The simple present

The simple present is used for actions that are done always, often or never. In some cases you use it in order to describe a situation or even an action that never changes, a habit or a custom for example. That is why you can have keywords like always, often, sometimes, never, usually, every day, regularly and so on. These word occur in front of the verb.

We live in a very nice house

I never go shopping on Saturdays

I always eat a wonderful trout on Christmas eve.

Forms:

The simple present is like the infinitive, the only exception is the third person where you have to add an –s   -  a difficulty for some Germans.

I          see                     Ich sehe

You    see                       du siehst

he, she, it sees            er, sie es sieht

we      see                      wir sehen

you    see                       ihr seht

they   see                       sie sehen

And now you see, that in comparison to German English is much easier.

For questions and negations you have to use a form of “to do”

Q   - questions

Do we go there, too ?

Do you know the way to the next tram station ?

Does she work in that shop ?

Why do you want to learn English ?

What do you usually do on a Monday morning ?

When does the next show start ?

N    - negations

I do not quite follow you !

He does not live in this street, he lives the other end of the town.

I don’t know that.

You don’t walk on water !

She doesn’t smoke at work.

You can see, that for the negations “do not” or “does not” the short forms don’t and doesn’t are used.

Und noch einmal auf Deutsch und in übersichtlicher Form :

Zur Bildung :

Die Bildung des simple present entspricht der Grundform (dem Infinitiv) des Verbs.

I usually buy my vegetables at the shop around the corner.

In der 3. Person Singular wird ein –s angehängt oder auch ……”he,she, it das –S muss mit !”

Bei Fragen und Verneinungen wird das Verb mit einer Form von “to do” umschrieben, wenn das Prädikat aus einem Vollverb besteht.

He doesn´t go ........./ I don´t go

Does he go…. ?  /  Do you see…….

Doesn´t she work…../  Don´t you…..

Zur Verwendung :

Das simple present beschreibt

-         Gewohnheiten oder auch sich wiederholende Handlungen

I read my weekly magazine every Friday.

Signalwörter sind hier z.B. : always, every day, ever week, sometimes, usually, often, never

-         Allgemeingültige Aussagen oder Wahrheiten

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

-         Gedanken, Gefühle, die durch bestimmte Verben ausgedrückt werden

I think it´s wonderful.

Verben sind hier z.B. : to like, to want, to believe, to think, to mean, to know, to understand

-         Zustände, die durch bestimmte Verben ausgedrückt werden

This book belongs to him.

Verben sind hier z.B : to belong, to cost, to own, to need, to seem, to remember, to forget