Present Simple

Diego Arenas

English teacher

The present simple tense is used to describe usual actions that often happen and it’s not an action that is happening now.

We use the present simple to talk about facts, routines, habits, customs and permanent situations.

Example: I play football on Tuesdays. Routine.

I brush my teeth after lunch. Habit.

The Earth is a planet. Fact.

Men wear skirts in Scotland. Custom

I study at school. Permanent situation.

We conjugate the present simple according to the verbs. In this presentation we learn the present simple with other verbs, different from the verb To Be.

Every tense has 3 forms:

Affirmative , Negative

and Interrogative.

I work

You work

She works

He works

It works

They work

We work

Notice that in the 3rd person singular the verb takes an –S ending.

When the verb ends in –S, -SH,

-CH, -O, -X;

We add an –es ending.

Example Fish = Fishes

Watch = Watches, Fix = Fixes.

When the verb ends in consonant+ Y, we change Y for I and we add –es.

Try = Tries, Study = Studies

When the verb ends in vowel + y, we only add –s.

Play = Plays Stay = Stays

Affirmative Form

Negative formI don’t study

You don’t study

He doesn’t study

She doesn’t study

It doesn’t study

They don’t study

We don’t study

To form the negative we add the words don’t ( do not) or doesn’t ( does not) and the verb (study) does not change.

Correct: He doesn’t play.

Incorrect: He doesn’t plays.

Tip: The verb never changes when we use and auxiliary verb for example DO or DOES, it remains in its base form

Interrogative formYes – No Questions

Do or Does + Subject + Verb + Complement+?

Do you play tennis?

Does she study English?

Do they have lunch at 3 o’ clock?

Does it work?

And we can use a short answer

Does he listen to music everyday? Yes, he does. No, he doen’t

Do you work? Yes, I do No, I don’t. I just study.

Tip: If the answer is negative, we should provide the reason.

Wh- questionsWe just add the questions words: Where, When, Why, What time, What, etc.

What do you do?

Where do you work?

What time do you work?

In this case we provide a complete answer.

How much do they cost? I don’t know.

What time do you work? I work at 10 o’clock.

Where do you live? I live in Chile.

ExercisesDo you study? _________________________.

Where do you study? ____________________.

Does she like soccer? ____________________.

Why does she like soccer? _________________.

Lisa ______ (live) in Chile. She _________(like) sports and she always ______ (go) to the gym with her parents. They _________ (shop) on weekends. Her father _________(buy) the newspaper sometimes and her mother only ________ (cook) on Sundays. Her brother _________(not work)

he ________ (study) at school.

Enjoy!!