A.WHEN TO USE SIMPLE PRESENT?
R:WE USE THIS TENSE IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT SITUATIONS:
1. firstly, we use the present simple when something is generally true. for example
.the sun rises in the east
.it snows in winter
.the sky isn't green
2. secondly, we need to use this tense for a situation that we think is more or less permanent
.she works in a bank.
.she has three children.
.i am married
3. the next use is for habits or things that we do regulary. we often use adverbs of frequency in this case.
.i play tennis every tuesday
.she gets up at seven o'clock every day.
.i don't travel very often.
4. four, we use the simple present to talk about what happens in book, plays or films:
.the hero dies at the end of the film
.in this book, an army inuades britain.
5. we use it in the first and the zero conditional
6. strangely, we can use this tense to talk about the future. she you are discussing a timetable or a fixed plan, you can use this tense. usually, the timetable is fixed by an organisation, not by us.
.school begins at nine tomorrow
.our train leaves at eleven
7. we also use it to talk about the future after words like when'until, after, before, as soon as, in a future sentence.
.i will call you when i have time (not will have)
.i'll give you the book before you go.
8. we need to use this simple tense with some special verb which we don't use in continuous tenses (stative verbs)
.this soup tastes great
.you look fabulous.
.i think she is very pretty.
B. RULES
THIRD PERSON SINGULAR
A.general rule / we adol (-S) to the verb
.stop > stops
.work > works.
.read > reads.
B. whenth the verb / we add - ies to the
ends in e y verb ifitis pronounced
/AI/ fly > flies
cry > cries
/I/ study > studies
tidy > tidies
but
/EI/ stay > stays
play > plays
C. when the verb ends in / we oldd - 'es' to the verb
/S/ cross > crosses
lose > loses
/Z/ buzz > buzzes
/S/ flash > flashes
wish > wishes
/TS/ teach > teaches
catch >catches
/DS/ judge > judges
D. the verbs 'go' and 'do' / add '-es' to the verb
. go > goes
. do > does
C. EXAMPLES
1. I (travel) .......... to London every week. Yo viajo a Londres todas las semanas.
2. They (run) .......... in the park every Saturdays. Ellos corren en el parque todos los sábados.
3. My mother (clean) .......... the house. Mi madre limpia la casa.
4. You (be) .......... a good student. Tú eres un buen estudiante.
5. Mary (work) .......... in a bank. Mary trabaja en un banco.
6. John (walk).......... to his office. John camina a su oficina.
7. You (study) .......... English at school. Ustedes estudian inglés en la escuela.
8. The dog (break) .......... the fence. El perro rompe la cerca.
9. The car (be) .......... in the garage. El coche está en el garage.
10. My father (have) .......... a nice coat. Mi padre tiene un lindo saco.
- We (live) .......... in Paris. Nosotros vivimos en París.
- George (sell) .......... peaches and apples. George vende duraznos y manzanas.
- I always (visit) .......... my grandmother. Yo siempre visito a mi abuela.
- Alice (go) .......... to the church. Alicia va a la iglesia.
- They (be) .......... my best friends. Ellos son mis mejores amigos.
- You always (pay) .......... the tickets. Tú siempre pagas los boletos.
- London (be) .......... a big and nice city. Londres es una ciudad linda y grande.
- My cousin (paint) .......... the house. Mi primo pinta la casa.
- I (study) .......... and (work) .......... in Madrid. Yo estudio y trabajo en Madrid.
- Mike never (do) .......... the homework. Mike nunca hace la tarea
C. STRUCTURES - SIMPLE PRESENT
AFIRMATIVE SENTENCE
in an affirmative sentence the structure is: PRONOUN + VERB + COMPLEMENT I WORK IN THE MORNING
the base (pronoun + verb) in this example is what we call simple present. it indicates facts, habits and real situations, such as:
.I DANCE
.I SING
.I WALK
.I TALK
.I LIVE.
the complement part is the place where you add more meaning to your sentence. you can use an adverb, an adjective, a pleace, a noun.
.the boy is happy ( adjective )
.i like chocolate ( noun )
.he sings everyday ( adverb )
you can add mor information to the senteaces as well:
.i like dark chocolate
.the boy is a happy child
. he sings everyday in the karaoke
NEGATIVE SENTENCES
to create a negative sentence in the simple present you first need to pay attention if the main verb in the phrase is the verb to be or a different verb. if it's verb to be you just need to add the word not after the verb.
PRONOUN + VERB + NOT + COMPLEMENT
.i am not at home
.you are not happy
.he/she/it is not thired
.we/you/they are not honest
now,if you are using a verb that is not the verb to be, it is necessary to use an auxiliar. before the verb, do/does, to transform the sentence in a negative one and the word not.
a very important thing is that you must remember to use do with the persons
.i/you/we/they and does
.with he/she/it.
so, the structure is:
PRONOUN + DO + NOT + VERB + COMPLEMENT
I DO NOT LIKE CHOCOLATE
.he does not work in the morning
or the contracted form:
.i don't like chocolate
.he doesn't work in the morning
INTERROGATIVE FORM
the same way you need to check if the verb is to be to create a negative sentence, you have to do the the same to create an interrogative sentence. to make questions using the verb to be is very simple. all you need to do is to change the order of the phrase. in questions, the verb is placed before the pronoun.
VERB + PRONOUN + COMPLEMENT
.are you happy?
.is he a singer?
question with different verbs
the first thing you need is to use the auxiliar do/does
¿do/does + pronoun + verb (infinitive) + complement?
.do you like pasta?
.does he sing in the opera?
remember that in questions using the auxiliar do/does the verb is always in the infinitive, it doesn't change from it's original form
2.SIMPLE PAST uses of the simple past
the uses of the simple past are somewhat similar to the uses of the simple present, except that past states or actions are expressed. for instance, the simple past can be used to express actions which ocurred at regular intervals in the past.
.example: last year i drove to medellin once a week
in addition, the simple past is used to describe situations which existed for a period of time in the past
.millions of years ago,dinosaurs inhabited the earth
.george washington was the first president of the united states.
the simple past is also used to express non-continuous actions which ocurred at a definite time in the past.
examples: .columbus reached america in 1492 .i graduated from school last year
STRUCTURE SIMPLE PAST TENSE
the simpe past tense has the following struture: SUBJECT + PAST TENSE FORM OF THE VERB
.the glass broke .water boiled .the bird flew up in the sky .the child cried
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES simple past tense begin with did. sometimes question words such as who, why, how, where, may precede did.
.why did you break the window? .did the child cry? .how did you seehim? .whom did you invite?
VERB ''TO BE'' - PAST TENSE you use past simple when you want to talk about something at a definite time in the past: yesterday, last night, in 2001.
the past simple of be is ''was'' or ''were'': the form depends on the subjetc as it is al most always the case:
A.POSITIVE FORM
.i was yesterday .you were yesterday morning .he was last night
B.NEGATIVE FORM
use was + not (wasn't) or were + not (weren't) to make negative sentences with the verb to be in this tense.
.i wasn't at home yesterday .... i was in prison.
.REGULAR VERBS a regular verb is a verb that follows this rule:
.past form of the verb=present form of the verb + ed/d
.for example: work is a regular verb because:
past form of work=work + ed=worked
.dance is a regular verb too. that is because:
past form of dance=dance + d=danced
we call the present form a base form, or verb 1. we call the past form verb 2 there is another form called verb 3. that is the form we use in the perfect tenses.
these are examples of regular verbs VERB 1: help, open, stop, change VERB 2: helped, opened, stopped, changed VERB 3: helped, opened, stopped, changed.
IRREGULAR VERBS an irregular verb is a verb that does not follow that rule. for example, drink is an irregular verb because the past form of drink is drank, and not ''drinked''. go is an irregular verb too. that is because the past form of go is went, and not ''goed''.
these are examples of irregular verbs: VERB 1: take, buy, eat, give VERB 2: took, bought, ate, gave. VERB 3: taken, bought, eaten, given.
3.PRESENT CONTINUOUS
use the present continuous with normal verbs to express the idea that something is happenning now, at this very moment. it can also be used to show that something is not happening now.
examples: .you are learning english now .are you sleeping? .i am not standing.
use 2. longer actions in progress now
in english ''now'' can mean this second, today,this month,this year, this century, and so on. sometimes we use the present continuous to say that we are in the process of doing a longer action which is in progress how ever,we might not be doing it at this exact second.
examples: (all these sentences can be said while eating dinner in a restaurant).
.i am studying to become a doctor
.i am not studying to become a dentist
.i am reading the book tom sawyer
.i am not reading, any books right now
USE 3 > NEAR FUTURE
sometimes, speakers use the present continuous to indicate that something will or will not happen in the near future.
examples: .i am meeting some friends after work .i am not going to the party tonight .is he uisiting his parents ney weekend?
USE 4: repetition and irritation with ''always''
the present continuous words such as ''always''or ''constantly'' expresses the idea that something irratating or shocking often happens. notice that the meaning is like simple present, but with negative emotion. remember to put the words ''always'' or ''constatly'' between ''be''and ''verb + ing''
examples: .she is always coming to class late .he is constantly talking.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE IS: subject + auxiliary verb + mainverb (be) (base + ing)
SUBJECT AUXILIARY VERB MAIN VERB + I am speaking to you + you are reading this - she is not staying in london - we are not playing football ? is he watching tv? ? are they waiting for jhon?
AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES
examples: .i'm talking .he's eating .they're learning SUBJECT + VERB TO BE + PRINCIPAL VERB (ing form)
NEGATIVE SUBJECT + VERB TO BE + NOT + PRINCIPAL VERB (ing form)
examples: .i am not working at home .she is not studying at this university.
INTERROGATIVE
VERB TO BE + SUBJECT + PRINCIPAL VERB (ing form)
example: .are you reading this book?
