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Present Simple

The document provides information on the present simple tense in English. It discusses: 1) Forming the present simple with regular verbs and the third person singular using "s". 2) Forming present simple questions using "do" and "does". 3) Forming present simple negatives using "don't" and "doesn't". 4) Uses of the present simple including habitual actions and general truths.

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26 views

Present Simple

The document provides information on the present simple tense in English. It discusses: 1) Forming the present simple with regular verbs and the third person singular using "s". 2) Forming present simple questions using "do" and "does". 3) Forming present simple negatives using "don't" and "doesn't". 4) Uses of the present simple including habitual actions and general truths.

Uploaded by

Maju Toledo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Present simple

The present tense is the base form of the verb:

I work in London.

But with the third person singular (he / she / it), we add an –s:

She works in London.

Present simple questions


Look at these questions:

Do you play the piano?


Where do you live?
Does Jack play football?
Where does he come from?
Do Rita and Angela live in Manchester?
Where do they work?

We use do and does to make questions with the present simple. We


use does for the third person singular (she / he / it) and do for the
others.

We use do and does with question words like where, what and when:

Where do Angela and Rita live?


What does Angela do?
When does Rita usually get up?
But questions with who often don’t use do or does:

Who lives in London?


Who plays football at the weekend?
Who works at Liverpool City Hospital?

Here are some useful questions. Try to remember them:

Where do you come What work do you


from? do?
Do you come from …? Do you like …?
Where do you live? Do you know …?
Do you live in ...?

1
Present simple negatives
Look at these sentences:
I like tennis but I don’t like football. (don’t = do not)
I don’t live in London now.
I don’t play the piano but I play the guitar.
They don’t work at the weekend.
John doesn’t live in Manchester. (doesn’t = does not)
Angela doesn’t drive to work. She goes by bus.
We use do and does to make negatives with the present simple. We
use doesn’t for the third person singular (she / he / it) and don’t for
the others.

Present simple and present time


We use the present simple to talk about:

 something that is true in the present:

I’m nineteen years old.


I’m a student.
He lives in London.

 something that happens regularly in the present:

I play football every weekend.

 something that is always true:

The human body contains 206 bones.


Light travels at almost 300,000 kilometres per second.

We often use adverbs of


frequency like sometimes, always and never with the present
simple:
I sometimes go to the cinema.
She never plays football.
Here are some useful sentences. Complete them so they are true for
you and try to remember them:

My name is … . I’m a(n) … .


I’m … years I … at the
old. weekend.

2
I come from
I often … .
….
I never … .
I live in … .

Complete these sentences so they are true for a friend and try to
remember them:

His/Her name is … . She’s/He’s a(n) … .


She’s/He’s … years old. She/He … at the
She/He comes from weekend.
…. She/He often … .
She/He lives in … . She/He never … .

Present continuous
Level: beginner

The present continuous is made from the present tense of the


verb be and the –ing form of a verb:

workin
I am
g

You are playing

He is talking

She is living

It is eating

3
We are staying

They ar sleepin
e g

We use the present continuous to talk about:

 activities at the moment of speaking:

I’m just leaving work. I’ll be home in an hour.


Please be quiet. The children are sleeping.

 future plans or arrangements:


Mary is going to a new school next term.
What are you doing next week?

Present continuous questions


We make questions by putting am, is or are in front of the subject:
Are you listening?
Are they coming to your party?
When is she going home?
What am I doing here?

Present continuous negatives


We make negatives by putting not (or n’t) after am, is or are:
I’m not doing that.
You aren’t listening. (or You’re not listening.)
They aren’t coming to the party. (or They’re not coming to the
party.)
She isn’t going home until Monday. (or She’s not going home until
Monday.)

Stative verbs
We do not normally use the continuous with stative verbs. Stative
verbs include:

4
 verbs of thinking and feeling:

believ love recognise understan


e hate remember d
dislike prefer suppose want
know realis think (= wish
like e believe)

 verbs of the senses:

appea look smell tast


r see soun e
feel m d

 others:

agre belong nee own


e disagre d posses
be e owe s

We normally use the simple instead:


I understand you. (NOT I am not understanding you.)
This cake tastes wonderful. (NOT This cake is tasting wonderful.)
Level: intermediate
We also use the present continuous to talk about:

 something which is happening before and after a specific time:


At eight o’clock we are usually having breakfast.
When I get home the children are doing their homework.

 something which we think is temporary:


Michael is at university. He’s studying history.
I’m working in London for the next two weeks.

 something which is new and contrasts with a previous state:

5
These days most people are using email instead of writing letters.
What sort of clothes are teenagers wearing nowadays?
What sort of music are they listening to?

 something which is changing, growing or developing:


The children are growing up quickly.
The climate is changing rapidly.
Your English is improving.

 something which happens again and again:


It’s always raining in London.
They are always arguing.
George is great. He’s always laughing.
Note that we normally use always with this use.
We can use the present continuous to talk about the past when we
are:

 telling a story:

The other day I’m just walking down the street when suddenly this
man comes up to me and asks me to lend him some money. Well
he’s carrying a big stick and he looks a bit dangerous, so I’m
wondering what to do …

 summarising a book, film or play:

Harry Potter is a pupil at Hogwarts school. One day when he is


playingQuidditch he sees a strange object in the sky. He wonders
what is happening…

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