English Grammar Exercise

Name:__________________________ Class:__________ Date:___________________________

Simple present tense(to be)
We use the simple present tense to talk about:
(1) things that are true now, e.g. My name is Susie. I am twelve years old.
(2) how often we do things, e.g. Susie and Betty go shopping every Saturday morning. They usually buy a lot
of things.
(3) Things that are always true, e.g. Birds have two wings. They fly very high.

We form positive and negative statements in the simple present tense with the verb ‘to be’ (is/am/are)like this.
verb ‘to be’
Subject
Positive (+) Negative (-)
I am (‘m) am not (‘m not)
e.g. I am twelve years old. e.g. I am not twelve years old.

We
You (singular)
are (‘re) are not (aren’t)
You(plural)
They
e.g. We are very good students. e.g We are not very good students.
You are a handsome boy. You are not a handsome boy.
You are my friends. You are not my friends.

He
She is (‘s) is not (isn’t)
It
e.g. He is the class monitor. e.g. He is not the class monitor
She is my sister. She is not my sister.
It is a lovely dog. It is not a lovely dog.

Exercise 1
Fill in these sentences using the correct form of the verb ‘to be’ and the words in the brackets.
Then write the words in the blanks.

1. I_____________ happy.(not) 2. He _________ sad.

3. You _____________ Japanese.(not) 4. We __________ Chinese.
5. They ____________ busy.(not) 6. Tigers _________big cats.
7. Cheung Chau __________ in Penang.(not) 8. His name ______ Billy..
9. We _______ good friends. 10. She ______ my mother.
11. You ______ the monitor. 12. I ______ thirteen years old.
13. He ______ 2 years old.(not) 14. They ______ good football players.(not)
 Simple present tense(verbs)

With other verbs, we usually form positive and negative statements in the simple present tense like this

Subject Subject
I/We/You/You/They He/She/It
I eat ice-cream. He eats ice-cream.
You eat ice-cream. She eats ice-cream.
Positive (+) We eat ice-cream. It eats ice-cream.
They eat ice-cream.

I don’t eat ice-cream. He does not eat ice-cream.

You don’t eat ice-cream. She does not eat ice-cream.
Negative(-) We don’t eat ice-cream. It does not eat ice-cream.
They don’t eat ice-cream.

Exercise 2
Say these sentences using the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Then write the words in the
blanks.

(1) Susie ______________ shopping in Causeway Bay.(love)

(2) Causeway Bay ____________ very busy.(be)
(3) Betty _______________________ early.(not get up)
(4) I ______________________ fruit.(not like)
(5) School always _____________ at eight o’clock in the morning.(start)
(6) We usually _________________ at school at half past seven.(arrive)
(7) The dog ________________ me. (like)
(8) Henry ___________ a nice school bag.(have)
(9) She ________________ television every night. (not watch)
(10) I ____________________ that dress.(not like)
 Simple present tense(verbs)
With most verbs, we add –s to the verb when it is used with the third person singular. With other verbs, we
change the verb in different ways:
Verbs you should…
With most verbs +s
e.g. run →runs
sleep →sleeps

Ending in a consonant + y - y + ies

e.g. Fly →flies
carry →carries

Go/ Do +es

Ending in ss, x, sh, ch + es

e.g. Kiss →kisses
Fax →faxes
Wash →washes
switch →switches

Exercise 3
Say these sentences using the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Then write the words in the
blanks.

1. Sam __________(wash)his face every day.

2. Susie ___________(kiss)Mum every night.
3. Dad often _____________(carry)Susie’s books.
4. Nick ___________(cook) dinner for his family every evening.
5. He ____________ (brush)his hair every morning.
6. May often ____________ (read)books.
7. Kitty ____________ (wash) the dishes every night.
8. My bird __________(fly) beautifully.
9. The dog __________(like) eating bones.
10.My baby sister ___________(cry) every night.
11.Jenny always ___________(do) her homework on time.
12.Vincent _____________(love) Flora.
13.Ron_________(take) his dog for a walk every afternoon.
14.Mable usually___________(buy) vegetables at the market.
15.The lion __________(run) very fast.
 Simple present tense(to have)
We form positive and negative statements in the simple present tense with the verb ‘to have’ like this:
Positive (+) Negative(-)

I I
You(singular) You(singular)
You(plural) have a good book. You(plural) do not (don’t) have a good book.
We We
They They

He He
She has a good book. She does not(doesn’t) have a good book.
It It

Exercise 4
Say these sentences using the correct form of the verb ‘to be’ or ‘to have’ and the word in
brackets. Then write the words in the blanks.

1. He ___________(have/not) any brothers.

2. Betty _____________(have) one sister.
3. Yuki ______________(have/not) a very nice dress.
4. The cat _____________(have) a very good place to live at.
5. They ___________(have/not) a very big house.
6. We _______________(have) a very kind class teacher.
7. Peter and Jason _____________(have) a powerful computer.
8. I __________(have) 5 members in my family.
9. She __________(have/not) long hair.
10.He ___________(have) white teeth.
11.Sally ___________(have) 6 members in her family. She _____________(have) 3 sisters but
she __________(have/not) any brothers. Sally __________(have) short hair but all her
sisters ___________(have) long and straight hair. Sally and her sisters ___________(have)
a pet cat called Dolly.

Simple present tense (Questions 1)

With the verb ‘to be’, we use ‘Am’/‘Are’/‘Is’ to ask a question in the simple present tense. The
answer is always ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

Exercise 5
Say these questions and answers using the correct form of the verb ‘to be’. Then write the
words in the blanks.

1. ___________ he early? Yes, he is.

2. ___________ I late? No, you aren’t.
3. ___________ you sick? No, I’m not.
4. ___________ they friends? Yes, they are.
5. ___________ she at school? No, she isn’t.
6. ___________ we in the hall? No, you aren’t/we aren’t.
7. ___________ I in Class 1S? Yes, you are.
8. ___________she your friend? Yes, she is.
9. ___________they police? No, they aren’t.
10.__________we good friends? Yes, we are.

Simple present tense (Questions 2)

We can also use ‘Do’/‘Does’ to ask a question in the simple present tense with other verbs. The
answers is always ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.
Exercise 6
Say these questions and answers using the correct form of the verb ‘to do’. Then write the
words in the blanks.

1. ________ you like English? Yes, I do/we do.

2. _________Bobby like noodles? No, he doesn’t.
3. _________ we have a test now? Yes, you do/we do.
4. __________ they have a test this morning? No, they don’t.
5. __________ Susie like ice cream? Yes, she does.
6.___________Tommy walk to school? Yes, he does.
7.___________you understand? Yes, I do.
8. ___________I read English books? No, you don’t.
9. ___________you remember me? Yes, I do.
10. ___________we have to stay after school? No, you don’t.