Simple Present
Before doing the exercise, let’s review the simple present tense.
Grammar Rules
Explanation:
Ask yourself this simple question. “What do you do every day?” Think for a moment and write down your answer. Part of my answer is shown below.- I wake up early every morning.
- I have breakfast at 7 a.m.
- I usually train in the afternoon.
- I always go to bed after midnight.
How do we form the simple present tense?
As I said at the beginning, this part is actually quite easy to master. Use the base form of the main verb (infinitive without “to”) to form simple present tenses (e.g. do, eat, have, sleep, etc.). The suffix ‘-s’ is only added to verbs used in the personal singular, i.e. the pronouns ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘it’. Otherwise, the main verb always remains the same and its base form does not change. Here are some examples.- I have two dogs.
- He runs 5 miles every day.
- We take the same bus every morning.
- He is the eldest son of his family.
Form:
We use verb 1 (or base verb) when the subject is I, We, You or They.
Examples:
- I work.
- We work.
- You work.
- They work.
We use verb 1 (or base verb) + –s, -es or –ies when the subject is She, He or It.
Examples:
- She works.
- He works.
- You work.
- It works.
- She watches TV.
- He cries a lot.
Negative:
We make negative sentences in the simple present by adding do not (or don’t) or does not (or doesn’t) before verb 1.
- I / We / You / They do not work.
- He / She / It does not work.
Questions:
We make questions in the simple present by using Do or Does and verb 1.
- Do you work?
- Where do you work?
- Does she work?
- Where does she work?
Spelling Notes:
We add -s to the verb when the subject is in the third person singular (she, he, it).
Examples:
- She writes.
- He sleeps early.
- It works.
We add –es if the verb ends in –ss, –ch, –sh, –x, or –o.
Examples:
- She misses her family.
- He watches horror movies.
- She washes the dishes in the afternoon.
- It mixes fruits well.
- She goes home at 2 p.m.
- He does his homework in the morning.
We change the final –y to –i and add –es when the –y is preceded by a consonant letter (not a vowel).
Examples:
- carry becomes carries
- try becomes tries
- worry becomes worries
We do not change the final –y when the letter before it is a vowel (a, e, i, o, u)
Examples:
- play becomes plays
- employ becomes employs
- buy becomes buys
Uses:
We use the simple present tense to express:
– facts and permanent truths
- The sun rises in the east.
– repeated actions (habits and routine)
- I make my bed before I go to school.
– situations in the present
- She works at a big company.
– scheduled events/actions in the future (timetables)
- The train leaves at 10:00 a.m.
– feelings, senses, and cognitive states
- I love traditional food.
- The place smells good.
- I understand spoken German.
Time to practice!
