The Present Simple Tense: Routines, Habits, and Everyday English with Emma

The Present Simple tense is one of the first and most useful English tenses you’ll learn.

We use it to talk about routines, habits, facts, timetables, instructions, and programmes.

In this story, we’ll follow Emma, a cheerful English teacher who enjoys her calm, organised life.

Through her day, you’ll see how we naturally use the Present Simple in real life — with clear examples and time expressions.

📚Emma’s Everyday World: Learning the Present Simple

Emma is an English teacher who lives in Singapore. She loves her morning routine.

Every morning, she wakes up at 6:30 a.m. and makes a cup of green tea. She usually listens to music while she gets ready for work.

At 7:30, she takes the MRT to school. The train leaves at 7:35, so she never arrives late. On the train, she often reads a book or checks her lesson plan for the day.

When Emma arrives at school, she greets her students and starts her first class at 8:30 a.m. She teaches English grammar and vocabulary. Her students ask questions, and she answers patiently.

At 12:30, she has lunch with her colleagues in the school café. She usually eats rice with vegetables and drinks lemon water. After lunch, she marks homework or plans lessons for the next day.

After work, Emma goes to yoga class. The class starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 7. Her yoga instructor always says, “Breathe deeply and relax.” (That’s an instruction in Present Simple!)

In the evening, Emma cooks dinner, watches her favourite TV programme at 9, and calls her family in Malaysia. She goes to bed around 10:30 p.m. because she gets up early the next day.

On weekends, she visits her friends, goes to art galleries, or writes blog posts about language learning. She doesn’t work on Sundays, but she checks her emails — just in case!

🕒 Grammar Focus: When Do We Use the Present Simple?

We use the Present Simple to talk about:

Situation	Example from the Story	Time Expressions
Daily routines	Emma wakes up at 6:30.	every morning
Habits	She usually listens to music.	usually, often
Timetables / schedules	The train leaves at 7:35.	at 7:35
Instructions	“Breathe deeply and relax.”	always
Facts / general truths	Emma is an English teacher.	—
Notices / programmes	The class starts at 6 p.m.	at 6 p.m., every week
Negative form	She doesn’t work on Sundays.	on Sundays

📩 Download Free PDF Worksheet

👉Present Simple Practice: Emma's Everyday Life

💡 Quick Grammar Tips:

✅ Add -s or -es for he/she/it → She wakes up, he goes to work.

✅ Use do/does for questions → Does Emma like yoga?

✅ Use don’t/doesn’t for negatives → She doesn’t drink coffee.

✏️ Part 2 – Practice Exercises

A. Choose the correct verb form.

1. Emma (wake / wakes) up at 6:30.

2. She (listen / listens) to music in the morning.

3. The train (leave / leaves) at 7:35.

4. She (don’t / doesn’t) work on Sundays.

5. Her class (start / starts) at 8:30.

B. Complete the sentences with time expressions:

every morning | on weekends | at 12:30 | usually | sometimes

1. Emma drinks tea ________.

2. She has lunch ________.

3. She ________ does yoga .

4. She ________ checks her emails .

5. She writes blog posts ________.

C. Answer the questions.

1. What time does Emma get up?

2. Where does she work?

3. What does she do after work?

4. What does she do on weekends?

5. Does she work on Sundays?

D. Write about you!

Write 5 sentences about your daily routine using Present Simple.

Use words like always, often, sometimes, never, every day.

Example:

I get up at 7 a.m. I usually have toast for breakfast. I go to work by bus. I don’t drink coffee in the evening.

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

🗝️ Answer Key

A: 1. wakes, 2. listens, 3. leaves, 4. doesn’t, 5. starts

B: 1. every morning, 2. at 12:30, 3. usually, 4. sometimes, 5. on weekends

C: (Answers vary)

✅ Tip: The Present Simple is used for routines, habits, timetables, facts, and instructions.

🎥 Check out our YouTube Channel Playlist:

🔗English Tenses Made Simple: Lessons & Stories

🔗Learn Grammar Through Engaging Stories

🔗ESL Listening Practice With Engaging Stories

Watch and Learn!  For more ESL reading and listening practice video lessons, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

🔗Related Posts

Learn more about related Tenses below ⬇️

💡 Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more grammar stories, quizzes, and English learning tips every week!

Love This Content? Get more delivered to you! Sign up for our weekly email with fresh ideas for learning English.

Don't Just Read, Watch! Subscribe to our YouTube channel  for video tutorials and explanations.

Thank you for reading & Happy Speaking!

Got Questions? Contact us on the form below.