PRESENT SIMPLE AFFIRMATIVE AND NEGATIVE
ESL / EFL RESOURCES
For third-person singular verb forms in the present simple, we add -s, -es or -ies at
the end of the verb.
A. Add -s, -es or -ies to the following verbs.
1. teach ____________ 9. buzz ____________
3. run ____________ 11. sit ____________
4. push ____________ 12. guess ____________
6. do ____________ 14. worry ____________
8. go ____________ 16. have ____________
What are the spelling rules for present simple third-person singular verb forms?
For most verbs, we add _____________________________________________________
For verbs ending with a consonant and -y, we ____________________________________
For verbs ending in -s, -z, -ch, -sh, -o, or -x, we add ______________________________
For the verb 'have', we ______________________________________________________
B. Underline the correct present simple verb form in each sentence
1. My family go / goes on holiday in the summer.
What do you understand
2. I often eat / eats dinner at my friend’s house. about subject-verb
3. Emma do / does her homework in the evening. agreement in the
present simple?
4. They play / plays badminton every afternoon.
5. Harry seldom listen / listens to me. _____________________
6. My brother never watch / watches television. _____________________
_____________________
9. My dog bark / barks at night. _____________________
_____________________
11. Becky and Liz go / goes to the swimming pool every week.
_____________________
12. I never feed / feeds my cat.
13. My parents live / lives in Paris. _____________________
14. We eat / eats eggs for breakfast.
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PRESENT SIMPLE AFFIRMATIVE AND NEGATIVE
ESL / EFL RESOURCES
C.
brackets.
1. Tom _______________ (not play) football. He likes to _______________ (play) computer
games.
3. I _______________ (wash) the dishes, but I _______________ (not put) them away.
4. They _______________ (not clean) the kitchen, before they _______________ (eat)
dinner.
5. Neil _______________ (try) to be a good boy, but he ______________ (not behave) well.
6. Sarah ______________ (brush) her hair every morning, before she ______________ (go)
to school.
7. I _______________ (not catch) a cold in the summer, but I often ______________
(catch) a cold in the winter.
8. The sun _______________ (not rise) in the west. It _______________ (rise) in the east.
9. Natalie _______________ (not sit) in the sun. She rarely _______________ (go) to the
beach.
11. Sarah _______________ (not like) swimming. She _______________ (like) playing
tennis.
12. He _______________ (not be) American. He _______________ (be) Canadian.
13. They _______________ (not do) their homework together. They _______________ (do)
it alone.
14. I _______________ (be) a student. I _______________ (not be) a teacher.
15. Class _______________ (start) at 9 o'clock. It _______________ (not start) at 8' clock.
What are the rules for negative verb forms in the present simple?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
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PRESENT SIMPLE AFFIRMATIVE AND NEGATIVE
ESL / EFL RESOURCES
Adverbs of frequency are often used with the present simple, because they indicate
repeated or routine actions and activities.
D. Rewrite the following present simple sentences, adding the adverb of frequency or
frequency expression in the correct position.
1. We are at home on Sunday. (often)
__________________________________________________________________________
2. I’m not busy on Monday. (usually)
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
4. My parents visit me. (once a month)
__________________________________________________________________________
5. They are happy to have guests. (always)
__________________________________________________________________________
6. We have bacon for breakfast. (sometimes)
__________________________________________________________________________
7. Birds build their nests on this roof. (every summer)
__________________________________________________________________________
8. They sing very loudly. (generally)
__________________________________________________________________________
9. Sally is late for school. (rarely)
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Where do we place adverbs of frequency in a sentence?
Sentence with the verb to be: _________________________________________________
Sentences with one main verb: ________________________________________________
Negative sentences: ________________________________________________________
Frequency expressions: ______________________________________________________
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