Present Simple

The Present Simple

The present simple is used to talk about things in general. And, we can use it to describe actions that happen frequently or situations that are generally true. 

Everyday actions.

The present simple is used to talk about things in general. And, we can use it to describe actions that happen frequently or generally authentic situations. 

Subject | Subject

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Doctors work in hospitals. [true in general]

The doctor starts work at 9:00.  [happens all the time]

With

He}

She} Adds “s” or “es” to the verb

It}

Some text here about the topic of discussion

He works at a school. [to work > to work > +s > works]

He teaches English. [to teach > to teach > +es > teaches]

Multiple Choice

Elige la forma correcta del verbo

He --- everyday

• run

• runas

• runs

• rune

Multiple Choice

She ---  the floor

• mops

• mop

• mope

• mx

Multiple Choice

He --- at the computer for long hours

• seat

• seets

• sit

• sits

Multiple Choice

She --- everyday

• cook

• cooks

• cooked

• kooks

Multiple Choice

he --- loudly

• laughs

• laugh

• laff

• laffs

​EXAMPLES

>He runs every day. [pronounced with vibrating ‘z’]

>She mops the floor.  [ ends in p sound, [pronounced with soft ‘s’]

>He sits at the computer for long hours. [ends in t sound, pronounced with soft ‘s’]

>She cooks every day, [ends in k sound, pronounced with soft ‘s’]

>He laughs loudly. [ends in f sound, pronounced with soft ‘s’]

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Multiple Choice

She --- home.

• miss

• misses

Multiple Choice

He --- the dishes

• washes

• wash

Multiple Choice

It -for information online.

• searches

• search

Multiple Choice

She --- the ingredients together.

• mix

• mixes

1. She misses home. [to miss (1 syllable) > +es > misses (2 syllables)] 

2. He washes the dishes . [ to wash (1 syllable) > +es > washes (2 syllables)] 

3. It searches for information online. [to search (1 syllable) > +es > searches (2 syllables)] 

4. He watches a lot of TV series.[to watch (1 syllable) > +es > watches (2 syllables)] 

5. She misses home. [to miss (1 syllable) > +es > misses (2 syllables)]

6. She mixes the ingredients together.​ [to mix (1 syllable) > +es > mixes (2 syllables)] 

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Multiple Choice

•He --- to school.

• goes

• gos

Multiple Choice

•She --- yoga on Wednesdays.

• does

• do

Verbs that end in a consonant “y” add “es” in the 3rd person singular and also change the spelling. The “y” is replaced with “I” and “es” is added.

​On the other hand, if the letter before “y” is a vowel, the verb adds “s” ending and, there is no spelling change. In both cases the number of syllables does not increase.

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Multiple Choice

He --- new restaurants all the time.

• try

• tries

Multiple Choice

She --- horror movies.

• enjoy

• enjoys

Multiple Select

We --- (negation) work at school.

• do not

• don’t

• does not

• doesn't

Multiple Select

He --- speak English

• doesn't

• don't

• do not

• does not

We do not work at a school. [subject+ auxiliary+not, main verb] OR We don’t work at a school.  

He does not speak English. [subject + auxiliary+not, main verb] OR He doesn’t speak English.  

Remember:

To form questions, the word order changes. “Do/does” is used at the start, followed by the subject and then the main verb.

We also use “do/does” again in the reply.

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Multiple Choice

It usually --- in autumn/fall

• rain

• rains

Multiple Choice

They often --- to the cinema

• goes

• go

Multiple Choice

She sometimes --- books.

• reads

• read

Multiple Choice

He rarely --- tea.

• drink

• drinks

Multiple Choice

We never --- to the theatre.

• goes

• go

Summary

To recap, we’ve seen that the present simple is used to make generalizations and talk about things that happen frequently, often together with adverbs of frequency (e.g., always, sometimes, never).

It uses the simple infinitive form of the verb, without “to,” e.g. “to work,” however, there are spelling and pronunciation changes when the subject is in the 3rd person, e.g. “he/she/it works.”

This is a very common tense and is found in media all around us.

Subject | Subject

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​Any questions?

Subject | Subject

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​THANK YOU!

​By Cristian C. Ochoa.