The Present Simple Tense in English
Use the Present Simple tense (“I go”, “He goes” etc) to talk about facts, things that are
always true, or for routines and habits.
For example:
In England it often snows in winter. (a fact)
I live in London (true – I don’t change my house every day)
John eats cereal for breakfast (routine or habit)
How to form the Present Simple
Use the same verb ending as the infinitive form for I, you, we and they. For he, she or it,
add s or es or ies.
I play tennis
You play tennis
He / She plays tennis
We play tennis
They play tennis
Add es for verbs that end -ss, -sh, -ch, -tch:
I kiss / He kisses
I wish / She wishes
I match / It matches
I march / She marches
I study / She studies (the y changes to ies for verbs that end in ‘consonant + y’)
In the present simple of all verbs (except the verb to be and other modal verbs) you
need an auxiliary to form negatives and questions. The auxiliary is do / does (for
questions) and don’t / doesn’t for negatives.
Negative form of the Present Simple
To form the negative, use the auxiliary don’t (for I, you, we, they) and doesn’t (for he,
she, it).
Then follow the auxiliary with the infinitive form of the verb.
For example:
I don’t live here
You don’t live here
She doesn’t live here
We don’t live here
They don’t live here
In all the above, live is the infinitive form.
Questions
To form the question, use do / does as the auxiliary. Use do for I, you, we, they; and
does for he, she, it.
Here is the word order for questions in the present simple:
Question word (optional) – auxiliary – subject – verb
Where do you live?
What does he do?
What does this computer program do?
Why do they argue all the time?
Do you like tennis? (There is no question word “why”, “what”, “where” in this question,
so the question starts with the auxiliary “do”.)
The verb that comes after the subject is the infinitive form.
Short answers
You can answer a “do you” type question with a short answer. Use the auxiliary do /
don’t; or does / doesn’t in your reply – NOT the infinitive.
Do I sign here? Yes, you do / No you don’t.
Do you work here? Yes I do / No I don’t.
Does she speak Spanish? Yes she does / No she doesn’t.
Do we take this train? Yes, we do / No we don’t.
Do they do their homework? Yes they do / No they don’t.
.
Common errors
Be careful to avoid these common errors.
Affirmative
He live in London. (Correct: He lives in London.)
He does live in London. (Correct: He lives in London)
Question
He does live in London? (Correct: Does he live in London?)
Does live he in London? (Correct: Does he live in London?)
Negative
He don’t live in London. (Correct: He doesn’t live in London.)
He doesn’t lives in London. (Correct: He doesn’t live in London.)
Present Simple Exercise
Choose the correct answer.
1. __ he live here?
Do
Does
Don't
2. No, he __
doesn't
doesn't lives
don't
3. __ you like classical music?
Do
Does
Doesn't
4. Yes, I __
do
does
likes
5. She __ work here now.
do
don't
doesn't
6. They __ like restaurants.
do
doesn't
don't
7. __ they often go on holiday?
Do
Does
Doesn't
8. __ it often rain in the UK?
Do
Does
Don't
9. Yes, it __
does
does rain
rains
10. I __ like watching football on the TV.
do
does
don't
English Nouns
Nouns in English can be singular (one only) or plural (more than one); countable (a
noun that we can count, i.e. that we can make plural) or uncountable (a noun that it is
impossible to count).
Some nouns are always plural, such as trousers, clothes, and scissors.
Singular and plural nouns
Some nouns are regular, and some nouns are irregular.
Regular nouns
For most nouns, you can add s to the singular noun to make it plural.
One dog = Two dogs
One cat = Two cats
One book = Two books
This is also true for most nouns ending in a vowel.
One sea = Two seas
One bite = Two bites
One bikini = Two bikinis
One zoo = Two zoos
Spelling differences
When a noun ends in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -tch, x, z add -es to make it plural.
One bus = Two buses
One boss = Two bosses
One leash = Two leashes
One church = Two churches
One match = Two matches
One box = Two boxes
One quiz = Two quizzes
When a noun ends in -y, there are two possibilities.
1. vowel + y = add s
One key = Two keys
One boy = Two boys
2. consonant + y = change the y to i and add es
One study = Two studies
One baby = Two babies
Other spelling differences
When a noun ends in -fe, change to –ves.
One life = Two lives
One wife = Two wives
One knife = Two knives
Most words which end in -f change to -ves in the plural.
One leaf = Two leaves
One wolf = Two wolves
One thief = Two thieves
Some words which end in -f can have -fs in the plural.
One scarf = Two scarves / Two scarfs
Most words which end in -o have -s for the plural.
One zoo = Two zoos
One memo = Two memos
Some words which end in -o have -es for the plural
One hero = Two heroes
One potato = Two potatoes
One tomato = Two tomatoes
Words of Latin and Greek origin
For some words, you can have either the anglicised plural spelling, or the Latin / Greek
plural spelling:
One cactus = Two cacti / cactuses
One curriculum = Two curricula / curriculums
One antenna = Two antennae / antennas
For other words, use the Latin / Greek plural spelling:
One stimulus = Two stimuli
One vertebra = Two vertebrae
One analysis = Two analyses
Check in a dictionary to be sure what the plural spelling is.
Irregular nouns
Some nouns have irregular plural endings.
One man = Two men
One woman = Two women
One child = Two children
One person = Two people
One ox = Two oxen
One mouse = Two mice
One tooth = Two teeth
One foot = Two feet
Some nouns have the same singular and plural endings.
One sheep = Two sheep
One series = Two series
Countable and uncountable nouns
Nouns can be countable, uncountable, or both countable and uncountable.
Countable nouns
Countable nouns are nouns that you can count. This means you can have a singular
and plural form.
For example, one apple or two apples.
Remember: with singular, countable nouns there is always an article.
An apple, my apple, the apple, this apple, etc (not just “apple”.)
Uncountable nouns
Uncountable nouns are nouns that you cannot count. This means that there is no plural
form. Uncountable nouns are usually:
– concepts (life, love, happiness, peace, advice, information. time, money)
– materials and substances (wood, paper, iron, bread)
– liquids (water, coffee)
Both countable and uncountable nouns
Some nouns can be both:
coffee (uncountable)
“Coffee is a popular drink.”
a coffee / two coffees (countable)
“I’d like a coffee and two teas, please.”
paper (uncountable)
“We produce paper in our factory.”
a paper (countable)
“The Guardian is a paper from the UK.”
wood (substance)
“The desk is made from wood.”
a wood (lots of trees)
“I live near a wood.”
English Nouns Exercise
Choose the correct answer.
1. They have two __ . One boy and one girl.
childs
children
sons
2. Where are all the __ today?
bus
buses
busses
3. English __ often like football.
mans
men
mens
4. London has many interesting __
church
churchs
churches
5. Please pass me the __
scissor
scissors
scissorses
6. There are two __ in the town: Park Wood and Church Wood.
wood
woodes
woods
7. I'd like three __ and a coke, please.
coffee
coffees
coffes
8. Her __ are white.
tooths
teeth
teeths
9. We need to buy some __
potato
potatoes
potatos
10. The __ work in a big company.
secretaries
secretaryes
secretarys
Pronouns and Possessives
Here are some simple grammar rules to use pronouns and possessive adjectives /
possessive pronouns.
Pronouns
Pronouns replace nouns. You can use them to avoid repetition.
For example:
David is a doctor. He is a doctor. (He = David.)
Sarah is a lawyer. She is a lawyer. (She = Sarah.)
Two types of pronouns are subject pronouns, and object pronouns.
Subject pronouns are pronouns that replace the nouns which are the subject of the
verb.
Object pronouns are pronouns that replace the nouns which are the object of the verb.
Subject pronouns
Subject pronouns are the subject of the verb.
I
you
he
she
it
we
they
For example:
John and Alice live in New York. They have a house in Brooklyn.
Alice is a lawyer. She loves her job.
John is a doctor. He works in a hospital.
Object pronouns
Object pronouns are the object of a verb. They come after the verb, and after
prepositions.
Here’s a list of subject and object pronouns:
I —– me
You —- you
He —- him
She — her
It —- it
We —- us
They —- them
I love David, and he loves me.
You and I are neighbours. I know you.
He is my friend. I like him.
She studies English. I teach her.
I like reading. I like it.
He helps Sarah and me. He helps us.
They are students. I teach them.
Here are examples of object pronouns after prepositions.
I‘m going to the cinema tonight. Come with me.
Do you want to see the new film? Yes, I’ll go to the cinema with you.
He helps me with English. I get help from him.
I want to buy a present for Diana. I want to buy a present for her.
We have two children. They live with us.
I don’t want to speak to David and Robert. I don’t want to speak to them.
Possessive adjectives
Possessive adjectives say who owns something. Because they are adjectives, they
don’t have a plural (or feminine / masculine) form. They link to the person who owns /
has something: not the object.
Here’s a list of subjects and possessive adjectives:
I — my
You — your
He — his
She — her
It — its
We — our
They — their
I have a car. My car is red.
You have a house. Your house is beautiful.
He is married. His wife’s name is Carol.
She is married. Her husband is a chef.
It is a small company. Its profits are small.
We have one child. Our family is small.
They have a pet dog. Their dog is a Doberman.
Possessive pronouns
Possessive pronouns show who is the owner of an object, and replace the object.
For example:
I have a red car. It is mine.
Here’s a list of possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns.
my — mine
your — yours
his — his
her — hers
our — ours
their — theirs
Your house is small. My house is bigger than yours. (= bigger than your house)
His car is big. But my car is bigger than his. (= bigger than his car)
I like her car. I like hers.
This is our car. This is ours.
This isn’t our car. It’s theirs. (=their car)
Pronouns and Possessives Exercise
