Simple present of any other verb

As its name says, you can conjugate any other verb in the Simple Present Tense.
Just try to have in mind that both kinds of verbs belong to the same verb tense but they
are used to express different ideas.

Examples:

 I like bananas.
 You dance tango.
 We eat pizza.
 They play the piano.
 He washes the dishes.
 She listens to music.
 It (The dog) barks aloud

Positive Form Negative Form Questions

I like bananas. I don’t like bananas. Do I like bananas?

You dance tango. You don’t dance tango. Do you dance tango?

We eat pizza. We don’t eat pizza. Do we eat pizza?

They play the piano. They don’t play the piano. Do they play the piano?

He washes the dishes. He doesn’t wash the dishes. Does he wash the dishes?

She listens to music. She doesn’t listen to music. Does she listen to music?

It (The dog) barks It doesn’t bark aloud. Does it bark aloud?

aloud.
Uses of Simple Present

Repeated Actions

Simple Present is used to express that an action is repeated or usual. It can be a

hobby, daily event, schedule, etc. It can also express something a person forgot or
usually does not do.

Past Present Future

Scheduled Events in the Near Future

Past Present
* Future

You can use Simple Present to talk about events planned in the near future. This
is done when you talk about public transportation, but it can be used with other events
as well.

Examples:

 The train leaves tonight at 6 PM.

 The bus does not arrive at 11 AM, it arrives at 11 PM.

Adverb Placement

Adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc. are placed after the
subject.

Examples:

 You only eat pizza.

 Do you only eat pizza?
Pronunciation Key

If a word ends in the letter’s’ (e.g. plural noun or verb in the third person), there
are three ways to pronounce this’s’ - /S/, /Z/ and /IZ/. Similarly, any word which ends
in 'ed' (e.g. adjective or the past of a regular verb) may be pronounced/T/, /D/ or /ID/.

Type one: final sound /S/

In this kind of words, the final’s’ should be pronounced by pushing out some air
between the top of your tongue and your top teeth, without using the vocal chords (the
sound made by a snake or gas escaping from a pipe). This sound takes place in
voiceless sounds, which means in words that end in the following sounds:

Type two: final sound /Z/

This sound is formed in the same way as in the previous example, but you must
make a sound with your vocal chords (the sound made by a bee, or high-voltage
electricity). Type two sounds come after voiced sound such as in the following words:
Type three: final sound /IZ/

This sound is pronounced in the same way as the verb 'to be' in its third person
form (is). If a word ends in a consonant sound + 'y', the pronunciation of final 'y' is
/EE/ and in the plural, it has a type 3 sound, but there is no extra syllable e.g. 'copy'
/KO PEE/ (2 syllables), 'copies' /KO PIZ/ (also 2 syllables).
You have to add the extra sound
/IZ/, if the verb ends in:

ch, sh, z, s, x, g

Pronunciation

Classify the word according to the final sound

/s/ /z/ /iz/

Watches

Houses

Cars

Looks

Knives

Baths

Handkerchief
s

Boxes

Keys

Envelopes
 Boys

Wishes

Walks

Glasses

Studies

Works

Jobs

Spelling rules

The spelling for the verb in the third person differs depending on the ending of that
verb.

1. For verbs that end in -O, -CH, -SH, -SS, -X, or -Z we add -ES in the third person.

 go – goes
 catch – catches
 wash – washes
 kiss – kisses
 fix – fixes
 buzz – buzzes

2. For verbs that end in a consonant + Y, we remove the Y and add -IES.

 marry – marries
 study – studies
 carry – carries
 worry – worries

NOTE: For verbs that end in a vowel + Y, we just add -S.

 play – plays
 enjoy – enjoys
 say – says
Practice
Circle the word which contains a different sound.
a) Likes makes watches decides
b) dances washes plays catches
c) smokes words drinks eats
d) listens drives thinks wives

Circle the word which ends in /IZ/. Classify the other words in /s/ or /z/

a) Smokes words dances

b) Drinks likes washes
c) Drives finishes plays
d) Watches cooks speaks
e) Studies listens cooks

Practice

Write the “-ies” “-s” or “-es” in the verbs:

See Fly Dance Cut

Do Write Drink Say

Think Catch Wash Sit

Buy Go Live Give

Eat Study Fix Lay

Come Dream Break Teach

Practice

Complete the sentences using the verbs in simple present.

• I ________ (go) to the park with my girlfriend.

• We sometimes ________ (use) the computer in class.

• My friends ________ (study) Medicine.

• Classes ________ (finish) at nine o’clock.

• Peter _________ (not study) French.

• Adrian _________ (watch) the game on TV.

• Antonio _________ (play) the guitar.

• Karla _________ (not read) magazines.

• _________ you _________ (like) my new car?

• _________ she _________ (walk) to school?

• Pedro _________ (speak) Italian fluently.

• My dog _________ (bark) very loudly.

• _________ Sara _________ (read) the book in her bed?

• _________ babies _________ (sleep) during the day?

Practice

Organize the sentences below

1. (we / not / study much for the exam)

__________________________________________________________________

2. (they / think to get a new apartment)

__________________________________________________________________

3. (he / know how to cook?)

__________________________________________________________________

4. (why / I / have to feed the dog?)

__________________________________________________________________

5. (she / not / sleep late)

__________________________________________________________________
Practice

Complete using Simple Present.

1. (He / eat) _________________________________ lunch every day?

2. (He / come) _________________________________ to Hawaii often?

3. They (go) _________________________________ to a restaurant every

Saturday evening.

4. She (not / go) _________________________________ to the theater very

often.

5. You usually (arrive) _________________________________ late.

6. He normally (eat) _________________________________ breakfast at the

office.

7. (You / study) _________________________________ every night?

8. (They / work) _________________________________ late usually?

Practice

Write questions based on the answers given.

1.- ……………………………………………………………………?

My name is Steven.

2.- ……………………………………………………………………?

I’m from Colombia.

3.- ……………………………………………………………………?

My birthday is in April.

4.- ……………………………………………………………………?
I have two children.

5.- ……………………………………………………………………?

Daniela (the oldest) is 15 years old.

6.- ……………………………………………………………………?

Cristian is just four years old.

7.- ……………………………………………………………………?

My wife is an English teacher, too.

8.- ……………………………………………………………………?

I go to school by bus.

9.- ……………………………………………………………………?

It usually takes me twenty minutes to get to school.

10.- ………………………………………………………………….?

School starts at seven o’clock and finishes at three o’clock.

11.- ………………………………………………………………….?

My favorite food is pizza.

12.-……………………………………………………………………?

I always have lunch at home.

13.- ………………………………………………………………….?

I prepare my lessons at night.

14.- …………………………………………………………………….?

My daughter does her homework in the evening.

Practice

Make Simple Present tense ‘wh’ questions:

1. (where / you / go to work?)

__________________________________________________________________

2. (what / you / do?)

__________________________________________________________________

3. (where / John / come from?)

__________________________________________________________________

4. (how long / it / take from U.S.A to Japan?)

__________________________________________________________________

5. (how often / she / go to the doctor?)

__________________________________________________________________
Practice
SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE (Verbs with (*) can be repeated)

Want – Meet – Listen – Boil – Drink - Cost* - Speak – Need – Love – Teach – Ring - Go* -

Have - Close* - Wash – Open – Eat - Smoke

1. She _____________________ four languages.

2. Jane is a teacher. She_________________________ French.

3. When the kettle __________________, will you make some coffee?

4. I always ____________________ the window of my room at night because it is

snowing.

5. Those shoes __________________________ too much.

6. The food and transportation in Italy are expensive. It ___________________ a lot to

live there.

7. His job is great because he ______________________ so many different people and

cultures.

8. He always _____________________________ his bike on Mondays.

9. My watch is broken and it __________________________ to be fixed again.

10. I ___________________ to watch movies with my family.

11. I _______________________ to the cinema with my friend at least once a week.

12. They never ______________________________ tea in the morning.

13. We both ________________________________ to the radio in the morning.

14. Kathy _____________________________ a big wedding with a white dress.

15. George __________________ too much so he will get fat if he doesn’t get on a diet.

16. The earth ________________________ around the sun, doesn't it?

17. The shops in England ______________________ at 9:00 in the morning.

18. The post office ________________________________ at 5:30 pm.

19. Jackie _________________________________ two children now.

20. Mr. Smith _________________ too much. He always has a cigarette in his mouth.

21. When the phone _____________________________, please answer it.

Practice

Read the text and Underline the mistakes. Then write the mistake number
and correct them.

Does you have a fast car? Brian has a fast car and he drive very fast. He never

gets a ticket because his car is too fast for the police. They chases him, but they can't

catch him, Brian always escapes from the police. The police wants to catch him, but

their cars are too slow. Brian like to drive over 100 mph. When he sees the police, he

waves to the police. They turn on their sirens and their red lights to chase after Brian,

but Brian speeds up and escapes from the police.

Practice

Write sentences in the present simple tense, transform them into negative
and questions as it corresponds.
 1. Subject: His father Verb: work Complement: in the fire department /

everyday

(+) …………………………………………………………………………………….

(-) ……………………………………………………………………………………..

(?) ……………………………………………………………………………………..

2. Subject: I Verb: walk to school Complement: everyday

(+)……………………………………………………………………………………..

(-) ……………………………………………………………………………………..

(?) ……………………………………………………………………………………..

3. Subject: Sally Verb: study Complement: Italian / in Rome.

(+) ……………………………………………………………………………………

(-) …………………………………………………………………………………….

(?) ……………………………………………………………………………………

4. My friends _______________________________ (play) volleyball.

(-)___________________________________________________________________

(?)___________________________________________________________________

5. It _______________________________ (to be) small and adorable.

(-)___________________________________________________________________

(?)___________________________________________________________________
 6. I _______________________________ (watch) TV on Saturday morning.

(-)___________________________________________________________________

(?)___________________________________________________________________

7. Luis and Diana _______________________________ (to be) Chinese.

(-)___________________________________________________________________

(?)___________________________________________________________________

8. The dog _______________________________ (like) cats.

(-)___________________________________________________________________

(?)___________________________________________________________________

Practice
Transform the sentences into negative using the Simple Present Tense.

1. I study French.

_____________________________________________

2. School finishes at two o´clock.

_____________________________________________

3. You copy from other students.

_____________________________________________

4. We think English is easy.

_____________________________________________

5. My friends play volleyball.

_____________________________________________
6. I watch TV on Saturday morning.

_____________________________________________

7. She speaks Chinese.

_____________________________________________

8. The dog likes cats.

_____________________________________________

9. They listen to pop music.

_____________________________________________

10. I play with my hamster every day.

_____________________________________________

Practice
Complete the questions and write true answers:

Example: do you study English? Yes, I do

 ………… you play tennis? ……………………

 ……….... you and your family live in Denmark? …………………….

 …………. your friends like rock music? ……………………..

 …………. your English teacher come from the U.S.A? ………………………..

 …………. you and your classmates study Electromechanical Engineering?

………………………..
Practice
Look at the picture and write a description of the routine. You can write
it in 1° person or 3°-person singular.
Practice
Read the text and underline the simple present mistakes. Then, write the

correct form over the mistake. There are 13 mistakes.

Tim has 23 years old and he work for a company in Sacramento, California. He is

a customer service representative. He gets up at six o'clock each workday. He does

drive to work and begins his job at eight o'clock. He speaks to people on the telephone

to help them with their banking problems. People telephones the bank to ask questions

about their accounts. Does you have a bank account? If you do, Tim can help you any

time. He don't give information about accounts until people answers a few questions.

Tim asks callers their birth date, the last four digits of their social security number and

their address.

If a person give incorrect information or if people doesn’t know the answer, Tim

asks them to call back with the correct information. Tim be polite and friendly with

everyone. He have lunch in a park next to his office. He returns home at five o'clock in

the evening. After work, he go to the gym to work out. He has dinner at seven o'clock.

Tim like watching TV after dinner. He goes to bed at eleven o'clock at night.

Taken from: esl.about.com

Reading Comprehension

Ask the students to read the text and ask them to answer some questions
related to it.

Text : It’s the journey, not the destination….

Do you ever dream of a very special place for a party? You are not alone! That is
why a lot of people, especially in North America, now have some celebrations on board
a ‘dinner train’. Dinner trains are often beautiful, old steam trains which have a
restaurant car and take their passengers on a return journey across spectacular scenery.
The return journey is usually two to four hours. The trains do not run very fast, they do
between about 20 and 40 kilometers per hour. But for the people who book them, it is
the journey itself that’s important, not the destination.

People go on those trains to enjoy a good meal and the slow journey, and to look
out of the window and enjoy the scenery. Some people even have wedding receptions
and birthday parties on them. But dinner trains are not just restaurants on wheels:
companies now book them not only for staff parties and company anniversaries, but
also for business meetings!

1. What’s a dinner train?

2. How fast do they travel?
3. How long does a journey take?
4. What do people do on dinner trains?
Reading Comprehension

Ask the students to read the article and make them tell different ways to
celebrate other holidays.

Text : New Year in Vietnam

In Vietnam, our New Year is not on 1 January. It takes place late January or early
February, it depends on the moon, and it lasts three days or more. We call this festival
Tê´ t. It is also our spring festival, and it is the top event of the year. We prepare for Tê
´ t weeks before. We do a lot of shopping because shops close during the celebrations.
We also clean and decorate the house, buy new clothes for the children and cook
special holiday food.

On New Year’s Day, children wear their new clothes and wish their parents and
grandparents a happy new year. Then they receive a red envelope with ‘lucky money’ in
it. We believe red is a lucky color, but we don’t use white or black decorations. Tê´ t is
also everybody’s birthday, because in Vietnam you are one year old on the day when
you celebrate your first Tê´t! After New Year’s Day, we visit friends and relatives. Many
people go to temples, play games, or watch dragon dancers and other street
performances. And during Tê´t, we don’t say bad things and we don’t do bad things!

1. When does it take place New Year in Vietnam?

2. How is this festival called?
3. What activities are carried out before the festival?
4. What are the children given on New Year’s Day?
5. What do people do after New Year’s Day?
Reading Comprehension

Ask the students to read the article and answer some questions.

Text 5: San Valentine’s Day

Saint Valentine's Day started to honor the Christian Saint Valentine. In the 14 th
Century, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote a romantic poem about Valentine's Day. Since then,
this day has been a romantic day. In the 19th Century, paper Valentine cards became
very popular in England. Soon after, companies around the world printed many
different cards for this special day.

Today, Valentine's Day is very commercial and many greeting cards are sold. In
some countries like Canada, children give Valentine cards to all their classmates.
Valentine's Day is also celebrated by couples. Many people go out on dates or do
something romantic on this day.

Restaurants are very busy with boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, and wives on
romantic dinner dates.

Valentine's Day is a happy day of love and friendship. So, this year on February
14th, don't forget to tell everyone you love "Happy Valentine's Day!

Taken form: learnenglish-online.com

1. Why is San Valentine celebrated?
2. When is San Valentine celebrated?
3. When did Valentine cards become popular?
4. How do people celebrate San Valentine’s Day?
5. Why San Valentine is considered a special day?