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Present Simple, Rules

The document discusses the simple present tense in English. It describes how the simple present is used to talk about repeated or habitual actions, things that are generally true, and scheduled events. It provides rules for forming simple present sentences, including using the infinitive verb form for all subjects except third-person singular, which takes -s. Examples are given of affirmative, negative, and interrogative sentences.

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337 views

Present Simple, Rules

The document discusses the simple present tense in English. It describes how the simple present is used to talk about repeated or habitual actions, things that are generally true, and scheduled events. It provides rules for forming simple present sentences, including using the infinitive verb form for all subjects except third-person singular, which takes -s. Examples are given of affirmative, negative, and interrogative sentences.

Uploaded by

DraganaNedeljkovic
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Simple Present Diagram, Form, Use

We use the Simple Present when we talk about something which happens repeatedly.

We use the Simple Present to describe a series of actions in the present.

Form
We use the infinitive of the verb in all persons (I, you, we, they) but 3rd person Singular. In the 3rd person Singular (he, she, it - or a name) we put an s or -es at the end of the infinitive. All persons infinitive 3rd person Singular (he, she, it) infinitive + -s/es

Affirmative sentences:
I/we/you/they play football. He/she/it plays football. NOTE: he, she, it - Do not forget the -s.

Negative sentences:
We use the auxiliary do. I/we/you/they do not play football. He/she/it does not play football. NOTE: We often use short forms in negative sentences in the Simple Present: I/we/you/they don't play football. He/she/it doesn't play football.

Questions:
Do I/we/you/they play football? Does he/she/it play football? Where do I/we/you/they play football? When does he/she/it play football?

Long forms and short forms in the Simple Present


We often use short forms of the auxiliaries. The Simple Present is formed with a full verb. Short forms are only used in negative phrases. affirmative long form I, we, you, they: I play he, she, it: he plays short form -

negative (do not) long form I, we, you, they: I do not play he, she, it: he does not play short form I, we, you, they: I don't play he, she, it: he doesn't play

Spelling
Be careful with some words when using the 3rd person singular. 1) verbs ending in s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -o and -y preceded by a consonant We add -es to the infinitive. Examples: I watch - he watches I pass - he passes I go - he goes I do - he does I try he tries NOTE: I buy he buys verbs ending in 'y' preceded by a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) take only -s.

Simple Present - Signal words


These words tell you what tense you have to use. For the Simple Present these are adverbs of frequency: always often usually sometimes seldom never Other phrases of time can occur, like: every day every week every year on Mondays after school once a month four times a year

Special verbs in the Simple Present


1) have as a full verb affirmative sentence I, we, you, they: I have a book. he, she, it: He has a book. He does not have a book. Does he have a book? I do not have a book. Do I have a book? negative sentence question

2) be as a full verb affirmative sentence I am from Britain. he, she, it: He is from Britain. we, you, they: We are from Britain. We are not from Britain. Are we from Britain? He is not from Britain. Is he from Britain? negative sentence I am not from Britain. question Am I from Britain?

We often use the short forms with this verb. 3) do as a full verb

affirmative sentence I, we, you, they: I do my homework. he, she, it: He does his homework.

negative sentence

question

I do not do my homework.

Do I do my homework?

He does not do his homework.

Does he do his homework?

4) modal auxiliaries can, could, may, must, need, will etc. affirmative sentence negative sentence question

every time regardless the subject (I, he, she, it, we, you, they): I can play tennis. I cannot play tennis. Can I play tennis?

NOTE: We can substitute don't (can't) for do not (cannot). Modals have the same form every time regardless the subject. We do not add an -s to the infinitive.

Simple Present - Use


The Simple Present is frequently used in English. It is also called Present Simple. Have a look at the following examples: 1) repeated actions

(every day, always, often, sometimes or never)

My friend often draws nice posters. I never drink milk.

2) things in general The sun rises in the East.

3) fixed arrangements, scheduled events (e.g. timetable) The plane flies to London every Monday.

4) actions in the present - one follows after the other (first - then, after then) First I get up, then I have breakfast.

5) after special verbs,

which are normally not used with the Present Continuous (These verbs express states, possessions, feelings etc.) be, believe, belong, hate, hear, like, love, mean, prefer, remain, realize, see, seem, smell, think, understand, want, wish

I understand English. He doesn't like fish.

Examples
Affirmative sentences: I read books. We sing pop songs. They play handball. My brother reads books. She sings pop songs. John plays handball.

Negative sentences: You must not negate a full verb in English. Always use the auxiliary do for negations. I I don't like like computers. computers at all.

My friend My mum doesn't

likes like

computers. computers at all.

Questions: Use the auxiliary do. Do you play football? Does he play football?

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