SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

parties
go to
play
speak
drive
read
work
have
eat
usually
never
don't
I

sometimes
often
always
rarely

drink
dance
wear
listen to
watch
use
like
do
wake up
get up
brush

TV
horror movies
out
shopping
romance books
the internet
very well
beer
French
reggae music
well
spicy food
very much
red clothes
early
a watch
homework
a shower
home
to work
school
breakfast
bed
dinner
(my, your, etc) teeth

VOCABULARY LIST
Study these vocabulary list to help you learn words to talk about what you do every day and in
your free time.

SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

VOCABULARY: DAILY ROUTINE

1. Check your vocabulary: picture matching. Write the correct verb phrase in the box below the
picture.

go to bed

do homework

get up

have
breakfast

have lunch

have dinner

brush your teeth

wake up

have a
shower

go to work

go home

go to school

GRAMMATICAL EXPLANATION:
The simple present tense in English is used to describe an action that is regular, true or normal,
USES

EXAMPLE

1. For repeated or regular actions in the

present time period.

John sleeps eight hours every night during

the week.

2. For facts.
A dog has four legs.
3. For habits.
Carol brushes her teeth twice a day.
4. For things that are always / generally
true.

The Queen of England lives in Buckingham

Palace.

SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

Verb Conjugation & Spelling
We form the present tense using the base form of the infinitive (without the TO).
In general, in the third person we add 'S'.
Subject

Verb

I / you / we / they

speak

The Rest of the sentence

English at home
he / she / it

speaks

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

2. For verbs that end in a consonant + Y, we remove the Y and add -IES.
Marry marries
study studies
carry carries
NOTE: For verbs that end in a vowel + Y, we just add -S:
play plays

enjoy enjoys

worry worries

say says

Word Order of Negative Sentences

The following is the word order to construct a basic negative sentence in English in the Present
Tense using the auxiliary Don't or Doesn't.

Subject

AUXILIARY

I / you / we / they
he / she / it

don't

Verb

The Rest of the sentence

have / buy /
eat / like etc.

cereal for breakfast

doesn't

Word Order of Questions with Do and Does

The following is the word order to construct a basic question in English using Do or Does.

AUXILIARY
DO

Subject
I / you / we / they

VERB

The Rest of the sentence

have / need / want

a new bike?

SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

Wh Question Word
DOES
he / she / it
Where

Auxilary Verb
do

etc.

Subject

Verb

others

you

go

to?

What

does

she

watch

on TV?

When

does

Mike

leave

school?

Who

do

you

like

much?

Why

does

the teacher

say

that?

How

do

we

get

there?

Short Answers with Do and Does

In questions that use do/does it is possible to give short answers to direct questions as follows:
Sample Questions

Short Answer
(Affirmative)

Do you like chocolate?

Does he / she like chocolate?
Does it have four wheels?
Does it have four wheels?
Word order with Wh- question.
(What,

when...) +

do

Yes, I do.
Yes, he does.
Yes, it does.
Yes, it does.

does

Subject

(I,

Short Answer
(Negative)

No, I don't.
No, he doesn't.
No, it doesn't.
No, it doesn't.

you,

we...)

verb

others

These wh- question words are at the beginning of the sentence. After them, we use auxiliary verb
and subject. We don't use yes or no in the answer

GRAMMATICAL EXERCISES.
1.

Choose the correct form of the following verbs:

wake up open speak take do cause play close live - drink
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.

1.
1.
1.

SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

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.
2.

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.

3.

Choose the right verbs to complete the sentences. Sometimes you need the negative:
write turn eat tell - rise
1. The earth______________ around the sun.
2. The sun___________ in the east.
3. Vegetarians ________________meat.
4. A liar is someone who ________________the truth.
5. A novelist _____________novels.

LISTENING PRACTICE (TRACK: SCHEDULE)

Listen to the conversation and answer the questions.
1. What time does the man get up?
A. at 5:00 a.m.
B. at 6:00 a.m.
C. at 7:00 a.m.

SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

2. What time does he get to work?
A. at 7:00 a.m.
B. at 8:00 a.m.
C. at 9:00 a.m.

3. What does he do with his family around 6:30 p.m.?

A. They read books together.
B. They play games.
C. They eat dinner.

4. What do the man and his wife do after the kids go to bed?
A. They watch TV.
B. They clean the house.
C. They listen to music.

5. What is one thing the man does NOT say about his wife?
A. She has to take their children to school.
B. She helps the kids with their homework.
C. She goes shopping for food.

SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

READING.
Instructions: Read through the text below, answer the questions that follow.
Robot Birds
Liverpool city council want to clear the city of fat pigeons. They say that that people are feeding the
birds, which makes them fat. The pigeons get bigger because their normal diet would consist of
seeds and insects, not high-fat junk food they are eating in the city Centre.
The council want people to know that everyone who feeds the pigeons is responsible for the
streets being so crowded with these birds. They hope to encourage the birds to move away from
the city Centre and into parks and open spaces.
Ten robotic birds have been brought into the city Centre to scare the pigeons away and visitors are
asked not to give the pigeons any food. The mechanical birds - known as 'robops' - will sit on the
roofs of buildings. They can be moved around to different locations. They look like a peregrine
falcon, which is a bird that kills pigeons. They even make noises and flap their wings to scare the
pigeons. They hope that the pigeons will go away before the city becomes the European Capital of
Culture in two years.

Comprehension Questions
Q1 - Pigeons are fatter in Liverpool than in other cities.
Right
Wrong
Doesn't say
Q2 - Pigeons get fat because they eat seeds and insects.
Right
Wrong
Doesn't say
Q3 - According to the council, everyone is to blame for the numbers of pigeons.
Right
Wrong
Doesn't say
Q4 - They want the pigeons to move out of the city Centre.
Right
Wrong
Doesn't say
Q5 - Visitors shouldn't feed the pigeons.

SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

Right
Wrong
Doesn't say
Q6 - The robotic birds can move around the city Centre.
Right
Wrong

Doesn't say
Q7 - Liverpool is the European Capital of Culture.
Right
Wrong
Doesn't say

SPEAKING
Time at work and time off work
Work in pairs. Take it in turns to ask each other questions about your daily life.