Present Simple

Lesson 1 – Exercises – Present Simple

(A)       Add s / es / ies to the following verbs:

1. do ____________                                    8.         worry____________
2. study ____________ 9.         play     ____________
3. teach ____________                                    10.       grow    ____________
4. say ____________                                    11.       watch____________
5. cry ____________                                    12.       miss     ____________
6. dance ____________                                    13.       hurry    ____________
7. fix ____________                        1          14.       stop     ____________

(B)       Circle the correct answer :

1. I plays / play tennis every afternoon.
2. My parents live / lives in Ramat-Gan.
3. Tom listens / listen to the radio in the morning.
4. We eat / eats eggs for breakfast every morning.
5. My dog barks / bark at night.
6. Mrs. Gold sweep / sweeps the stairs once a week.
7. My brother never watches / watch television.
8. My family go / goes to the beach together in the summer.
9. I often eat / eats dinner at my grandmother’s house.
10. Sharon do / does her homework regularly.
11. They takes / take a bath daily.
12. You seldom listen / listens in class.
13. Dana and Liat goes / go to the swimming pool every afternoon.
14. I never hurt / hurts my cat.
15. He never finish / finishes his work on time.

 (C)      Fill in the correct form of the verb in Present Simple:

1. Fish (not fly) ____________. They (swim) ____________
2. The sun (not rise) ___________ in the west. It (set) ____________ down in the west.
3. A spider (not have) ____________ wings. A bird (have) ____________ wings.
4. Cats (not bark) ____________. Dogs (do) ____________.
5. Natalie usually (not sit) ____________ in the sun. She rarely (go) ____________ to the beach.
6. Babies (not talk) ____________. They (cry) ____________.
7. Dalia often (dry) ___________ the dishes but she (not put) ___________ them away.
8. Betty usually (not do) __________ homework before she (eat) ___________supper.
9. Sarit (brush) ____________ her hair every morning before she (go) ____________ to school.
10. Nir always (try) __________ to be a good boy, but he (not behave) __________ well.
11. Mike usually (not catch) ____________ a cold in the winter. He frequently (catch) ____________ in the summer.

(D)       Rewrite the following sentences, putting the frequency expressions in the right place

1. They are happy to have guests. (always)
2. We laugh at people in trouble. (never)
3. I’m busy on Wednesdays. (usually)
4. Birds build their nests on this roof. (every winter)
5. They sing very loudly. (generally)
6. Dalit is late for school. (rarely)
7. My parents help me with my homework. (hardly ever)
8. My parents visit us. (from time to time)
9. We are at home on Saturdays. (often)
10. The secretary works here. (five days a week)
11. We have fish for lunch. (sometimes)
12. Sharon has lunch before two o’clock. (seldom)

The simple present tense in English is used to describe an action that is regular, true or normal.

We use the present tense:

1. For repeated or regular actions in the present time period.

• I take the train to the office.
• The train to Berlin leaves every hour.
• John sleeps eight hours every night during the week.

2. For facts.

• The President of The USA lives in The White House.
• A dog has four legs.
• We come from Switzerland.

3. For habits.

• I get up early every day.
• Carol brushes her teeth twice a day.
• They travel to their country house every weekend.

4. For things that are always / generally true.

• It rains a lot in winter.
• The Queen of England lives in Buckingham Palace.
• They speak English at work.

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‘ in the third person.

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

Negative Sentences in the Simple Present Tense

To make a negative sentence in English we normally use Don’t or Doesn’t with all verbs EXCEPT To Be and Modal verbs (can, might, should etc.).

• Affirmative: You speak French.
  Negative: You don’t speak French.

You will see that we add don’t between the subject and the verb. We use Don’t when the subject is I, you, we or they.

• Affirmative: He speaks German.
  Negative: He doesn’t speak German.

When the subject is he, she or it, we add doesn’t between the subject and the verb to make a negative sentence. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the negative sentence. We will see the reason why below.

Negative Contractions

Don’t = Do not
Doesn’t = Does not

I don’t like meat = I do not like meat.

There is no difference in meaning though we normally use contractions in spoken English.

Word Order of Negative Sentences

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

* Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part.

Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc.

Examples of Negative Sentences with Don’t and Doesn’t:

• You don’t speak Arabic.
• John doesn’t speak Italian.
• We don’t have time for a rest.
• It doesn’t move.
• They don’t want to go to the party.
• She doesn’t like fish.

Questions in the Simple Present Tense

To make a question in English we normally use Do or Does. It has no translation in Spanish though it is essential to show we are making a question. It is normally put at the beginning of the question.

• Affirmative: You speak English.
  Question: Do you speak English?

You will see that we add DO at the beginning of the affirmative sentence to make it a question. We use Do when the subject is I, you, we or they.

• Affirmative: He speaks French.
  Question: Does he speak French?

When the subject is he, she or it, we add DOES at the beginning to make the affirmative sentence a question. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the question. We will see the reason why below.

We DON’T use Do or Does in questions that have the verb To Be or Modal Verbs (can, must, might, should etc.)

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.

*Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part.

Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc.