Grammar Bytes 1.0 : Simple Present

Verbal tenses can be quite challenging for beginners, that’s why we have created this article, to try and help you understand the differences in usage and in form.

 

Simple present

The simple present is used for:

For repeated actions or habits.

  • go to work every day.
  • I take a nap in the afternoons.

For facts.

  • They come from Japan
  •  Zebras have black and white stripes.

For things that are always / generally true.

  • It gets very warm in summer.
  • The president is the most important person in the country.

 

Form

Pronouns verb Complement
I

You

We

They

play football
eat pizza
live in Colombia

 

3rd person form rules

To create sentences in the 3rd person singular (he/she/it) we must change the verbs by following these rules:

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 -Zwe add -ES in the third person.
  • go – goes
  • catch – catches
  • wash – washes
  • kiss – kisses
  • fix – fixes
  • buzz – buzzes
  1. For verbs that end in a consonant + Y, we remove the 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
  1. For verbs with different endings than the mentioned above, we simply add ‘s’ at the end of the verb
  • Eat – eats
  • Sleep- sleeps
  • Read – reads
Pronouns verb Complement
He

she

it

plays football
studies English
watches television

 

Asking questions

The simple present has 2 ways of asking questions:

  • Verb to be

When using the verb to be, the form of the question is:

Am/are/is+ pronoun+complement+?

Ex: Are you a doctor?

 

  • Without verb to be

When using other verbs to describe actions, we must use auxiliaries, as shown in part I of this series (click here to see that article).

 

Auxiliaries Pronoun Verb Complement
 

Do

I

you

we

they

 

like

 

pizza?

 

Does

he

she

it

 

study*

 

French?

(*) When asking questions, the verb remains in “infinitive” form, which means no change is applied to it.

 

 

Answering questions

 

  • Do you like pizza?

(+) Yes, I do OR Yes, I like pizza.

(-) No, I don’t OR No, I don’t like pizza.

 

  • Does she study French?

(+) Yes, she does. OR Yes, she studies* French.

(-) No, she doesn’t. OR No, she doesn’t study* French.

 

(*) Notice that when the auxiliary DOES is present, the verb stays in the infinitive form, but when it isn’t present, the verb must change.

 

We hope you enjoyed this article, please share it with friends and colleagues!

 

 

 

 

Zamów rozmowę dla firm

Chcesz rozwinąć swoją firmę?
Zainwestuj w umiejętności językowe
swoich Pracowników.

Uzupełnij formularz,
a nasz Doradca skontaktuje się z Tobą
i opowie, jak możemy Ci pomóc.




    [honeypot pulapka-842 id:pulapka]


    Zapisz się na newsletter i odbierz rabat 10% na dowolny kurs na platformie!

    W każdym newsletter bezpłatne materiały do nauki, lekcje video i nowości w naszej ofercie.