The Simple Present Tense

Vocabulary

CASINO

MACHINE

FRUIT MACHINE

TO GAMBLE / THEY'RE GABLING

FLAT / APARTMENT

FLOWERS

GARDEN

 GRASS

SWIMMING POOL

TO SWIM / HE'S SWIMMING 

Video

BW: You have a lovely house, Julia.

DHW: Thank you, Helen.

I'm like my mother. We're "home-lovers".

BW: And you have a very nice garden with a swimming pool!

DHW: Yes, I love flowers and green grass. I also like to swim because it's good for my health.

BW: For the moment we only have a flat with a TV. But we plan to buy a house.

DHW: Does your husband have a good job now?

BW: Yes, he does. At last George has a very interesting business and he earns a lot of money.

DHW: What kind of business does he have?

BW: He manufactures fruit machines for casinos and bars in the town.

DHW: Is it his own busines?.

BW: Yes, he invents the games and designs the machines.

He has a lot of talent.

DHW: And is it a good business?

DHW: The business isn't bad, but we make a lot of money because I play on all the machines he sells. I know all the tricks, so I always win.

BW: Oh, that's clever!

DHW: No, it's simple. He is the salesman and I'm the gambler.

BW: Oh, what a good combination!

DHW: Yes, it's perfect. But don't tell anybody.

Words definitions:

Job:  the work that a person does regularly in order to earn money; a duty, task, or function that someone or something has.

Health: the condition of being well or free from disease;  the overall condition of someone's body or mind.

Business: the activity of making, buying, or selling goods or providing services in exchange for money.

To earn: to receive as return for effort and especially for work done or services provided.

To manufacture: to make (something) usually in large amounts by using machines.

To design: To create or execute in an artistic or highly skilled manner.

Trick: a clever and skillful action that someone performs to entertain or amuse people; an act or procedure intended to achieve an end by deceptive or fraudulent means.

To gamble: to play a game in which you can win or lose money or possessions; to bet money or other valuable things

Simple Present Tense

The simple present tense in English is used to describe an action that is regular, true or normal.

We use the present tense:

1. For repeated or regular actions in the present time period.

• I take the train to the office.
• The train to Berlin leaves every hour.
• John sleeps eight hours every night during the week.

2. For facts.

• The President of The USA lives in The White House.
• A dog has four legs.
• We come from Switzerland.

3. For habits.

• I get up early every day.
• Carol brushes her teeth twice a day.
• They travel to their country house every weekend.

4. For things that are always / generally true.

• It rains a lot in winter.
• The Queen of England lives in Buckingham Palace.
• They speak English at work.

Verb Conjugation & Spelling

We form the present tense using the base form of the infinitive (without the TO).

In general, in the third person we add 'S' in the third person.

Subject	Verb	The Rest of the sentence
I / you / we / they	speak / learn	English at home
he / she / it	speaks / learns	English at home

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 -Z we add -ES in the third person.

• go – goes
• catch – catches
• wash – washes
• kiss – kisses
• fix – fixes
• buzz – buzzes

2. For verbs that end in a consonant + Y, we remove the Y 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

Negative Sentences in the Simple Present Tense

To make a negative sentence in English we normally use Don't or Doesn't with all verbs EXCEPT To Be and Modal verbs (can, might, should etc.).

• Affirmative: You speak French.
  Negative: You don't speak French.

You will see that we add don't between the subject and the verb. We use Don't when the subject is I, you,we or they.

• Affirmative: He speaks German.
  Negative: He doesn't speak German.

When the subject is he, she or it, we add doesn't between the subject and the verb to make a negative sentence. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the negative sentence. We will see the reason why below.

Negative Contractions

Don't = Do not
Doesn't = Does not

I don't like meat = I do not like meat.

There is no difference in meaning though we normally use contractions in spoken English.

Word Order of Negative Sentences

The following is the word order to construct a basic negative sentence in English in the Present Tense using Don't or Doesn't.

Subject	don't/doesn't	Verb*	The Rest of the sentence
I / you / we / they	don't	have / buy eat / like etc.	cereal for breakfast
he / she / it	doesn't

* Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part.

Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc.

Examples of Negative Sentences with Don't and Doesn't:

• You don't speak Arabic.
• John doesn't speak Italian.
• We don't have time for a rest.
• It doesn't move.
• They don't want to go to the party.
• She doesn't like fish.

Questions in the Simple Present Tense

To make a question in English we normally use Do or Does. It has no translation in Spanish though it is essential to show we are making a question. It is normally put at the beginning of the question.

• Affirmative: You speak English.
  Question: Do you speak English?

You will see that we add DO at the beginning of the affirmative sentence to make it a question. We use Dowhen the subject is I, you, we or they.

• Affirmative: He speaks French.
  Question: Does he speak French?

When the subject is he, she or it, we add DOES at the beginning to make the affirmative sentence a question. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the question. We will see the reason why below.

We DON'T use Do or Does in questions that have the verb To Be or Modal Verbs (can, must, might, should etc.)

Word Order of Questions with Do and Does

The following is the word order to construct a basic question in English using Do or Does.

Do/Does	Subject	Verb*	The Rest of the sentence
Do	I / you / we / they	have / need want etc.	a new bike?
Does	he / she / it

*Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part.

Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc.

Examples of Questions with Do and Does:

• Do you need a dictionary?
• Does Mary need a dictionary?
• Do we have a meeting now?
• Does it rain a lot in winter?
• Do they want to go to the party?
• Does he like pizza?

Short Answers with Do and Does

In questions that use do/does it is possible to give short answers to direct questions as follows:

Sample Questions	Short Answer (Affirmative)	Short Answer (Negative)
Do you like chocolate?	Yes, I do.	No, I don't.
Do I need a pencil?	Yes, you do.	No, you don't.
Do you both like chocolate?	Yes, we do.	No, we don't.
Do they like chocolate?	Yes, they do.	No, they don't.
Does he like chocolate?	Yes, he does.	No, he doesn't.
Does she like chocolate?	Yes, she does.	No, she doesn't.
Does it have four wheels?	Yes, it does.	No, it doesn't.

However, if a question word such as who, when, where, why, which or how is used in the question, you can not use the short answers above to respond to the question.

Now that you know everything about the Simple Presente Tense, let's play this game.

For extra exercises, click here.

Let's listen to a cute song?? Hope you like it: Just the way you are - Bruno Mars

Many & Much

Many is used with countable nouns:
Q: How many apples are there? A: There are many apples in this picture.
Q: How many chairs are there? A: There are two chairs.
Q: How many bees are there? A: Hundreds. Maybe thousands!
Q: How many apples are there in this picture? A: There is only one apple.
Q: How many men are in this picture? A: There aren't any. There is only one woman.

Much is used with uncountable nouns:
Q: How much fruit is there? A: There's a lot of fruit.
Q: How much water is in the glass? A: It's almost full. There's a lot of water in the glass.
Q: How much traffic is there this morning? A: There's a lot of traffic. The cars aren't moving very fast.
Q: How much fishing does he do? A: He does a lot of fishing on the weekend.
Q: How much beer is there in his glass? A: There isn't any. It's all gone.

It's important to understand the difference between uncountable and countable nouns when using many and much. Uncountable nouns are often used to describe large categories while countable nouns are usually more specific.

Countable Nouns Singular or Plural		Uncountable Nouns (Don't use in plural form)
car apple machine fact chair dollar minute (Only use an article with these: a or the)	cars apples machines facts chairs dollars minutes (These plural count nouns use "many")	traffic fruit machinery information furniture money time (These use "much")