Copia de The Simple Present Tense

The simple present tense
Before you continue the lesson read the following passage and try to see
how the verbs are formed and used.
James is a taxi driver. He drives a taxi. But on Sundays he doesn't

drive his taxi. He stays at home.
The verb be, drive, stay are in the simple present.
(more on the simple present of the verb to be)
The forms of the simple present

The affirmative form of the simple present:
I, you, we, play.

they
He, she, it plays.
Remember the verbs in the third person singular (he,she and it) always
take an "s". For example, "he plays, she sings,it works..."
Examples:
 Nancy and James speak good German.

 Nancy works in a restaurant downtown.
 The children play in the garden every weekend.
The interrogative form of the simple present:
Do I, you, we, they play?
Doe he, she, it

s
Examples:
 Do you speak good German?
 Does Nancy work in a restaurant downtown?
The negative form of the simple present:
I, you, do not play.

we,they don't
He, she, it does not
doesn't
Examples:
 No, I don't speak German.

 No, she doesn't work in a restaurant downtown
The use of the simple present:

The simple present is used:
 to give your opinion - I like ice cream. I don't like spicy food.

 to talk about schedules - The library opens at eight. It doesn't open at 7.
 to talk about daily habits (routine actions)- Sara eats a cheese for
breakfast every day. She doesn't eat cereal.
 to give facts - The earth circles the sun. The moon doesn't circle the sun.
The spelling of the third person singular form of the

simple present:
All the verbs take an "s" in the simple present when conjugated in the
third person singular (he, she, it) form:
Examples:
 I visit my parents every summer holiday. But my wife visits her parents

every weekend.
 My brother meets his girlfriend everyday.
So the rule is:
He / she / it + Verb + S
There are however some special cases. Here are the spelling rules:
Vowel Consonant Verbs ending Verbs ending

Silent e
+ y + y in o in s, z, sh, tch, ch
close = play = study = go = goes miss = misses

closes plays studies do = does buzz = buzzes
note = marry = hatch = hatches
notes say = says marries finish = finishes
teach = teaches
Examples:
 She drives to work every morning.

 He says he plays football on the weekends
Exception:
 The verb to have changes its forms as follows:

I have two sisters and two brothers. But she has one sister and two
brothers.
I have = he / she / it has
Things to remember about the simple present:

1.In the interrogative forms, we use "do" or "does".
 "Do you like the house?"

 "Does she go to school?"
2. Verbs never take an "s" in the the negative and interrogative forms.
 "Does he speak German?"
 "Do they play soccer?"
 She doesn't like ice cream.
3. don't is the short form of "do not". You can say either:
 I do not speak Italian, or

 I don't speak Italian.
4.doesn't is the short form of "does not". you can say either:
 He does not listen to jazz music, or

 He doesn't listen to jazz music.
Choose the correct form of the following verbs:
wake(s) up - open(s) - speak(s) - take(s) - do(es) - cause(s) - live(s) - play(s) -

close(s) - live(s) - drink(s)
1. Ann handball very well.

2. I never coffee.
3. The swimming pool at 7:00 in the morning.
4. It at 9:00 in the evening.
5. Bad driving many accidents.
6. My parents in a very small flat.
7. The Olympic Games place every four years.
8. They are good students. They always their homework.
9. My students a little English.
10. I always early in the morning.
Put the verbs between brackets in the correct form:
1. Jane (not/drink) tea very often.
2. What time (the banks/open) in Britain?
3. Where (John/come) from?
4. It (take) me an hour to get to work.
5. She (not/wake) up early on Sundays.
Choose the right verbs to complete the sentences. Sometimes you need the
negative:
write - turn - eat - tell - rise
1. The earth around the sun.

2. The sun in the east.
3. Vegetarians meat.
4. A liar is someone who the truth.
5. A novelist novels.
The form of the present continuous tense

The affirmative forms of the present continuous:
I am eating.
’m
You, we, they are
’re
He, she, it is
's
The interrogative forms of the present continuous
Am I eating?
Are you, we, they
Is he, she, it
The negative forms of the present continuous
I am not eating.
’m not
You, we, they are not
aren't
He, she, it is not
isn't
The use of the present continuous tense
 The present continuous is used to talk about actions happening at the

time of speaking.
Example:
 Where is Mary? She is having a bath. (Not she has a bath)

 What are you doing at the moment in front of your screen?
Don't you know? Well … you are reading this lesson.
You are learning English.
 The present continuous can also be used when an action has started but
hasn’t finished yet.
Example:
 I am reading a book; it’s a nice book. (It means = I am not

necessarily reading it; I started reading it but I haven’t
finished it yet.)
Special verbs
There are verbs which are normally not used in the present continuous.
Examples:
be, believe, belong, hate, hear, like, love, mean, prefer, remain, realize, see,
seem, smell, think, understand, want, wish
These verbs are called stative verbs in contrast to action verbs (also

referred to as 'dynamic verbs') such as 'work, play, eat, etc.'
It's not correct to say:
He is wanting to buy a new car.*
You must say:

He wants to buy a new car.
Choose the correct answer (simple present or present continuous)
1. It cats and dogs. We'd better stay at home.
2. I TV every day in the morning.
3. to the party tonight?
4. The children are at the stadium. They a football match.
5. I to the cinema often.
6. She usually late to school.
7. He regularly.
8. John is busy. He at the moment.
9. Be quiet! The baby .
10. She to New York next weekend.

Copia de The Simple Present Tense

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The simple present tense

James is a taxi driver. He drives a taxi. But on Sundays he doesn't

The forms of the simple present

I, you, we, play.

He, she, it plays.

 Nancy and James speak good German.

The interrogative form of the simple present:

Do I, you, we, they play?

Doe he, she, it

The negative form of the simple present:

I, you, do not play.

He, she, it does not

 No, I don't speak German.

The use of the simple present:

 to give your opinion - I like ice cream. I don't like spicy food.

The spelling of the third person singular form of the

 I visit my parents every summer holiday. But my wife visits her parents

So the rule is:

Vowel Consonant Verbs ending Verbs ending

close = play = study = go = goes miss = misses

 She drives to work every morning.

 The verb to have changes its forms as follows:

Things to remember about the simple present:

 "Do you like the house?"

 I do not speak Italian, or

 He does not listen to jazz music, or

Choose the correct form of the following verbs:

wake(s) up - open(s) - speak(s) - take(s) - do(es) - cause(s) - live(s) - play(s) -

1. Ann handball very well.

3. The swimming pool at 7:00 in the morning.

4. It at 9:00 in the evening.

5. Bad driving many accidents.

6. My parents in a very small flat.

7. The Olympic Games place every four years.

8. They are good students. They always their homework.

9. My students a little English.

10. I always early in the morning.

Put the verbs between brackets in the correct form:

1. Jane (not/drink) tea very often.

2. What time (the banks/open) in Britain?

3. Where (John/come) from?

4. It (take) me an hour to get to work.

5. She (not/wake) up early on Sundays.

write - turn - eat - tell - rise

1. The earth around the sun.

4. A liar is someone who the truth.

The form of the present continuous tense

You, we, they are

The interrogative forms of the present continuous

Are you, we, they

The negative forms of the present continuous

You, we, they are not

The use of the present continuous tense

 The present continuous is used to talk about actions happening at the

 Where is Mary? She is having a bath. (Not she has a bath)

 I am reading a book; it’s a nice book. (It means = I am not

These verbs are called stative verbs in contrast to action verbs (also

It's not correct to say:

He is wanting to buy a new car.*