This page will present the simple present tense:
Before you continue the lesson read the following passage
and try to see how the verbs are formed and used.
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James is a taxi driver. He drives a
taxi. But on Sundays he doesn't drive his taxi. He stays at
home.
The verb be, drive, stay are
in the simple present.
(more
on the simple present of the verb to be)
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The forms of the simple present
The affirmative form of the simple present:
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I, you, we, they
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play.
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He, she, it
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plays.
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Remember the verbs in the third person singular (he,she and
it) always take an "s". For example, "he plays,
she sings,it works..."
Examples:
- Nancy
and James speak good German.
- Nancy works in
a restaurant downtown.
- The
children play in the garden every weekend.
The interrogative form of the simple present:
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Do
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I, you, we, they
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play?
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Does
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he, she, it
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Examples:
- Do you speak good
German?
- Does Nancy work in
a restaurant downtown?
The negative form of the simple present:
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I, you, we,they
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do not
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play.
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don't
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He, she, it
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does not
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doesn't
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Examples:
- No,
I don't speak German.
- No,
she doesn't work in a restaurant downtown
The use of the simple present:
The simple present is used:
- to
give your opinion - I like ice cream. I don't
like spicy food.
- to
talk about schedules - The library opens at eight.
It doesn't open at 7.
- to
talk about daily habits (routine actions)- Sara eats a
cheese for breakfast every day. She doesn't eat cereal.
- to
give facts - The earth circles the sun. The moon doesn't
circle the sun.
The spelling of the third person singular form of the
simple present:
All the verbs take an "s" in the simple present
when conjugated in the third person singular (he, she, it) form:
Examples:
- I
visit my parents every summer holiday. But my wife visits her
parents every weekend.
- My
brother meets his girlfriend everyday.
So the rule is:
There are however some special cases. Here are the spelling
rules:
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Silent e
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Vowel + y
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Consonant + y
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Verbs ending in o
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Verbs ending in s, z, sh, tch, ch
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close = closes
note = notes
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play = plays
say = says
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study = studies
marry = marries
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go = goes
do = does
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miss = misses
buzz = buzzes
hatch = hatches
finish = finishes
teach = teaches
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Examples:
- She
drives to work every morning.
- He
says he plays football on the weekends
Exception:
- The
verb to have changes its forms as follows:
I have two sisters and two brothers. But she has one
sister and two brothers.
I have = he / she / it has
Things to remember about the simple present:
1.In the interrogative forms, we use "do" or
"does".
- "Do you
like the house?"
- "Does she
go to school?"
2; Verbs never take an "s" in the the negative and
interrogative forms.
- "Does
he speak German?"
- "Do
they play soccer?"
- She
doesn't like ice cream.
3. don't is the short form of "do
not". You can say either:
- I do
not speak Italian, or
- I don't speak
Italian.
4.doesn't is the short form of "does
not". you can say either:
- He does not listen
to jazz music, or
- He doesn't listen
to jazz music.
The verb to be
The verb to be is the most important
verb in the English language. It is difficult to use because it is an
irregular verb in almost all of its forms. In the simple present tense,
to be is conjugated as follows:
Affirmative forms of the verb to be
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Subject Pronouns
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Full Form
|
Contracted Form
|
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I
|
am
|
'm
|
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you
|
are
|
're
|
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he/she/it
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is
|
's
|
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we
|
are
|
're
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you
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are
|
're
|
|
they
|
are
|
're
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Interrogative forms of the verb to be:
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Am
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I?
|
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Are
|
you?
|
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Is
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he/she/it?
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Are
|
we?
|
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Are
|
you?
|
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Are
|
they?
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Negative Forms of the verb to be:
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Subject Pronouns
|
Full Form
|
Contracted Form
|
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I
|
am not
|
'm not
|
|
you
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are not
|
aren't
|
|
he/she/it
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is not
|
isn't
|
|
we
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are not
|
aren't
|
|
you
|
are not
|
aren't
|
|
they
|
are not
|
aren't
|
Examples:
- Is Brad
Pitt French?
- No,
he isn't. He's American.
- What
about Angelina Joli? Is she American, too?
- Yes,
she is. She is American.
- Are brad
Pitt and Angelina Joli French?
- No,
They aren't. They are American.
4. Simple Past Tense
This page will present the simple past tense:
Before you continue the lesson read the following passage
and try to see how the verbs are formed and used.
|
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian
musician and composer. He lived from 1756 to 1791. He startedcomposing
at the age of five years old and wrote more than 600 pieces
of music. He was only 35 years old when he died.
The verbs "was, lived,started, wrote, died"
are in the simple past tense.
Notice that:
- lived, started,died are
regular past forms.
- was,
wrote are irregular past forms.
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Regular verbs:
The verbs "lived, started, died" are regular past
forms. The rule is the following:
Examples:
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The infinitive
|
The simple past
|
|
live
|
lived
|
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start
|
started
|
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die
|
died
|
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visit
|
visited
|
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play
|
played
|
|
watch
|
watched
|
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phone
|
phoned
|
|
marry
|
married
|
For the spelling of the -ed forms click
here.
Irregular verbs:
The verbs "was, wrote"
are irregular past forms. "Was" is the simple
past of "to be"; "wrote" is the simple past of
"write".
There is no rule for these verbs. You should learn them by
heart.
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The infinitive
|
The simple past
|
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be
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was/were
|
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write
|
wrote
|
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come
|
came
|
|
do
|
did
|
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meet
|
met
|
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speak
|
spoke
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The forms of the simple past:
The Affirmative form of the simple past:
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I, you, he, she, it, we, they
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played.
|
|
wrote
|
|
did.
|
Examples:
- I played tennis
with my friends yesterday.
- I finished lunch
and I did my homework.
The interrogative form of the simple past:
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Did
|
I, you, he, she, it, we, they
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Play?
|
|
write
|
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do?
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Examples:
- Did
you play basketball yesterday?
- Did
you watch television?
- Did
you do the homework?
The negative form of the simple past:
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I, you, he, she, it, we, they
|
did not/didn't
|
play
|
|
write
|
|
do
|
- I didn't
like the food in the wedding last Saturday.
- I didn't
eat it.
Remember:
didn't is the short form of did
not. You can say either:
- I did
not play basketball, or
- I didn't play basketball.
The simple past tense of the verb to be:
This page will present the simple past tense of the verb to
be:
The affirmative form:
|
I, he, she, it
|
was.
|
|
you, we, they
|
were.
|
Examples:
- I was in
London in 1999.
- Pam was in
London in 1999, too.
- We were together.
- She was my
girlfriend.
The interrogative form:
|
Was
|
I, he, she, it?
|
|
Were
|
you, we, they?
|
Examples:
- Were you
in London last year?
- Was Pam
with you?
- Were you
together?
The negative form:
|
I, you, he, she
|
was not.
|
|
wasn't.
|
|
You, we, they
|
were not.
|
|
weren't.
|
Examples:
- I wasn't in
Paris in 1999.
- Pam wasn't in
Paris in 1999.
- We weren't in
Paris.
