PRESENT SIMPLE
Use
Affirmative form
Spelling rules
Negative and Interrogative form
USE
We use Present Simple for:
Habits:
- I work from Monday to Friday.
Something is true or general facts:
- Two and two make four.
Permanent situations:
- I live in Valencia.
Future timetables:
- The train leaves at 10 o’clock.
FORM
Affirmative “to be”: Affirmative “to sing”:
Pronoun Verb Short form Pronoun Verb
I am I’m I sing
You are You’re You sing
He He’s He
She is She’s She sings
It It’s It
We are We’re We sing
You are You’re You sing
They are They’re They sing
SPELLING RULES
We add “–s” if the subject is he, she, it:
- She sings a song
We add “-es” when the word ends in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -o:
- He washes the dishes
We add “-ies” when the word ends in consonant + “y”:
- She studies English
*Be careful! “Y” does not change to “ie” if the word ends in “ay”, “ey”, “oy”, “uy”:
Ex: Say – “says” / Buy – “buys” / Enjoy – “enjoys” / Stay – “stays”
Irregular verbs:
- To have – “has”
- To go – “goes”
- To do – “does”
NEGATIVE FORM
Negative “to be”: Negative “to sing”:
We add “not” to the verb “to be”. We use the auxiliar “do” to make the negative form*.
Pronoun Verb Short form Pronoun Verb
I am not I’m not I don’t / do not sing
You are not You aren’t You don’t / do not sing
He He He
She is not She isn’t She doesn’t / does not sing
It It It
We don’t / do not sing
We are not We aren’t
You don’t / do not sing
You re not You aren’t
They don’t / do not sing
They are not They aren’t
*It has no meaning!
When we use the auxiliar “do” (negative and interrogative form), the main verb doesn’t change in
third person, we use “does”.
INTERROGATIVE FORM
Interrogative “to be”: Interrogative “to sing”:
We change the order: verb + subject/pronoun. We use the auxiliar “do” to make the interrogative form.
Verb Pronoun Auxiliar (DO) Pronoun Verb
Am I Do I sing
Are you Do you sing
he he
Is she Does she sing
it it
Are we Do we sing
Are you Do you sing
Are they Do they sing
Remember the order: WH questions (not always) + auxiliar + subject + verb + complements:
- Are you a student? - Do you like coffee? - What do you eat for lunch?