The simple present tense (= nutid) in English is usually used to describe an action that is regular or true.
Example: “I visit my grandmother every day.”
Subject | Verb | Rest of sentence |
I / You / We / They | sleep | late on Saturdays. |
He / She / It | sleeps | late on Saturdays. |
The most common uses of the simple present tense:
1. To express repeated actions or habits
We catch the bus every morning.
She plays football on Saturdays.
He drinks tea at breakfast.
She only eats fish.
2. To express facts or general truths
We live in Stockholm.
She works very hard.
My friends speak four languages.
The sun sets in the west.
More uses of the simple present tense:
3. To describe scheduled events in the future
The train arrives at 5 p.m.
4. To tell jokes or stories
“A horse walks into a bar and the barman says: why the long face?”
The simple present is not used to express actions happening right now. Then we use the progressive form (-ing): “We are watching TV.”