Present simple
Le present simple sert en anglais à parler d'habitudes, de vérités générales et d'événements fixes par un horaire. Sur cette page tu revois sa conjugaison, la forme négative et interrogative et l'erreur la plus fréquente, puis tu t'entraînes dans le jeu.
Apprentissage rapide
Le present simple ne décrit pas ce qui se passe en ce moment ; il décrit ce qui est vrai en général, ce qui se répète ou ce qui est prévu par un horaire.
À retenir
- Ajoute le -s uniquement à he, she et it : she starts at eight.
- A la question et à la négation, do ou does apparaît et le verbe principal perd son -s.
- always, usually, often, never et every day sont les compagnons naturels de ce temps.
Exemples
- 1I drink a warm cup of coffee every morning before leaving for work.
- 2Sarah works as a pharmacist at the local health clinic near her home.
Piège courant à éviter
does et doesn't portent déjà le -s de la troisième personne, donc le verbe qui suit reste à la forme de base : he doesn't work, jamais he doesn't works.
Approfondir
La règle
When to use it
The Present Simple is the foundation of English communication. We use it to talk about three main situations:
(1) Daily habits and routines: activities we perform regularly.
- I drink coffee every morning
- David walks to work
(2) Facts and general truths: things that are always or scientifically true.
- Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius
- The sun rises in the east
(3) Permanent states: feelings, jobs, and situations that remain true for a long period.
- She lives in Madrid
- They work in a hospital
Affirmative forms
Formulas: Affirmative: With I, you, we, they, use the base form of the verb.
- I work in an office
- They play tennis
With he, she, it, add -s or -es to the verb.
- He works in an office
- She plays tennis
Spelling the -s
Spelling rules for third-person singular (he, she, it): Most verbs simply add -s (reads, speaks, drives). Verbs ending in -ch, -sh, -ss, -x, or -o add -es (watches, washes, passes, fixes, goes, does). Verbs ending in a consonant + y change -y to -ies (studies, carries, flies). Verbs ending in a vowel + y simply add -s (plays, stays, buys).
Negatives and questions
Negative: I, you, we, they + do not (don't) + base verb.
- We do not eat meat
He, she, it + does not (doesn't) + base verb.
- He does not drink tea
Questions: Do + I, you, we, they + base verb?
- Do you live near here?
Does + he, she, it + base verb?
- Does she speak French?
Frequency words
Common frequency words used with this tense include always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, never, every day, and on Mondays.
Anatomie de la phrase
Des phrases de cette leçon, découpées dans l'ordre qu'exige l'anglais.
SujetSarahVerbeworksAttributas a pharmacistLieuat the local health clinic near her home.
SujetTheyAuxiliairedoNégationnotVerbeeatObjetmeatPropositionbecause they are strict vegetarians.
AuxiliaireDoesSujetyour sisterVerbespeakObjetFrench or SpanishPropositionwhen travelling abroad?
Guide visuel
How to read this A1 topic
At A1, aim for one clear sentence: subject, verb, agreement, and a simple complement.
1. Find the subject
English normally needs an explicit subject before the verb.
It is cold.
2. Check the verb form
Be, have, and third-person -s carry a lot of early grammar.
She works here.
3. Keep a model sentence
Learn one short pattern and swap the words carefully.
I am a student.
Present simple
Use it for habits, facts, and stable states. Only he, she, and it add -s in affirmative sentences.
| Subject | Affirmative | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| I / you / we / they | work | do not work | Do ... work? |
| he / she / it | works | does not work | Does ... work? |
| be | am / is / are | am not / is not / are not | Am / Is / Are ...? |
Decision path before answering
Use these checks before choosing between close options.
- 1Mark the subject, main verb, object, and any connector.
- 2Underline the time expression or discourse clue.
- 3Reject any option with the wrong agreement, tense, article, pronoun case, or word order.
- 4Read the whole sentence once more for naturalness and register.
Exemples
- 1I drink a warm cup of coffee every morning before leaving for work.
- 2Sarah works as a pharmacist at the local health clinic near her home.
- 3My brother plays football in the central park every Saturday afternoon.
- 4We live in a quiet apartment with two friendly cats.
- 5Mark studies English for forty minutes every single evening.
- 6The neighborhood supermarket opens at eight o'clock and closes at ten.
- 7They do not eat meat because they are strict vegetarians.
- 8He does not watch television on weekdays because he prefers reading.
- 9Do you walk to the train station or take the morning bus?
- 10Does your sister speak French or Spanish when travelling abroad?
Exceptions
Stative verbs describe states, feelings, or mental conditions rather than physical activities (like, love, hate, want, need, know, understand, remember, believe, belong). In standard English, stative verbs stay in the Present Simple and do not appear in the continuous form ("I know the answer", not "I am knowing the answer"). The verb have has an irregular third-person singular form: he has, she has, it has (never haves). In British English, have got is frequently used for possession in everyday speech ("She has got two brothers").
Erreurs fréquentes
Dropping third-person -s
Erreur
My brother work in a bank.
Correct
My brother works in a bank.
He, she, it obligatorily requires -s or -es.
Double marking with doesn't
Erreur
He doesn't likes fish.
Correct
He doesn't like fish.
Does already carries the third-person inflection, so the main verb stays in base form.
Adding unnecessary be
Erreur
I am live in London.
Correct
I live in London.
Action verbs do not use am, is, or are in the present simple.
Récap
L'essentiel de la leçon sur une carte, avant de te tester.
À retenir
- Ajoute le -s uniquement à he, she et it : she starts at eight.
- A la question et à la négation, do ou does apparaît et le verbe principal perd son -s.
- always, usually, often, never et every day sont les compagnons naturels de ce temps.
Erreurs fréquentes
Erreur: My brother work in a bank.
Correct: My brother works in a bank.Erreur: He doesn't likes fish.
Correct: He doesn't like fish.Erreur: I am live in London.
Correct: I live in London.
Teste-toi
Dis à voix haute cinq phrases vraies sur ta semaine, puis entraîne-toi sur ce point.
Points de grammaire associés
Poursuivez votre apprentissage avec d'autres notions de ce niveau.