Present simple

-Level: beginner

-The present tense is the base form of the verb:

I work in London.

 - with the third person singular (she/he/it), we add an –s:

            She works in London. 

- with the third person singular (she/he/it), we add an –es: (if the verb ends in ss-sh-ch-x-o) 

She goes to school five days aweek. 

 

Present simple questions

Look at these questions:

Do you play the piano?
Where do you live?
Does Jack play football?
Where does he come from?
Do Rita and Angela live in Manchester?
Where do they work?

We use do and does to make questions with the present simple. We use does for the third person singular (she/he/it) and do for the others.

We use do and does with question words like where, what and when:

Where do Angela and Rita live?
What does Angela do?
When does Rita usually get up?

But questions with who often don't use do or does:

Who lives in London?
Who plays football at the weekend?
Who works at Liverpool City Hospital?

Here are some useful questions. Try to remember them:

Where do you come from? Do you come from …? Where do you live? Do you live in ...?

What work do you do? Do you like …? Do you know …?

Present simple negatives

Look at these sentences:

I like tennis but I don't like football. (don't = do not)
I don't live in London now.
I don't play the piano but I play the guitar.
They don't work at the weekend.
John doesn't live in Manchester. (doesn't = does not)
Angela doesn't drive to work. She goes by bus.

We use do and does to make negatives with the present simple. We use doesn't for the third person singular (she/he/it) and don't for the others.

Present simple and present time

We use the present simple to talk about:

• something that is true in the present:

I'm nineteen years old.
I'm a student.
He lives in London.

• something that happens regularly in the present:

I play football every weekend.

• something that is always true:

The human body contains 206 bones.
Light travels at almost 300,000 kilometres per second.

We often use adverbs of frequency like sometimes, always and never with the present simple:

I sometimes go to the cinema.
She never plays football.

Here are some useful sentences. Complete them so that they are true for you and try to remember them:

My name is … . I'm … years old. I come from … . I live in … .

I'm a(n) … . I … at the weekend. I often … . I never … .

Complete these sentences so that they are true for a friend and try to remember them:

Her/His name is … . She's/He's … years old. She/He comes from … . She/He lives in … .

She's/He's a(n) … . She/He … at the weekend. She/He often … .