PRESENT SIMPLE
The simple present tense in English is used to describe an action that is regular, true or normal.
-Grammar rules for the third person (HE, SHE,IT) (they are the same as the regular plural nouns’) :
1. We normally add an +S:
He speaks three languages. --> SPEAK
She (Lina) drinks coffee every morning. --> DRINK
My dog (it) hates my cat. --> HATE
I hate my cat
You hate your cat
We hate our cat
They hate their cat -- Martha y Carolina (ELLAS)
Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs in English in the present tense follow very simple rules. The only change that is made to these
verbs is in the third person – for He, She or It.
2. If the verb ends in SS, X, CH, SH or the letter O, we add + ES:
A mechanic fixes cars. --> FIX (reparar)
She watches operas every afternoon. --> WATCH (ver)
He kisses his wife before he goes to work. --> KISS / GO (gous)(ir)
3. If the verb ends in a Consonant + Y, we remove the Y and + IES:
Isabel studies every night. -->STUDY (stad (r) is)
The baby cries all the time. -->CRY (crai) llorar
He denies all responsibility. --> DENY (dinai) (negar)
Negative Sentence
To form the negative we use the auxiliary do not (DON’T). Again, the only variation occurs in the 3rd person
where we use does not.(DOESN’T) (dasent)--> DO
In the negative, the main verb is always in the bare infinitive (without TO). It doesn't change for the third person.
We don't put an S on the end of the verb in the negative form. In the examples above - talk, sleep and study do
not change in the 3rd person.
He speaks Italian (SPEAK) --> He doesn't speak Italian.
The baby cries all the time --> The baby doesn’t cry all the time
He denies all responsibility --> He doesn’t deny all responsibility
Isabel studies every night --> Isabel doesn’t study every night
Juan writes a poem --> Juan doesn’t write a poem.
The horse eats carrots --> The horse doesn’t eat carrots
Remember: Do not can be abbreviated to Don't and Does not can be abbreviated to Doesn't.
IRREGULAR VERBS:
HAVE (tener) --> HAS
He has a daughter
She has a pet
I have a dog
REGULAR AND IRREGULAR PLURAL NOUNS
In general the plural of a noun is formed by adding -S to the noun.
Car - cars
Turtle - turtles tortuga / tortugas
House - houses
Book - books
Pencil - pencils
Bird - birds pájaro /pájaros
However:
1. When the noun ends in S, SH, CH, X or Z*, we add -ES to the noun.
-Kiss --> kisses beso - besos
-Wish --> wishes deseo - deseos
-Match --> matches fósforo - fósforos /partido - partidos
I have a box in my bedroom --> Tengo una caja en mi habitación
I have three boxes in my bedroom --> Tengo 3 cajas en mi habitación
She has two dresses
* With words that end in Z sometimes we add an extra Z to the plural form of the word (such as with the plural of
quiz (quizzes)).
2. When the noun ends in a VOWEL + Y, we add -S to the noun.
-Boy --> boys niño - niños
- Holiday --> holidays festivo - festivos
-Key --> keys (kis) llave - llaves
-Guy --> guys (gais) muchacho- muchachos
Students: please give an example
The boys are students
The last Mondays were holidays
These are my keys
Hey, guys! What’s up?
3. When the noun ends in a CONSONANT + Y, we remove Y and add -IES to the noun.
-Party --> parties fiesta- fiestas
- Lady --> ladies señorita- señoritas
- Story --> stories historia -historias
- City --> cities ciudad - ciudades
-Copy --> copies copias
-Butterfly --> butterflies (barerflais) mariposas
-Fly --> flies moscas (flais)
Students: please give an example
There are many flies in the sky
There are parties in the beach
My friends go to the parties
Camila lives (livs) in different cities
Life
Live
4. If the noun ends in F or FE, we remove the F/FE and add -VES to the noun.
- Wife (waif)--> wives (waivs) esposa /esposas
- Wolf --> wolves lobo- Lobos
- Knife (naif)--> knives (naives) cuchillo - cuchillos
- Leaf (lif) --> leaves hoja- hojas
-Life (laif) --> lives (laives) vida - vidas
pack
Students: please give an example
The wives are in a party in Cartagena
There is a wolves pack
I have knives
The cat has some lives
5. If the noun ends in a CONSONANT + O, we normally add -ES to the noun.
- Tomato --> tomatoes tomate- tomates
- Potato --> potatoes papa- papas
- Echo --> echoes eco- ecos
- Hero --> heroes héroe- héroes
Some exceptions: piano --> pianos, halo --> halos, photo --> photos
NOTE: Volcano has two correct forms of plural. Both volcanos and volcanoes are accepted.
Students: please give an example
I planted tomatoes in my farm / vegetable plot / the ground
Marvel has many heroes in its last movie (Marvel tiene muchos héroes en su última película)
I like the potatoes salad.
SUJETO + VERBO
I / YOU/ WE/ THEY --> RUN / GO/ LIKE
I run --> yo corro
I like --> me gusta
I read --> yo leo
You talk --> tú hablas
My - me
My --> posesivo
Me --> complemento (sobre mí recae la acción)
Listen to me --> escúchenme
Can you hear me? --> ¿Puedes escucharme?
Love me --> ámame
6. There are a number of nouns (sustantivos) that don't follow these rules. They are irregular and you need to
learn them individually because they don't normally have an S on the end.
- Man --> men hombre - hombres
- Woman --> women mujer - mujeres
- Child --> children niño- niños
- Foot --> feet pie- pies
- Tooth --> teeth diente - dientes
- Goose --> geese ganzo - ganzos
- Mouse --> mice ratón - ratones
There is a child in the park.
There are many children in the park.
There are children in my class
There are many geese in the farm
Those mice are mine
I brush my teeth
She is in the women’s bathroom
They have 5 children
THERE IS - THERE ARE --> HAY
7. There are some nouns in English that are the same in the singular and the plural.
-Fish --> fish pez- peces
- Sheep --> sheep oveja - ovejas
- Deer --> deer ciervo - ciervos
- Moose --> moose alce- alces
- Aircraft --> aircraft aeronave - aeronaves
I can see a sheep in the field. --> PUEDO VER UNA OVEJA EN EL CAMPO
I can see ten sheep in the field. --> PUEDO VER 10 OVEJAS EN EL CAMPO
I eat two fish in the lunch --> ME COMO DOS PECES EN EL ALMUERZO
Those are sheep --> ESAS SON OVEJAS
Sometimes you will hear the word fishes (especially in songs) though it is grammatically incorrect.
DAILY ROUTINE
Daily Activities List
Do the laundry (londry)--> Lavar la ropa
Hang the clothes --> Colgar la ropa
Iron the clothes --> Planchar la ropa
Make the bed --> Tender la cama
Go to bed --> Ir a la cama (ir a dormir)
Wake up --> Despertarse
Brush (brosh) the teeth --> Cepillarse los dientes
Drive to work /university /supermarket --> Conducir hacia el trabajo /universidad / supermercado
Get home --> llegar a casa
Take a bath/ shower --> Bañarse
Brush your hair(jer) --> Peinarse / cepillarse el cabello
SurF the net /internet --> navegar en internet
Play with friends (frends)-> jugar con amigos
Go to school --> ir a la escuela
Go shopping --> ir de compras
Exercise --> ejercitarse
Wash the car --> lavar el carro
Get dressed (drest) --> vestirse
Go out with a friend --> salir con un amigo
Take pictures --> tomar fotos
Play the guitar --> tocar la guitarra PLAY--> JUGAR, TOCAR
Water the plant --> Regar la planta
Go for a walk --> tomar un paseo
Work --> trabajar
Have breakfast (breikfast)--> desayunar
Have lunch --> almorzar
Have dinner --> cenar
Make (meik) dinner --> hacer la cena
Fold the laundry --> doblar la ropa
Feed the dog /cat --> alimentar el perro
Take a taxi --> tomar un taxi
Wait for the bus --> esperar el bus
Paint the picture --> pintar la imagen
Have a break (U.K) – Take a break (U.S) --> tomar un descanso
Walk the dog --> pasear el perro
Take out the rubbish (U.S) --> sacar la basura
Sweep the floor --> barrer el piso
Rake the leaves --> rastrillar las hojas
Read the news --> leer el periódico
Clean the window --> limpiar la ventana
Cut the grass --> cortar el cesped
Do (du) the dishes --> lavar la loza
Paint the house --> pintar la casa
We use some adverbs to describe how frequently we do an activity.
These are called adverbs of frequency and include:
Frequency Adverb of Frequency Example Sentence
100% Always (siempre) I always go to bed before 11 p.m.
90% Usually (usualmente) I usually have cereal for breakfast.
80% normally / generally (normalmente /generalmente) I normally go to the gym.
70% often* / frequently (a menudo / frecuentemente) I often surf the internet.
50% Sometimes (a veces) I sometimes forget my wife's birthday.
30% Occasionally (ocasionalmente) I occasionally eat junk food. (comida chatarra)
10% Seldom (raramente) I seldom read the newspaper.
5% hardly ever / rarely (casi nunca) I hardly ever drink alcohol.
0% Never (nunca) I never swim in the sea.
The Position of the Adverb in a Sentence
An adverb of frequency goes before a main verb (except with To Be).
Subject + adverb + main verb
I always remember to do my homework.
He normally gets good marks in exams.
An adverb of frequency goes after the verb To Be.
Subject + to be + adverb
They are never pleased to see me.
She isn't usually bad tempered.
Students: please give a short part of your daily routine.
Example:
On Mondays, I wake up at 08:00am and get up at 08:30 or 09:00am, I brush my teeth and I wash my face.
After, I make and eat (have) my breakfast. I walk my dogs and take a shower. I get dressed and I put on my shoes.
I brush my hair and clean my house. At 01:00pm I have lunch .
Now, make yours. n.n
Giovanny:
Johan: I normally get up at 5:30 (thirty), I brush my teeth at 5:45. I take a shower at 6 o’ clock, I eat my
breakfast at 6:20. I work from home since 7am to 2pm. I eat my lunch at 2pm after my work. I ocasionally
go to bed to take a rest at 3pm. I eat dinner at 7pm with my family- Finally, I go to bed at 10pm
Luisa:
I usually wake up at 6:00am, I brush my teeth, I take a bath and make the bed. I get dressed and I put on
my shoes. I drink a cup of coffee with cookies and I go to work. I have lunch at 1:00pm. I go back to work
and stay there until 6:00pm. I have class at 7:00pm. After it, I read a little and then I go to bed.
CITY VOCABULARY
- Bank
- Bus station
- Drugstore
- Bakery
- Library
- Train station
- Post office
- Police station
- Museum
- Hospital
- Cinema
- Theater
- University
- School
- Supermarket
- Church
- Park
- Town hall
- The park is in front of the school.
- The supermarket is between the drugstore and the bakery.
- The hospital is behind the theater.
Students: Where are your house and your school/work?
My university is in front of the park “La gotera”
PARTS OF THE BODY
