PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE

PRESENT USES:
1: Similarly, we need to use this tense for a situation that we think is more or less
permanent.
 Where do you live?
 She works in a bank.
 I don't like mushrooms.

2: The next use is for habits or things that we do regularly. We often use
adverbs of frequency (such as ”often”, ”always” and ”sometimes”) in this case, as well
as expressions like ”every Sunday” or ”twice a month”.
 Do you smoke?
 I play tennis every Tuesday.
 I don't travel very often.

3: We use the present simple when something is generally or always true.

 People need food.
 It snows in winter here.
 Two and two make four.

4: We can also use the present simple for short actions that are happening
now. The actions are so short that they are finished almost as soon as you've said the
sentence. This is often used with sports commentary.
 He takes the ball, he runs down the wing, and he scores!

HOW DO WE FORM THE PRESENT SIMPLE?

I. Affirmative sentences: We use the infinitive of the verb. In the 3 rd person

singular (he/ she/ it/ name) we put an ”-s” to the end of the infinitive.
I play with a ball.

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You play with a ball.
He plays with a ball.
She plays with a ball.
It plays with a ball.
We play with a ball.
You play with a ball.
They play with a ball.

Note the changes in the spelling:

 work » works
 live » lives
 stay » stays
 try » tries (a final -y changes to -ie- after a consonant)
 wash » washes; kiss » kisses; watch » watches; box » boxes (we add -es after -
sh, -s, -ch and -x)
 go » goes (we add -es)
 do » does (we add -es)
 have » has

The verb ”to be”:

I am not- I’m not
You are not- You aren’t
He/ She/ It is not- isn’t
We are
You are
They are

II. Negative sentences: We use the auxiliary ”does” for 3rd person singular
and ”do” for all the other persons, and we add „not”. The verb won’t receive
an ”-s” anymore.
I do not play with a ball.- don’t
You do not play with a ball.

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 He does not play with a ball.- doesn’t
She does not play with a ball.
It does not play with a ball.
We do not play with a ball.
You do not play with a ball.
They do not play with a ball.

!!! We often use short/ contracted forms of auxiliaries in spoken English. The
Present Simple is formed with a main verb, sp short/ contracted forms are only used
with negative forms.

III. Interrogative sentences: We form the interrogative form by adding

the auxiliaries ”do” and ”does”.
Do you read books?, Yes, I do/ No, I don’t
Does Peter play football?, Yes, he does/ No, he doesn’t

What do you play on your computer?

When does your mother go to work?
Where do you meet you friends?

WHAT ARE THE SIGNAL WORDS FOR THE PRESENT

SIMPLE?
These words tell you what tense you have to use. For the Present Simple these are
adverbs of frequency that can be used it:
 Always
 Often
 Usually
 Sometimes
 Seldom
 Never
or with other phrases of time:
 Every day
 Every week

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 Every year
 On Mondays
 After school

EXERCISES

I. Put the correct form of the verb:

1. I ...............am................. (be) in a cafe now.
2. ................Does she play................ (she/ play) tennis every week?
3. They .............goes................... (go) to the cinema every Wednesday.
4. .........Does...she is.................... (she/ be) a singer? Is she
5. You .............find................... (find) the weather here cold.
6. .......Do........they are................. (they/ be) on the bus? Are they
7. Lucy ..........rides...................... (ride) her bicycle to work.
8. Why ........does...he is..................... (he/ be) in France? Is he
9. I ...........don’t..................... (not/ play) the piano very often.
10. It .............doesn’t is................... (not/ be) cold today. Is not
11. We ....................are............ (be) from Portugal.
12. ...........Do ..................... (we/ make) too much noise at night?
13. Where ..........you are...................... (you/ be)? Are you
14. ...........It is..................... (it/ be) foggy today? Is it
15. We ..............don’t are.................. (not/ be) late. Are not
16. They ..........don’t...................... (not/ like) animals
17. Where ............you are.................... (you/ be)? Are you
18. He .............doesn’t is................... (not/ be) an accountant. Is not
19. ..........Does...................... (the dog/ eat) chicken?
20.She ...........is..................... (be) my sister.

II. Make present simple yes/ no questions.

1. You/ like cake? Do you like cake?/ Don’t you like cake?
2. She/ live in London? Does she live in London/ Doesn’t she live in London

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3. They/ hate studying? Do they hate studying?/ Don’t they hate studying ?
4. You/ drink tea every morning? Do you drink tea every morning?/ Don’t you
drink tea every morning?
5. You/ smoke? Do you smoke?/ Don’t you smoke?
6. He/ play tennis on Saturdays? Does he play tennis on Saturdays? Doesn’t he
play tennis on Saturday?
7. You/ go shopping at the weekend? Do you go shopping at the weekend?/
Don’t you go shopping at the weekend?
8. You/ drink alcohol? Do you drink alcohol? Don’t you drink alcohol?
9. She/ work in an office? Does she work in an office? / Doesn’t she work in an
office?
10. You/ meet your friends on Fridays? Do you meet your friend on Fridays?/
Don’t you meet your friend on Fridays?
11. They/ study French? Do they study French?/ Don’t they study French?
12. You/ read a lot? Do you read a lot?/ Don’t you read a lot?
13. John/ come from New Zealand? Does John come from New Zealand? /
Doesn’t John come from New Zealand?
14. They/ like pizza? Do they like pizza?/Don’t they like pizza?
15. We/ arrive at 9pm? Do we arrive at 9pm? Don’t we arrive at 9pm?
16. It/ snow here in winter? Does it snow here in winter?/ Doesn’t it snow here in
winter
17. Lucy/ study History? Does Lucy study History? Doesn’t Lucy study History?
18. I/ work as a teacher? Do I work as a teacher?/ Don’t I work as a teacher?
19. He/ eat rice often? Does he eat rice often ? Doesn’t he eat rice often
20. You/ like coffee? Do you like coffee? Doesn’t you like coffee?

III. Make present simple ”wh” questions.

1. Where/ you/ go to school? Where do you go to school!
2. What/ you/ do? What do you do?
3. Where/ John/ come from? Where does John come from?
4. How long/ it/ take from London to Paris? How long does it take from London
to Paris?
5. How often/ she/ go to the cinema? How often does she go to the cinema?

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6. How many children/ you have? How many children do you have?
7. When/ you/ get up? When do you get up?
8. How often/ you/ study English? How often do you study English?
9. What time/ the film/ start? What time does the film start?
10. Where/ you/ play tennis? Where do you play tennis?
11. What sport/ Lucy/ like? What sport does Lucy like?
12. How/ they/ get to work? How do they get to work?
13. How often/ I/ come here? How often do I come here?
14. Where/ she/ live? Where does she live?
15. Why/ you/ eat so much chocolate? Why do you eat so much chocolate?
16. What/ this machine/ do? What does this machine do?
17. Who/ she/ meet on Saturdays? Who does she meet on Saturdays?
18. How many brothers/ she/ have? How many brothers does she have?
19. How much/ this/ cost? How much does this cost?
20. Where/ you/ eat lunch? Where do you eat lunch?

IV. Make the present simple. Choose positive, negative or

question.
1. He/ drive to work every day He drives to work every day
2. I/ not/ think you’re right I do not think you’re right
3. We/ have enough time? Do we have enough time?
4. I/ eat cereal in the morning I eat cereal in the morning
5. They/ write e-mails every day? Do they write e-mails every day?
6. You/ watch a lot of TV. You watch a lot of TV
7. He/ not/ read the newspaper He does not read the newspaper
8. She/ dance often? Does she dance often?
9. Where/ I/ come on Mondays? Where do I come on Mondays?
10. What/ you/ do at weekend? What do you do at weekend?
11. You/ not/ drink much tea. You do not drink much tea
12. How/ he/ travel to work? How does he travel to work?
13. They/ not/ like vegetables They do not like vegetables
14. She/ catch a cold every winter She catches a cold every winter

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15. I/ go out often? Do I go out often
16. You/ speak English? Do you speak English
17. We/ take the bus often We take the bus often
18. She/ not/ walk to school She does not walk to school
19. What/ you/ buy in the supermarket? What do you buy in the supermarket?
20. How/ he/ carry such a heavy bag? How does he carry such a heavy bag?

V. Tick the correct sentences. Change the incorrect sentences.

1. Rachel get up at 7 o’clock. Gets up
2. I starts work at half past seven. I start works at half past seven.
3. Do you work in this town? Do you works
4. We go to bed before midnight. We goes to bed
5. What time does he finishes work?
6. What time do Andy get up? What time does Andy…
7. I have lunch in a restaurant in the week.
8. John haves dinner in a cafe on Saturdays. John have has dinner …
9. What time leaves Linda home? What time does Linda leave home?
10. Susan go to bed late. Susan goes
11. What do you usually have for breakfast?
12. I sleep eight hours every day.
13. Does John studiesy English?
14. Lucy and Linda work for GE Money Bank. Lucy and Linda works….

VI. Use the negative form of the verbs to complete the sentences.
Use short forms (don't, isn't, can't, ...).
Example: We get up early. We don't get up early.
1. He has a sister.
He doesn’t have............................
2. They know his address.
They ..don’t know his...........................
3. She loves strawberry milkshake.
She ..doesn’t love...........................
4. They live in New York.

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 They .don’t live............................
5. He can speak English.
He ....can’t speak.........................

6. Peter eats fruit every day.

Peter ...doesn’t eats..........................
7. We learn Spanish at school.
We ..don’t learn...........................
8. I like reading books.
I .don’t like............................
9. Francis likes his new teacher.
Francis doesn’t like ............................
10. Sue is a smart girl.
Sue ...isn’t a smart..........................
11. I can play the piano.
I ..........can’t play...................
12. They drink coffee.
They .....don’t drink........................
13. He meets his friends after school.
He ..doesn’t meets...........................
14. The boys are at home.
The boys .....aren’t ........................
15. My brother sings in a band.
My brother .....doesn’t sings........................

VII. Find and correct the mistakes below.

1. He go to bed very early. He goes
2. Does they live in Canada? Do they
3. I am usually cook dinner for my family. I usually cook
4. Are they have a meeting every week? Do they have..
5. She don’t like tennis. She doesn’t
6. Does John have enough money?
7. He know the answer. He knows
8. Robert playes baseball on the weekend. Robert plays …

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9. They have lots of free time.
10. Do they usually driving to work? Do they drive…?
11. Jenny is not work at a restaurant. Jenny doesn’t work
12. She worrys too much about the exams. She worries
13. My father wants to travels to Spain.
14. Why you study English? Why do you
15. He doesn’t drinks tea. He doesn’t drink…
16. They are start class in the morning. They start class

A. My name is Annie and this is what I normally do. I love to walk on the
mountain. During the week I wake up early and go for a small walk on the
mountain. I usually go with my father or my brother. We like to get some fresh air
before we start our day. We live in the country far away from the city. We think
that our country life is wonderful because we are away from the noise and
pollution of the city. We often walk for about one-half hour and then return to our
home. I always take my bus after our walk and at about 8:30 a.m. and arrive at
school at 9:00 a.m.. My father takes his car and goes to town to work. He works at
a veterinary clinic. He is a vet and loves to help animals. We have three dogs and
two cats.
VIII. Read the following texts and answer the questions.
On the weekend, we wake up early and go for a hike on the mountain. It is so
nice to smell the fresh air and see the wild animals. We stay there for about three
hours and bring our lunch with us. As you can see, my family loves nature.
Answer these questions:
1. What does Annie love to do? She loves to walk on the mountain
2. Who does she walk with? Her father or her brother
3. Where does she live? She lives in the country far away from the city.
4. How long does she walk? She walks for one-half hour.
5. What time does she arrive at school? She arrives at school at 9.00 a.m
6. Where does her father work? Her father works at a veterinary clinic
7. What do they do on the weekend? On the weekend they wake up early
and go for a hike on the mountain

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 Answer true or false:
1. Annie is a vet. False
2. Annies does not like the mountain. False
3. Annies lives in the city. False
4. Her father is a famer. False
5. They seldom walk on the mountain. False

B. Tom works at a bank. He is the manager. He starts work every day at 8:00 am. He
finishes work every day at 6:00 pm. He lives very close to the bank. He walks to work
every day. His brother and sister also work at the bank. But, they do not live close to
the bank. They drive cars to work. They start work at 9:00 am. In the bank, Tom is
the boss. He helps all the workers and tells them what to do. He likes his job. He is
also very good at his job. Many customers like Tom, and they say hello to him when
they come to the bank. Tom likes to talk to the customers and make them feel happy.
Tom really likes his job.
1. What time does Tom start work?
o 8:00 am <=
o 9.00 am
2. Does Tom drive a car to work?
o No <=
o Yes
3. Does Tom live close to the bank?
o No
o Yes <=
4. Does Tom talk to customers?
o Yes <=
o No
5. How does Tom feel about his job?
o Good <=
o Bad

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