1.1: Simple Present Tense
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- 255956
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Photo by Allyson Marceau
Authors of charts & exercises: Susan Caisse, Kristee Emens-Hesslink, & Jennifer Rueda, Clackamas Community College via OpenOregon Licensed CC-BY-NC
Simple Present Tense Formation
Affirmative Form
|
Subject |
Verb |
Rest of Sentence |
|
I |
drink |
coffee every morning. |
|
He |
works |
on Saturdays. |
Negative Form
|
Subject |
Auxiliary DO |
Negative |
Negative Contractions |
Base Verb |
Rest of Sentence |
|
I |
do |
not |
don’t |
drink |
coffee after 5:00 p.m. |
|
He |
does |
not |
doesn’t |
work |
on Sundays. |
Question Forms
Yes/No Questions
|
Auxiliary Verb |
Subject |
Base Verb |
AFFIRMATIVE Short Answers |
NEGATIVE |
Contractions |
|
Do |
I you |
work? |
Yes, I do. |
No, I do not. |
No, I don’t. |
|
Does |
he |
work? |
Yes, he does |
No, he does not. |
No, he doesn’t |
Wh- (Information) Questions
|
Question Words |
Auxiliary Verb |
Subject |
Base Verb |
Rest of Sentence |
|
When |
do |
you |
attend |
classes? |
|
Where |
does |
He she |
work? |
|
|
Why |
do |
the students |
sit |
in the back? |
|
How much |
does |
the book |
cost? |
|
The Verb "To Be"
Affirmative and Negative Statements with the BE Verb |
|||
|
Subject |
BE Verb |
Contractions |
Noun, Adjective, or Prepositional Phrase |
|
I |
am (not) |
I’m (not) |
a student. |
|
He |
is (not) |
He’s (not) She’s (not) It’s (not) |
inside the house. |
|
You |
are (not) |
You’re (not) We’re (not) They’re (not) |
happy. |
Questions and Short Answers with the "Be" Verb
|
BE Verb |
Subject |
Noun, Adjective, or Preposition |
AFFIRMATIVE Short Answers |
NEGATIVE |
Contractions |
|
|
Am |
I |
hungry? |
Yes, I am. |
No, I am not. |
No, I’m not. |
|
|
Is |
he |
a student? |
Yes, he is. |
No, he is not. |
No, he’s not. |
No he isn’t. No she isn't No, it isn’t |
|
Are |
you |
at home? |
Yes, you are. |
No, you are not. |
No, you’re not. |
No you aren't. No, we aren't. No, they aren’t. |
Exercise 1.1
Directions: Write the correct affirmative or negative simple present tense form of the verb (in parentheses) on the line
1. The children ______________________ (be) still asleep.
2. Ms.Taylor is a professor. She ______________________ (not be) a student.
3. Iced tea ______________________ (taste) good on a hot day.
4. My parents ______________________ (take) a walk every evening after dinner.
5. Both of my sons______________________ (love) to eat my wife’s food.
6. Mario is a stay-at-home father. He ____________________ (not work) outside his home.
7. Students ______________________ (not have) to take classes on weekends.
8. They______________________ (say) "Hi!" to me when they see me.
9. The university ___________________ (offer) degrees in many fields.
10. My dog ______________________ (enjoy) going for walks with my wife.
11. I prefer Latin music. I usually ______________________ (not listen) to pop music.
12. My wife and I ______________________ (do) the grocery shopping on Saturdays
13. Linh_____________________(not be) at school today. She is not feeling well.
14. A mechanic ______________________ (repair) cars for a living.
Exercise 1.2: Negatives and Contractions
Directions: Make these sentences negative. Use full forms for numbers 1-4 and contractions for numbers 5-8.
1. I go to work on the bus.
____________________________________________________
2. She wants to eat Chinese food.
_____________________________________________________
3. They have two children.
____________________________________________________
4. He has a dog and two cats.
____________________________________________________
5. You need to stand in line.
____________________________________________________
6. My car has red seats.
____________________________________________________
7. I eat breakfast every morning.
____________________________________________________
8. You have enough time.
____________________________________________________
Exercise 1.3: Interview
Part 1 Directions: Use the sentences below to interview your partner. Take notes on your own lined paper.
Student A: What is a food you don’t like.
Student B: I don’t like eggs.
Questions:
- What is your favorite food?
- What is a food you don’t like?
- What app do you like most?
- What is a household task you don’t like?
- What is a type of music you don’t like?
Part 2 Directions: Now, write 5 sentences about your partner. Use your notes to help you. Write your partner’s answers in FULL sentences.
Example: She doesn’t like eggs.
- _________________________________________________
- _________________________________________________
- _________________________________________________
- _________________________________________________
- _________________________________________________
Exercise 1.4: Questions
Directions: Write the question on the line below. Use the words in the parentheses. Some are wh-questions, and some are yes/no questions.
1. A: When _________________________________ on weekdays? (you/ wake up)
B: I wake up at 8:00 am.
2. A: _________________________________ a pet? (you / have)
B: Yes, I do. I have a dog.
3. A: Why _________________________________ college? (attend)
B: I attend college to improve my English.
4. A: ___________________________________ breakfast every morning? (you/ eat)
B: No, I don’t.
5. A: How often ___________________________________ fast food? (your family / eat)
B: My family eats fast food once a month.
6. A: How __________________________________ to school in the morning? (your brother/ get)
B: He drives to school.
Asking Information Questions (WH Questions) about the Subjects of Sentences
So far, we have been writing questions about the object. We use questions about the object to ask about the receiver of an action. These questions follow the QUASM formula: Question word – Auxiliary verb – Subject – Main verb as we have seen above. For questions in the simple present, the auxiliary verbs are do and does:
Does Harry live in Dallas?
Do you like to play tennis?
What do you do in your free time?
However, sometimes we want to ask about the subject. We don’t know the person or thing who performs the action, and we want to find out. This type of question (a question about a subject) does not use the auxiliary verbs do or does. The verb in these types of questions is considered singular. Therefore, it ends with "s."
Examples:
- Who buys groceries for the family?
- My brother buys groceries for the family.
- What eats on the porch?
- The dogs eat on the back porch.
- Who takes a walk in the park every evening?
- My parents take in the park every evening.
- What grows in your garden?
- Many colorful flowers grow in my garden.
Exercise 1.5: Questions about the Subject
Make wh- questions about the subjects with the words following the sentences. The subject is underlined in the answer.
- Answer: The Weather Channel gives weather forecasts every hour.
Question: What channel gives weather forecasts every hour?
2. Boys get into trouble more often than girls.
Who
3. My husband and I go to restaurants every week.
Who
4. Driving at night makes me nervous.
What
5. The boys like to ride horses in the afternoon.
Who
6. Rich people often buy expensive cars.
Who
Page adopted from Don Bissonnette-Seattle Community College ESL Grammar the Way You LIke It licensed for use under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International.