Present simple

The point

With he, she, and it, add -s. I, you, we, and they take the base. Questions and negatives use do or does, and the main verb loses the -s.

Form and use

The present simple states a habit or a fact that stays true. I walk to work. Ice melts in the sun. Put the subject first. With I, you, we, and they, use the base: walk, live, open. With he, she, and it, add -s or -es: walks, lives, opens. That -s marks the subject. It is not a plural ending.

The -s spelling follows a few rules. Most verbs add -s: work becomes works, and live becomes lives. After -ch, -sh, -s, -x, or -o, add -es: watch becomes watches, finish becomes finishes, pass becomes passes, fix becomes fixes, and go becomes goes. A consonant plus y changes to -ies: study becomes studies, and try becomes tries. A vowel plus y only adds -s: play becomes plays, and enjoy becomes enjoys.

Questions and negatives use do or does plus the base. Does is only for he, she, and it. Do is for I, you, we, and they. Do you live here? Does she live here? I do not live here. She does not live here. The short forms are don't and doesn't. The -s stays on does, never on the main verb. Does she lives and She doesn't lives are both wrong. Does she live and She doesn't live are right.

A frequency adverb usually stands before the main verb. The set is always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, and never. She always locks the gate. They rarely call. Sometimes can also open the sentence: Sometimes they call. Never is already negative, so do not add not as well. She never calls is right. She doesn't never call is a double negative and is wrong.

Don't translate it like this

She needs the -s in a statement.

Short examples