THE SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

 The simple present tense expresses a general truth or a customary action.

Mary enjoys singing.

Peter sometimes lends me his bike.

Cows eat grass.

Monkeys like bananas.

Tom collects stamps.

The earth goes around the sun.

It often snows in winter.

We always wash our hands before meals.

We eat three meals a day.

Father takes the dog for a walk every morning.

The sun rises in the east.

Ducks love water.

Uncle Joe wears glasses.

The children go to school by bus.

We join the senior scout troop in July this year.

My big brother leaves school at 4 o’clock.

The new supermarket opens next Friday.

The new grammar book comes out in September.

Granddad retires next year.

We fly to London next Thursday.

The plane lands at 5:30 P.M.

We move to our new house in a month.

My big sister begins her summer job next week.

 Use the simple present tense to talk about things that are planned for the future.

Melanie starts school tomorrow.

Next week I go to summer camp.

The train departs in five minutes.

Exercise 1 Underline the verbs in the following sentences.

1 The children go to school by bus.

2 Bats sleep during the day.

3 These toys belong to Kathy.

4 Every pupil has a good dictionary.

5 Polar bears live at the North Pole.

6 Most children learn very fast.

7 Mr. Thomas teaches us science.

8 The earth goes around the sun.

9 We never cross the street without looking.

10 Many stores close on Sunday.

Exercise 2 Fill in the blanks with the simple present tense of the verbs in parentheses.
 1 Winter ________ after autumn. (come)

2 A dog ________. (bark)

3 You ________ tired. (look)

4 Everyone ________ mistakes. (make)

5 Ali ________ in a department store. (work)

6 Judy ________ English very well. (speak)

7 Tim’s knee ________. (hurt)

8 Monkeys ________ bananas. (like)

9 Kate always ________ sandwiches for lunch. (eat)

10 He ________ very fast. (type)

TO BE IN SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE (Am, Is and Are)

The words am, is, are are also verbs, but they are not action words. They are the simple present tense of the verb be.

 Use am with the pronoun I,

 is with the pronouns he, she and it.

 Use are with the pronouns you, we and they.

Examples:

 I am Peter. I am not Paul.

 She is Miss Lee. She is a teacher.

 He is my father. He is a doctor.

 He is not a lawyer. You are a stranger.

 You are not my friend. We are in the same class, but we are not on the same team.

 They are good friends. They are not enemies.

 It is a donkey. It is not a horse.

 It is very hot today. It is not very comfortable.

Grammatical Aid

Here’s a table to help you remember how to use am, is and are:

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

Singular Plural First person I am we are I am not we are not Am I? Are we?

Second person you are you are you are not you arenot Are you? Are you?

Third person he is they are she is they are it is they are

Learn these short forms called contractions:

Forme pleine Forme contractee

I am a boy. I’m a boy.

they are they’re

you are you’re

we are we’re

he is he’s

she is she’s

it is it’s

am not aren’t (only in questions)

 is not isn’t

are not aren’t

NB: In questions, use aren’t as a contraction of am not. For example, you can say: I’m taller than you, aren’t I? But in a
statement you say: I’m not as old as you.

Uses the verb is with singular nouns and are with plural nouns.

Kenneth is a lawyer.

Rex is a clever dog.

A duck is a kind of bird.

The playground is full of people today.

My house is near the school.

These questions are too difficult.

The balloons are very colorful.

Those people are very busy.

Dad and Mom are in the kitchen.

The camel is a desert animal.

Lambs are baby sheep.

Vegetables and fruit are healthy foods.

 THERE IS /THERE ARE

Use is and are with the word there to say what you can see and hear.

 Learn this contraction: there is = there’s

There is a fence around the school.

There are a lot of books in the library.

There are two guards at the gate.

Is there any food in the fridge?

Are there any apples left on the tree?

How much rice is there? There are a few sharks in the bay.

There are enough candies for everyone, aren’t there?

There are two pigeons on the roof.

There is a castle on the hill.

There are some clouds in the sky.

There is a wasps’ nest in the tree.

Exercise 1 Fill in the blanks with am, is or are.

1 They ________ my good friends.

2 He ________ a soldier.

3 You ________ taller than Charlie.

4 She ________ ill.

5 We ________ very hungry.

6 It ________ a sunny day.

7 I ________ angry with Joe.

 8 You ________ all welcome to my house.

Exercise 2 Fill in the blanks with is or are.

1. John’s dog ________ very friendly.

2. Robert ________ ten years old.

3. These flowers ________ very pretty.

4. The two schools ________ close to each other.

5. Math ________ not a very difficult subject.

6. _______ dinner ready?

7 This computer ________ very easy to use.

8 All the windows ________ open.

9 Sue and Jane ________ neighbors.

10 His hair ________ curly.

Exercise 3 Fill in the blanks with There is or thereare.

1 ______________ a fence around the barn.

2 ______________ trees along the road.

3 ______________ a rainbow in the sky.

4 ______________ lots of parks in our town.

5 ______________ nothing in the cupboard.

6 ______________ not many bedrooms in the new house.

7 ______________ lots of mistakes on your test paper.

8 ______________ a wasps’ nest in the tree.

9 ______________ ants in the cookies.

10 ______________ many different kinds of animals in the zoo.

11 ______________ plenty of food on the table.

12 ______________ a church on the hilltop.

13 ______________ no more water in the pool.

14 ______________ too many people on the beach.

15 ______________ only a few customers in the shop.

THE PRESENT PROGRESSIVE TENSE

When do you use the present progressive tense?

 To talk about actions in the present, or things that are still going on or happening now.

Examples:

 I’m playing chess with my friend.

 She’s riding a horse.

 He’s taking a walk in the park.

 The man’s counting the money.

 They are practicing tai chi

 We’re rushing to the airport to meet

 Mr. Smith. They are still sleeping.

 They are swimming in the sea.

 What are they doing? What’s happening?

  Why aren’t you doing your homework?

 Aren’t I sitting up straight?

 I am writing a letter.

 Mom is knitting a sweater for Sally.

FORMATION OF SENTENCES

Form the present progressive tense like this:

AFFIRMATIVE FORM NEGATIVE FORM INTERROGATIVE FORM

Subject + am + present participle + Subject + am + not + present participle + Am + Subject + present participle +
complement complement complement?

Subject + is + v-ing + C Subject + is + not + v-ing+ C Is + Subject + v-ing + C?

Subject +are + v-ing + C Subject + are + not+ v-ing + C Are + Subject + v-ing + C?

Note: The present participle is the form of a verb ending with -ing.

Example: show + ing ----- showing

come + ing ----- coming

 You have to double the last letter of some verbs before you add -ing. Example: get + ing = getting

rob + ing = robbing

nod + ing = nodding

stop + ing = stopping

jog + ing = jogging

swim + ing = swimming

Notice:the verbs above are all short verbs of just one syllable. They all end with a consonant such as b, d, g, m, p, tand have
only one vowel before theconsonant.

 If a verb ends in e, you usually have to drop the ebefore you add -ing. Example: Chase + ing = chasing

Cycle + ing = cycling

Drive + ing = driving

Smile + ing = smiling

 Use the present progressive tense to talk about things you have planned to do, or things that are going to happen in the
future. To form the present progressive tense, use am, is and are as helping verbs or auxiliary verbs.

Examples: We are going camping tomorrow.

I’m starting piano lessons soon.

Jim’s parents are taking him to Texas next week.

My favorite TV program is starting in a minute.

All our friends are coming. Who’s bringing salad for the barbecue?

Exercise 1 Write the present participle of these verbs on the blanks.

1 come ________2 go ____________ 3 run _________ 4 ask ____________ 5 sleep ______6 catch _______7 fall
__________8 write _____________ 9 jump _______10 drop ________11 climb _________12 bring ___________

Exercise 2 Fill in the blanks with the present progressive tense of the verbs in parentheses.

1 They ________________ the roller-coaster ride. (enjoy)

2 Jill ________________ her hair. (wash)

3 It ________________ dark. (get)

4 The dentist ________________ Sue’s teeth. (examine)

5 The train ________________ through the tunnel. (pass)

 6 The men _______________ very hard in the sun. (work)

7 What _________ the theater _________ today? (show)

8 We ________________ a snowman. (make)

9 The plane ________________ above the clouds. (fly)

HAVE AND HAS

The verbs have and has are used to say what people own or possess. They are also used to talk about things that people do or
get, such as illnesses. These words are the simple present tenses of the verb have.

He has a lot of stamps.

She has long hair.

Our house has large windows.

I have a younger brother.

Monkeys have long tails.

Grammatical Aid

 Use has (he, she, it), and with singular nouns.

 Use have with (I, you, we, they), and with plural nouns.

Here is a table to help you remember the rules:

Subjects AFFIRMATIVE FORM NEGATIVE FORM INTERROGATIVE FORM

I Have Have not Have I?

YOU Have Have not Have you?

HE, SHE,IT Has Has not Has she?

WE,THEY Have Have not Have we/have they?

 Learn these contractions:

 I have = I’ve

 you Have = you’ve

 He has = he’s

 She has = she’s

 It has = it’s

 We have = we’ve

 they have = they’ve

 have not = haven’t

 has not = hasn’t

Exercise 1 Fill in the blanks with have or has.

1. We ________ a new science teacher.

2. He ________ a bad temper.

3. I often ________ fruit for dessert.

4. You ________ a good chance of winning the prize.

5. She always ________ oatmeal for breakfast.

6. The broom ________ a blue handle.

7. They never ________ any problem with tests.

Exercise 2 Fill in the blanks with have or has.

1. The girls ________ golden hair.

2. An insect ________ six legs.

3. Dad ________ his cell phone with him.

4. The children ________ a new swing set.

5. Many poor people ________ nothing to eat.

6. Chicago ________ a very big airport.

7. A triangle ________ three sides.

8. The man ________ two daughters.

9. James ________ a toothache.

10. All the passengers ________ their tickets.

The Present Perfect Tense

Use the present perfect tense to talk about happenings in the past that explain or affect the present. The verbs have and
has are used as “helping” or auxiliary verbs to form the present perfect tense.

FORMATION OF SENTENCES

To form the present perfect tense join haveor has to the past participle of the verb: have + past participle / has +
past participle

The past participle of a regular verb usually ends in -ed, just like the simple past tense. But the past participles of irregular
verbs don’t follow this rule.

Kim’s cut her finger.

Sam has scored two goals.

I’ve just finished my shower.

Uncle Tom has lost his wallet.

John has gone out.

The Lees have moved to Ohio.

It has not rained for months.

Have you found your keys yet?

Tim has made two spelling mistakes.

They have opened a new shop.

It’s been very wet today.

Exercise 1 Write the past participle of these verbs on the blanks.

1 break _______________ 6 buy _______________

2 drink _______________ 7 find _______________

3 cut _______________ 8 draw _______________

4 do _______________ 9 hear _______________

5 sing _______________ 10 know _______________

Exercise 2 Fill in the blanks with the present perfect tense of the verbs in parentheses.

1 Dad ______________ his car key. (lose)

2 All the guests ______________. (arrive)

3 Tony ______________ a goal. (score)

4 Peter _____________ in the tent several times. (sleep)

5 It ____________ not ____________ for two months. (rain)

6 Some prisoners ______________ from the prison. (escape)

7 The plane ______________ at the airport. (land)

8 John ______________ a puppet. (make)

9 Dad and I ______________ a big fish. (catch)