday starts on the 26th March - Construcciones de futuro
She'll see you before she leaves.
We'll give it to her when she arrives.
Formación del "simple present": to think
| Afirmativa | Interrogativa | Negativa |
|---|---|---|
| I think | Do I think? | I do not think |
| You think | Do you think? | You do not think |
| He thinks | Does he think? | He does not think |
| She thinks | Does she think? | She does not think |
| It thinks | Does it think? | It does not think |
| We think | Do we think? | We do not think. |
| They think | Do they think? | They do not think. |
Notas sobre la tercera persona del singular del "simple present"
- En la tercera persona del singular, el verbo siempre termina en -s:
he wants, she needs, he gives, she thinks. - Para las formas negativa e interrogativa, se emplea DOES (= tercera persona del auxiliar 'DO') + el infinitivo del verbo.
He wants ice cream. Does he want strawberry? He does not want vanilla. - Verbos que terminan en -y : en la tercera persona del singular, se cambia la -y por -ies:
fly --> flies, cry --> cries
Excepción: cuando una vocal precede a la -y:
play --> plays, pray --> prays - Añadimos -es a los verbos que terminan en:-ss, -x, -sh, -ch:
he passes, she catches, he fixes, it pushes
Ejemplos
- He goes to school every morning.
- She understands English.
- It mixes the sand and the water.
- He tries very hard.
- She enjoys playing the piano.
Resources
Simple Present Test 1
Simple Present Test 2
Simple Present Test 3
Simple Present Questions TestSimple Present Test
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Fuente: ASXLab