Explanation
Use the present simple for facts, routines, habits, and general truths. It is the normal tense for things that happen again and again.
For example, "She works in a hospital." In this sentence, "She" is the subject, "works" is the verb with "-s," and "in a hospital" tells us where she works. In English, the verb changes for "he," "she," and "it".
Japanese does not change the verb in the same way, so learners often forget "-s."
現在形は、事実、習慣、日課、一般的な真実を表します。くり返し起こることを言うときの基本の形です。たとえば "She works in a hospital." では、"She" が主語、"works" が "-s" つきの動詞、"in a hospital" が働く場所です。英語では "he" "she" "it" のときに動詞が変わりますが、日本語は動詞が人称で変わらないので、"-s" を落としやすいです。
Examples
- I live in Osaka. 私は大阪に住んでいます。
- My father gets up early. 私の父は早起きします。
- She works at a bank. 彼女は銀行で働いています。
- Do you like coffee? コーヒーは好きですか。
- We don't eat breakfast at home. 私たちは家で朝ごはんを食べません。
- The train leaves at 8:10 every morning. その電車は毎朝8時10分に出ます。
Common Mistakes
Japanese learners often forget the third-person "-s" in the present simple.
Wrong: "He go to school every day."
Right: "He goes to school every day."
Japanese verbs do not change for "he" or "she," but English does.
日本語話者は現在形の三人称単数の "-s" を落としやすいです。
誤り: "He go to school every day."
正しくは "He goes to school every day."
日本語の動詞は「彼」「彼女」で形が変わりませんが、英語では変わります。