The Simple Present Tense

1. The Simple Present Tense

2. We use the Simple Present to talk about: • Facts and Permanent situations • The sun sets in the west. • I speak Spanish. • My dad works at Samsung. • Habits and Routine Actions • He goes fishing once a week. • I teach English everyday. • My sister usually wakes up at 7:00 a.m.

3. Form: • Affirmative (subject + base form of verb [+s/es]) • I work. • You work • He / She / It works.* • We work. • You work. • They work. * We add an 's' or 'es' to the base form of the verb when we use the 3rd person (he, she, it).

4. Form: • Negative (subject + aux. verb ‘do’ + not + base form of the verb) • I don’t work. • You don’t work. • He / She / It doesn’t work. • We don’t work. • You don’t work. • They don’t work. • Do not = Don’t • Does not = Doesn’t

5. Form: • Questions (Aux. verb ‘do’ + Subject + base form of the verb) • Do I work? • Do you work? • Does he / she / it work? • Do we work? • Do you work? • Do they work?

6. Form: Yes / No questions (A.S.I.) • (Aux. Verb + Subject + Infinitive verb)

7. Form: Follow Up Questions (Q.A.S.I) • (Question word + Aux. Verb + Subject + Infinitive Verb)

8. 3rd Person Singular (He / She / It) • Don’t forget! We must add and ‘s’ or an ‘es’ to the verb when we use the 3rd person singular form. • How to form the 3rd Person singular…. • Most verbs: • Add an s to the base form – plays • Verbs ending in a consonant plus ‘y’, change the ‘y’ to ‘i’ and add ‘es’ – i.e. - tries • Verbs ending in ‘o’, ‘s’, ‘z’, ‘x’, ‘ch’, and ‘sh’, add ‘es’ – e.g. washes • NOTE: In the negative form, ‘doesn’t’ already has the ‘s’, so the main verb doesn’t need an ‘s’. e.g. She doesn’t work. The same rule applies with does in questions.

9. What is the 3rd person singular? watch do hit prey mix try look go think take toss trespass lay thrash mean preach fake pry drink write sit chop has amaze fish swim wait dress

10. What’s the 3rd person singular? (Answers) watches does hits preys mixes tries looks goes thinks takes tosses trespasses lays thrashes means preaches fakes pries drinks writes sits chops has amazes fishes swims waits dresses

11. Simple Present Common Mistakes and Errors • She walk to school everyday. • He not like to watch TV. • Where lives your father? • She go often to Paris. • She doesn’t likes football. • I’m go to the post office once a week. • Does Sarah plays the guitar? • When does she usually leaves work?

12. Simple Present Common Mistakes and Errors • She walks to school everyday. • He doesn’t like to watch TV. • Where does your father live? • She often goes to Paris. • She doesn’t like football. • I go to the post office once a week. • Does Sarah play the guitar? • When does she usually leave work?

13. Adverbs of Frequency • We use adverbs of frequency and the simple present tense to say how often we do something, or don’t do something.

14. Adverbs of Definite Frequency Examples: everyday, once a month, twice a year, etc. Most companies pay taxes once a year. I take out the garbage three times a week. She visits her parents twice a month. Rule: Adverbs of Definite frequency usually go at the end of the sentence, but can also appear at the beginning of a sentence. They NEVER go in the middle of a sentence.

15. Simple Present Examples in Conversation After the greeting, we’ll typically ask a simple “yes/no” question to start a conversation. For example: “Do you ever play chess?” “Do you like to play chess?” “Do you like playing chess?” “Do you like chess?” Note: The verb ‘like’ can be followed by an infinitive verb (to play), a gerund (playing), or a noun (chess). If the answer is “yes”, we usually ask Follow Up Questions (F.U.Q.s) to get more information. How often do you play chess? Where do you usually play chess? Who do you usually play chess with? When do you usually play chess?