4: Routines and Opinions- Using the Simple Present

The Weekend Cook

(Image 1)

My dad works in a bank. He works there from Monday to Friday. He helps people. He counts money, and he uses a computer. He is an important man at the bank. Dad also works at home. On weekends, he always cooks dinner. Usually he fixes Italian food. On Saturdays, he makes spaghetti. On Sundays, he makes pizza. Sometimes he fries chicken or fixes Chinese food. My mother watches and helps. She cuts the vegetables and tosses the salad. I wash the dishes. Some people say it is strange for a man to cook. My dad enjoys his hobby. Cooking relaxes him. His father was a weekend cook, too.

Underline all of the verbs in the paragraph above.

In each sentence, the simple present verb tense is used. Simple present is used for routines and general statements. Here are the basic forms of the simple present tense:

Singular Forms	Plural Forms
I like tomatoes. He / She / It likes tomatoes. You like tomatoes.	We like tomatoes. They like tomatoes.

Notice that only the He / She / It forms take an -s ending. This is called the third person singular. All other simple present verbs are simple – just the base form of the verb. They are formed with one word, no -s.

In “The Weekend Cook,” draw a circle around the s in the simple present verbs. Why is an -s added in each case?

NOTES on IRREGULAR verbs: The verb be and have are irregular in the simple present.

be I am hungry. He / She / It is hungry. You are hungry. We are hungry. They are hungry.

have I have a car. He / She / It has a car. You have a car. We have a car. They have a car.

NOTES on SPELLING: A few verbs add -es in the third person singular. They are verbs that end in s, z, sh, ch, or x.

If a verb ends in a consonant and -y, change the y to i before adding -es. If the verb ends in a vowel and -y, simply add s.

Practice 4A

Write the forms below with the correct spelling.

1. He fixes (fix) He ____ (finish) He ____ (relax) He ____ (rush)
2. She watches (watch) She ____ (toss) She ____ (wash) She ____ (miss) She ____ (teach)
3. He tries (try) He ____ (fry) He ____ (study) He ____ (hurry) He ____ (carry)
4. She says (say) She ____ (enjoy) She ____ (play) She ____ (stay) She ____ (pay)

Practice 4B

Rewrite the sentences below, adding the correct form of the verb. Remember that he, she, and it take -s forms.

1. Most women cook the dinners at home. (cook)
2. My mother cooks most of the time. (cook)
3. She ____ dinner on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. (make)
4. My father ____ Italian food on the weekends. (fix)
5. My brother and I ____ the dishes. (wash)
6. We ____ with the salad, too. (help)
7. I ____ to cook already. (know how)
8. Cooking ____ my father. (relax)
9. Many working people ____ (have) a lot of stress at work and (rush) around all day.
10. Often they ____ a hobby after work. (enjoy)

Practice 4C

Write the sentences below and change all the singular nouns to plural nouns. You will not need an article before the plural noun. You will also need to change the verb forms from singular to plural.

1. A banker works with money.

Bankers work with money.

2. A pharmacist works with prescriptions.

_________________________

3. A doctor eats a quick lunch.

_________________________

4. A bank manager eats a long, slow lunch.

_________________________

5. A pharmacist’s assistant works in a pharmacy.

_________________________

6. A good boy helps his family.

_________________________

7. A father usually takes out the trash.

_________________________

How do we make negative forms in the simple present tense? We add don’t or doesn’t before the base form of the verb.

Singular Forms	Plural Forms
I don’t work. He / She / It doesn’t work. You don’t work.	We don’t work. They don’t work.

The negative forms of be are am not, isn’t, and aren’t.

Practice 4D

Fill in the missing verb forms in this paragraph.

My Sister Liz

My sister Liz is a stay-at-home mom, but she is one of the busiest people I know. She _____________ (1. have) two children, Sam and Beth. They _____________ (2. be) both in middle school. Her husband Peter _____________ (3. be) a doctor. He _____________ (4. work) every day from 7 AM to 6 PM. Every morning during the week, my sister _____________ (5. make) breakfast for Sam and Beth. The kids _____________ (6. ride) the bus to school. During the day, Liz _____________ (7. work) on projects for her small business. She _____________ (8. sew) special orders from the Internet. She _____________ (9. take) care of the house and _____________ (10. prepare) meals. Sometimes she _____________ (11. meet) friends for lunch or coffee. She _____________ (12. take) their dog, Heidi, for walks. When Sam and Beth _____________ (13. come) home, she _____________ (14. give) them a snack and _____________ (15. help) them with their homework. Liz _____________ (16. make) dinner for everyone, but my brother-in-law Peter usually _____________ (17. eat) late, after 7 PM. She _____________ (18. sit) with him while he (19. eat). At their church, she _____________ (20. volunteer) with children and _____________ (21. sing) in the choir. My sister _____________ (22. not, have) a job, but she always seems very busy to me.

Practice 4E

Choose a family member or friend that you know very well. On a separate piece of paper, write a journal about this person’s routine. You can include information about their work, family, hobbies, and other habits. Write in correct paragraph format.

Write the person’s name in the first sentence.

In Unit 3, you learned a pre-writing technique called clustering. Another pre-writing technique is making a list. When you make a list for pre-writing, write down every word that comes to mind when you hear a topic. Don’t worry about spelling or separating main ideas from detail. Do not write sentences.

Here is an example of making a list pre-writing for the topic, “My Favorite Season.”

Summer

warm sunny long days vacation no school travel ice cream swim lakes

Up North camping reading sleeping later festivals my family visits green leaves blue skies neighborhood kids out playing

The writer might find two or three “big” ideas in the list and make a plan for the paragraph. In this case, the writer might focus on:

1. Warm weather
   • sunny
   • walks, neighbors come out
   • swim
2. no school
   • free time to read
   • play with kids
   • travel and camp

TOPIC SENTENCE: Summer is my favorite season for several reasons.

Practice 4F

On a separate piece of paper, practice making a list about two of these topics:

• my favorite city, or a city I know well - my favorite website
• my favorite holiday - my favorite store or shopping center
• my favorite restaurant - my favorite tourist destination
• a job I am interested in, reasons why

Practice 4G

Choose ONE of your lists from Practice 4F. Make a short plan for a formal paragraph. Then write a topic sentence for the paragraph.

This paragraph will include many reasons that an item is your favorite, or one of your favorites. When we give reasons, we often need to use the connecting word because.

Because can come at the beginning of the sentence. Then it needs to be followed by a comma and a main clause ( main S V O ). More often, because comes in the middle of the sentence with no comma.

CORRECT: Because it has a diverse population, Ann Arbor is one of my favorite cities. Ann Arbor is one of my favorite cities because it has a diverse population.

INCORRECT: Because it has a diverse population. Ann Arbor is one of my favorite cities. INCORRECT: Ann Arbor is one of my favorite cities. Because it has a diverse population. INCORRECT: Ann Arbor is one of my favorite cities, because it has a diverse population. INCORRECT: Ann Arbor is one of my favorite cities, Because it has a diverse population. INCORRECT: Ann Arbor is one of my favorite cities. Because, it has a diverse population. RULE: NO COMMA BEFORE BECAUSE when it comes in the middle of a sentence.

Practice 4H

Connect the two sentences. Use because. Example:

I like Facebook. It lets me see photos of everyone’s children.

I like Facebook because it lets me see photos of everyone’s children.

1. I enjoy the Lunar New Year. The whole family gets together.
2. Great Lakes Crossing is my favorite mall. It has two great attractions for my kids.
3. I recommend visiting Washington, DC. It has great museums.
4. Machu Picchu is a very popular tourist destination. It has amazing views of ancient ruins.
5. I recommend Bell’s Diner if you like Korean food. They have great bibimbap.

Practice 4I

Write the rough draft of a paragraph using the topic, list, plan, and topic sentence that you worked on in Practice 4F and 4G. Your paragraph should include:

• a topic sentence in the paragraph at the beginning
• 8-12 sentences of supporting details and examples
• a conclusion sentence
• a title

Your instructor will give you specific deadlines for the rough draft and the revision of this paragraph.

Try to read and respond to a classmate’s paragraph. When you get feedback from your classmate and instructor, write the final draft of this paragraph.

The simple present tense is used to write a summary of a novel or other work of fiction. Using the simple present tense in this way is called the narrative present.

Practice 4J

Your instructor will ask you to write a summary of a chapter or two of a book that you are reading. Choose ONE CHARACTER from the book. Write 5 sentences about what happened to that character in those chapters. Use the narrative present. Use the –s ending for third person subjects.

Example:

In Chapter 3, Billy wakes up and finds out that his grandpa is very sick. He runs through the snow to the doctor’s house.

He wakes up the doctor.

Billy and the doctor run back to help Grandpa.

Billy tells the doctor about Grandpa’s heart problem.

Attributions

This Unit, through Practice 4C is from:

“Developing Writing: Writing Skills Practice Book for EFL” by Patricia Wilcox Peterson, Office of English Language Programs, U.S. Department of State is in the Public Domain

Image 1:

“Active cooking at Foodlab Stockholm” by K.I.T. is licensed via Flickr under CC BY 2.0.