Present Simple

Tense

Present Simple Tense

FORM:

*Affirmative: add s or es to the verb in third person

singular (he/she/it); for other persons, use the
infinitive of the main verb
I speak English.
You speak English.
He/she/it speaks English.
We/you/they speak English.

Present Simple Tense

FORM:

*Negative: use auxiliary verb DO / DOES + NOT + the

infinitive of the main verb

*Note:

DO NOT = DONT
DOES NOT = DOESNT
I dont speak English.
You dont speak English.
He/she/it doesnt speak English.
We/you/they dont speak English.

Present Simple Tenses

FORM:

* Questions: use inversion

Short answers
Do I speak English?
Yes, I do. / No, I dont.
Do you speak English?
Yes, you do. / No, you dont.
Does he/she/it speak English?
Yes, he does. / No, he doesnt.
Do we/you/they speak English?
Yes, we do. / No, we dont.

Present Simple Tense

SPELLING RULES FOR THE SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE
a) Add s for most verbs
work - works, buy - buys, ride - rides, return - returns
b) Add es for words that end in ch, -s , -sh, -x, or z.
watch - watches, pass - passes, rush - rushes, relax relaxes, buzz - buzzes
c) Change the y to i and add es when the base form ends in
a consonant +y.
study - studies, hurry - hurries, dry - dries
* Do not change the y when the base form ends in a vowel +y.
Add s
play - plays, enjoy - enjoys
d) A few verbs have irregular forms.
be - is, do - does, go- goes, have - has

Present Simple Tense

There are three different ways to pronounce the letter s
ending:
/S/

/Z/

Unvoiced consonant sound ending Voiced consonant sound ending in;

in; /f/, /k/ /p/, /t/, //,
/b/, /d/, /g/, /l/, /m/, /n/, //, /r/,
/D/, //, /v/
coughs
grabs
attacks
broods
stops
stings
blasts
fails
unearths
comes
earns

/IZ/
Add a syllable with this sound
ending in; /s/, /t/, /d/, /z/, / /, //
watches
judges
chooses
wishes
misses
fixes

roars
goes
breathes
loves

Last letters; h / k / p / t / th

Last letters; b / d / g / l / m / n in / r / Last letters; c / ch / ge / s / sh

Present Simple Tense

Present Simple Tense

USE:
1) Repeated Actions, habits, routines
*Use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is repeated or
usual. The action can be a habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event
or something that often happens. It can also be something a person often
forgets or usually does not do, or a thing that we do regularly.

*We often use adverbs of frequency in this case

Do you smoke?
I play tennis every Tuesday.
We often go to the cinema.
She gets up at seven o'clock every day.
At the weekend, we usually go to the market.
How often do you study English?
I don't travel very often.

Present Simple Tense

*Adverbs of frequency to say 'how often' we do

something:
Always, frequently, generally, hardly ever,
infrequently, never, normally, occasionally, often,
rarely, regularly, seldom, sometimes, usually

*Here are some other expressions we can use to say

'how often:once in a while; every now and again;

from time to time; once a day/week/ month/year;
twice a day/week/month/year; 'every' + period of
time: every morning, every day, every Tuesday, every
week, every month, on Tuesdays, on Wednesdays....

Present Simple Tense

USE:
2) Facts or Generalizations
* The Simple Present can also indicate the speaker believes that
a fact was true before, is true now, and will be true in the
future. It is also used to make generalizations about people or
things, to talk about things that are generally true:
The sun rises in the east.
People need food.
It snows in winter.
The sky isn't green.
Plants die without water.
Two and two make four.

Present Simple Tense

USE:
3) Permanent situations and emotions (state verbs)
* We also need to use this tense for a situation that we think is
more or less permanent, and with certain state verbs like
love, like, hate, think, believe, know, understand, want,
need to express emotions or permanent states:
Where do you live?
She works in a bank.
They love coffee.
She has three children.
I am married.
I don't like mushrooms.
This soup tastes great.
I think she is very pretty.

Present Simple Tense

USE:
3) Scheduled Events in the Near Future, timetables and/or fixed
plans
* To talk about scheduled events in the near future. Used when
talking about public transportation, or discussing a timetable or a
fixed plan. Usually, the timetable is fixed by an organisation, not
by us:
The train leaves tonight at 6 PM.
The bus does not arrive at 11 AM, it arrives at 11 PM.
The party starts at 8 o'clock.
School begins at nine tomorrow.
What time does the film start?
When does the class finish?

Practice
* Put the words in the correct order.
* go late sometimes to on bed Sundays. I
* breakfast. have for don't usually eggs We
* shower always They a morning. have in the
* at never housework the does She weekend.
* goes by to bus. usually work Daniel
* gym go before the You lunch. never to
* work Fridays. early I sometimes on finish
* watch TV! always on You sport

Practice
* Put the words in the correct order.
* I sometimes go late to on bed Sundays.
* We dont usually have eggs for breakfast.
* They always have a shower in the morning.
* She never does the housework at weekend.
* Daniel usually goes to work by bus.
* Never lunch before you go to gym.
* I sometimes finish work early on Fridays.
* You always watch sport on TV!

Practice
* Put the verbs between brackets in the correct form:
* Jane________________ (not/drink) tea very often.
* What time_________________ (the banks/open) in Britain?
* Where___________________ (John/come) from?
* It___________________ (take) me an hour to get to work.
* She_________________ (not/wake) up early on Sundays.

Practice
*)Put the verbs between brackets in the correct form:
*)Jane doesnt drink (not/drink) tea very often.
*)What time do the banks open (the banks/open) in Britain?
*)Where does John come (John/come) from?
*)It takes (take) me an hour to get to work.
*)She doesnt wake (not/wake) up early on Sundays.

Practice
* Look at each underlined verb and say what kind of meaning
it expresses a thought, a feeling, a fact, or a repeated
action?

Feeling
* I hate quiz programmes.
Repeated action
* We play table tennis every Thursday.
* The computer belongs to Emma.
Fact
* These plates cost 20 each.
Fact
* I believe its the right thing to do.
Thought
* Im hungry. I want something to eat.
Feeling
* I usually go to work by bus.
Repeated action
* Its OK. I understand your problem.
Thought