Simple present tense

Simple present tense

The simple present tense is used:

• To express habits, general truths, repeated actions or unchanging situations, emotions and wishes: I smoke (habit); I work in London (unchanging situation); London is a large city (general truth)
• To give instructions or directions: You walk for two hundred meters, then you turn left.
• To express fixed arrangements, present or future: Your exam starts at 09.00
• To express future time, after some conjunctions: after, when, before, as soon as, until: He'll give it to you when you come next Saturday.

Forming the simple present tense: to think

Notes on the simple present, third person singular

• In the third person singular the verb always ends in -s: he wants, she needs, he gives, she thinks.
• Negative and question forms use DOES (= the third person of the auxiliary 'DO') + the infinitive of the verb. He wants ice cream. Does he want strawberry? He does not want vanilla.
• Verbs ending in -y : the third person changes the -y to -ies: fly -> flies, cry -> cries Exception: if there is a vowel before the -y: play -> plays, pray -> prays
• Add -es to verbs ending in:-ss, -x, -sh, -ch: he passes, she catches, he fixes, it pushes

Examples

• He goes to school every morning.
• She understands English.
• It mixes the sand and the water.
• He tries very hard.
• She enjoys playing the piano.

EXERCISES:

Choose the correct form of the following verbs:

1. Ann hand ball very well.
2. I never coffee.
3. The swimming pool at 7:00 in the morning.
4. It at 9:00 in the evening.
5. Bad driving many accidents.
6. My parents in a very small flat.
7. The Olympic Games place every four years.
8. They are good students. They always their homework.
9. My students a little English.
10. I always early in the morning.

Put the verbs between brackets in the correct form:

1. Jane (not/drink) tea very often.
2. What time (the banks/open) in Britain?
3. Where (John/come) from?
4. It (take) me an hour to get to work.
5. She (not/wake) up early on Sundays.

Questions

Make questions.

1. you / to speak / English → ?
2. when / he / to go / home → ?
3. they / to clean / the bathroom → ?
4. where / she / to ride / her bike → ?
5. Billy / to work / in the supermarket → ?