The Simple Present
“The Generalization Tense”

The Simple Present tense usually means PERMANENT.

Forms:
1 a base verb form, which is identical to the infinitive, but without to.
do, have, work and play.
2 a third person singular form which ends with -s or-es.
does, has, works and plays.

Uses:
1 for generalizations, i.e. things in general, routines, tasks, responsibilities, duties, definitions, policies, theories and things that happen in cycles.
I do, you have, he works, the company pays, and this includes.

2 for frequency of repetition.
Here are some common expressions of frequency used with the Simple Present :

100% always
. constantly / all the time
. usually / generally / most of the time
. regularly
. often
50% frequently
. sometimes / from time to time / every so often
. occasionally / once in a while / now and then
. seldom / rarely
. hardly ever
0% never

In addition, certain expressions such as every can be common or rare (every second,
every minute, every hour, every day, every week, every month, every year, every decade, every century, every millenium, etc). Other numbers can come after every (e.g. every two weeks, every six months, every 76 years ). Similarly, when and whenever can be used with events on an irregular basis.

I shop there all the time. I go there every week. I never shop elsewhere.

3 for scheduled events on a timetable. This is only used with certain verbs:
arrive & leave, come & return, begin & end, start & finish, open & close

The next train arrives at 7:12 AM and leaves at 7:13 AM.
The garbage collector comes at around 4:30 PM.
Halley's Comet returns only every 76 years.
The movie begins at 8:45 PM and ends at 10:35 PM.
Our course starts at noon and finishes at 2:00 PM.
The store opens at 9:00 AM and closes at 9:00 PM.

4 for states (i.e. the verb be or things that mean be ) and stative (nonprogressive)
verbs.
I am, you are, he / she / it is, we are and they are.

5 for narration, i.e. telling stories or jokes. This is often used by newspapers and television to give headlines or sports commentary.
So I go home and tell my wife. She asks me why this always happens.
A gorilla enters a bar. He tells the bartender, “Give me a banana!”
Stephen Harper announces cabinet shuffle!
Jones passes to White, White passes back to Jones. He shoots, he scores!

Negatives: add not to the auxiliary verb: doesn't and don't. Notice that in the negative, contractions are very common.
You don't work every day.
You don't like classical music.

Questions: add the auxiliary verb do, not be, to the beginning of the sentence.

Informal negative questions: inverse the subject and the auxiliary verb (don't / doesn't ).
Don't you work every day?
Don't you like classical music?

For more formal negative questions, avoid contractions. The not comes directly before the base verb.
Do you not work every day?
Do you not like classical music?

Third Person Singular -S

The most common mistake made by non-native speakers of English is probably the omission of the final -s in the Simple Present tense.

Many find this complicated, but there are only two forms (three for the verb be ). French has up to six different forms in the present tense, so this is much easier.

What is meant by Third Person ?
First Person is the speaker(s). Second Person is the listener(s). Third Person is all other people or things. Therefore, everyone and everything not speaking or listening is the Third Person! It includes things that mean he, she and it (my boss, Shirley and IBM ).

Remember that this does NOT apply to the past, the future or plurals.

Many have particular trouble with plurals. The final -s on the verb does not mean plural! In fact it is only for the 3rd person singular. In French, the tu form also has s at the end of the word (tu es, tu es, tu dois ) but it's not plural. One way of remembering it is that there is only one -s.

Be especially careful after the words it, that, which and what. It is the VERB that takes the -s. This includes phrasal verbs.