Present Simple Tense and Verb Forms

1. Present Time Dragana Filipovic

2. What is correct? • I am staying / stay at the Imperial Hotel till they get my flat ready. • The River Amazon flows / is flowing into the Atlantic Ocean.

3. Buying a house nowadays becomes / is becoming more and more expensive all the time. • We haven’t decided yet, but we think / are thinking of moving house. • Whether we play on Saturday is depending / depends on the weather.

4. Correct answers • I am staying / stay at the Imperial Hotel till they get my flat ready. • The River Amazon flows / is flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. • Buying a house nowadays becomes / is becoming more and more expensive all the time. • We haven’t decided yet, but we think / are thinkingof moving house. • Whether we play on Saturday is depending / depends on the weather.

5. I work … He works … Do I work … ? Does he work … ? I don’twork … He doesn’twork … I watch … He watches … Do I watch … ? Does he watch … ? I don’twatch … He doesn’twatch … The Present Simple Tense - Forms

6. 3rd person singular - spelling • -s / -es • Infinitive + s: gets, works, lives • ss, sh, ch, x, o + es: passes, watches, goes • Vowel + y + s: stays, plays, pays • Consonant + y  i + es: cry – cries, fly – flies, terrify - terrifies

7. weigh push sneeze glorify annoy kiss deny marry weighs pushes sneezes glorifies annoys kisses denies marries What’s the 3rd person singular?

8. The Present Simple Tenseis used to describe: • Facts which are always true – general truths, e.g. facts in science and geographical descriptions • The light from the Sun takes8 mins 20 secs to reach the Earth. • The River Po flows into the Adriatic Sea. • Matter consists of small particles.

9. The Present Simple Tenseis used to describe: • Habitual actions. A frequency adverb is often used. • I usuallytake bus to work. • I use my mobile phone every day. • Permanent situations. • I live in a flat. • She works for an insurance company.

10. The Present Simple Tenseis used for: • Plot summaries (films, books), sports commentaries and historical tables. • Our hero goes off to search for the treasure, which he eventually finds after many adventures. • Zigic passes to Kezman… and Kezman scores! • 1789. The French Revolution begins.

11. The Present Simple Tenseis used for: • Timetables / programmes (future meaning) • The match finishes at 8.45. • The plane leaves at 9.15.

12. weigh push sneeze glorify annoy kiss deny marry Write 8 sentences in Present Simple using the following verbs:

13. Mini-contexts • a) Complete the dialogue. John:_________ usually ___ at Christmas? Dave:I normally go to my parents’ house. Is Dave talking about • one specific Christmas? • Christmas holiday in general?

14. a) Which machine are they talking about?      b) Complete the dialogue. Alan: _______________________ Jill:Well, you press the eject button and then you put the tape in. Then you press the start and record button at the same time.

15. What is the missing word? A:Excuse me, I wonder if you can help me. I want to go to Brighton on Saturday and I want to arrive about midday. B:About midday? There’s a slow train that _____ at 10.00. It gets in at 11.45.

16. Put the words in the correct order. travels about 107,000 The at an Earth km hour

17. Does this suggest a temporary or a permanent address? THE AUTHOR: Josceline lives in London with her husband, journalist and broadcaster David Dimbleby, and their three children.

18. … Manchester City once more. Baker plays it up the line for Tolmey. Tolmey fires a shot but it’s deflected. Keagan tries to pass it out to Beardsley but doesn’t succeed… a) Who is speaking? b) Who is he/she speaking to? c) Why is he/she speaking?

19. TheGuardian Australia mourns Australia is holding a weekend of national mourning for the 70 victims of the bush fires. An appeal has been launched for 8,000 others left homeless. Page 6. a) What is The Guardian? b) What are the underlined tenses? c) They refer to the same event; why are two tenses used?

20. Two boys die on mountain By a Staff Reporter Two boys believed to be from London died and seven others were injured in the Snowdonia mountain range yesterday. The boys were roped together when one fell … d) What are the underlined tenses? e) They refer to the same event; why are two tenses used?

21. 8. a) Dave:Peter tells me you start your holidays on Saturday. John:That’s right. We’re going to Venice for a week. Does the verb tells refer to • the time Dave is speaking? • the recent past? • the distant past? b) Is the trip already booked?

22. Rose: Don’t forget to send me a postcard when you get there. Andy: No, of course not. I’ll send you a card of the Eiffel Tower as soon as I arrive. Do the underlined parts refer to the present or the future?

23. b) Complete the missing letters of other conjunctions which we can use here. c) What tenses can we use here?  

24. Amy: John, have you heard the one about the swimming pool? John: No. Amy: Well, there’s this man in a swimming pool and he goes to the top of the diving board and he’s just about to dive off when an attendant comes rushing along and says, ‘There’s no water in the pool.’ ‘That’s alright,’ says the man. ‘I can’t swim anyway!’ • What does ‘the one’ refer to? • Are there any past tenses in the story? If so, what are they? If not, why not?

25. The Present Continuous Tense

26. The Present Continuous Tense

27. VERB + ing listen + ing = listening die (-iey) + ing = dying write + ing = writing hop + p + ing = hopping travel + l + ing = travelling

28. begin rub listen lie swim study happen get use admit try decide come put Make –ing forms of each verb given.

29. beginning rubbing listening lying swimming studying happening getting using admitting trying deciding coming putting –ing forms

30. The Present Continuous Tense is used for • Actions which are happening at or around the moment of speaking. • I’mdoing the washing up. • Just now I’mwaiting to do my military service. • She is working very hard nowadays.

31. The Present Continuous Tense is used for • Temporary situations. • At the moment we’resending all the mail by courier, because the Post Office is on strike. • I’mstaying with a friend at the moment.

32. The Present Continuous Tense is used for • Annoying habits. A frequency adverb is necessary (always). • You arealwaysborrowing money from me! • He isalwayscomplaining that waiters are rude.

33. The Present Continuous Tense is used for • A repeated temporary event. A time expression is necessary. • Whenever I see Tom he’ssmoking. • You’remaking the same mistake again!

34. The Present Continuous Tense is used for • Changing or developing situations. • His English is getting better. • It’sgetting colder. • Fixed arrangements in the near future. • They are getting married next week.

35. Choose the most suitable tense • What sort of work do you do / are youdoing? • I can’t talk now. I cook / I’m cooking the dinner. • What shall we have? Do you like / Areyou liking fish? • Can I borrow this tape recorder? Or do you use / are you using it?

36. Answers • What sort of work do you do ? • I can’t talk now. I I’m cooking the dinner. • What shall we have? Do you like fish? • Can I borrow this tape recorder? Or are you using it?

37. What do the people here do / are the people here doing in the evenings? • Follow that bus. Then you turn / you are turning left. • A lot of people think that the Sun goes / is going around the Earth. • Excuse me, do you read / are you reading your newspaper? Can I borrow it?

38. Answers • What do the people here do in the evenings? • Follow that bus. Then you turn left. • A lot of people think that the Sun goes around the Earth. • Excuse me, are you reading your newspaper? Can I borrow it?

39. Do you wait / Are you waiting for the bus to Newcastle? • Andy builds / is building his own house in the country. • I’m sleeping / sleep on Nigel’s sofa until I find a place of my own. • I’monly working / only work there for a couple of months because I’m going abroad in the summer. • You make / are making goulash using meat, vegetables and paprika.

40. Answers • Are you waiting for the bus to Newcastle? • Andy building his own house in the country. • I’m sleeping on Nigel’s sofa until I find a place of my own. • I’monly working there for a couple of months because I’m going abroad in the summer. • You make goulash using meat, vegetables and paprika.

41. Stative or ‘State’ Verbs Verbs describing a permanent state do not normally have continuous forms. • Verbs of the senses: see, hear, smell, feel, taste … • Verbs of opinion: agree, believe, consider…

42. Verbs of emotion: feel, forgive, hate, like, love… • Other verbs: appear (=seem), be, belong, consist (of), contain, fit (=be the right shape and size for sth), have (=possess), know, look (=appear), need,prefer, require, want, weigh, wish…

43. We can use some stative verbs in the Present Continuous when they have different meanings.

48. Complete the sentences using the Present Simple or the Present Continuous of the verbs in brackets.

49. My sister ___ (wait) patiently for her exam results. • We __ (not travel) by train very often.

50. My sister iswaiting patiently for her exam results. • We don’t travel by train very often.