The standard primitives in 3DS Max (or any 3D modelling software) are the basic objects, such as cubes and spheres. Click into the create panel and you should automatically land inside the default standard primitives panel. To ever return to standard primitives, click the small icon with a circle in it and go to "Standard Primitives" in the combo box.

The basic 3D shapes available in 3DS Max are:
* Box (which is a cube or cuboid)
* Sphere
* Cylinder
* Torus (or doughnut)
* Teapot
* Cone
* Geosphere (similar to the sphere, but with more efficient geometry at the poles)
* Tube (hollowed out cylinder)
* Pyramid
* Plane (not a 3D object as such, but classed as one)

Each of these simple objects are explored in further articles.