1. Section 3:The Simple
Present
By: Areej Dawoud

2. Examples
1. I play tennis every day.
2. The sun rises from the east.
3. The train leaves at 6 PM.
4. They like apples.
 The simple present is a verb. It has only two forms:
 the simple form without an –s (sleep).
 the simple form + s (sleeps) with third person
singular subjects.

3. Forming the simple present
Subject Verb Subject Verb
I He
You Work She Works
We It
They

4. Usages of the simple present
 USE 1 Repeated Actions
 Use the Simple Present to express the idea that an
action is repeated or usual. The action can be a
habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or
something that often happens.
 E.g. She walks to school.

5. Usages of the simple present
 USE 2 Facts or Generalizations
 The Simple Present can also indicate the speaker
believes that a fact was true before, is true now, and
will be true in the future. It is used to make
generalizations about people or things.
 E.g. Cats like milk.

6. Usages of the simple present
 USE 3 Scheduled Events in the Near Future
 Speakers occasionally use Simple Present to talk
about scheduled events in the near future. This is
most commonly done when talking about public
transportation, but it can be used with other
scheduled events as well.
 E.g. The party starts at 8 o’clock.

7. Adverbs of frequency
 Examples
1. I always brush my teeth before I go to bed.
2. Ann usually has toast for breakfast.
3. Mr. Smith often goes to the park with his dog.
4. We sometimes see Susan down at the shops.
5. They rarely smoke cigars.
6. He never works on the weekend.

8. Adverbs of frequency

9. Adverbs of frequency
 Adverbs of frequency tell us how many times something
happens.
 Always = every day
 Usually = happens most days
 Often = many times
 Sometimes= at particular occasions but not all the time
 Rarely = it is not common
 Never = not at any time or not on any occasion
 Adverbs of frequency come between the subject and the
main verb.
Subject Adv. Of
frequency
Simple
present
I always do my
home
work

10. Adverbs of frequency with to
be
 Examples
 Tom is usually very friendly.
 Ramon and Frank are often hungry.
 Ted is rarely late.
 We put adverbs of frequency after the verb
to be (is / are). subject Simple
present
to be
Adverb of
frequency
Peter is always nice

11. 3.4spelling of final -s & -es
Verb Spelling Examples Pronunciation
The verb ends in
the sounds /f/,
/k/, /p/, /t/
+s
He likes coffee..
It sleeps. /s/
ends in the
sounds /b/, /d/,
/g/, /l/, /m/, /n/,
/r/, /v/ or in a
vowel
+s
He swims.
She reads. /z/
ends in /ch/,
/sh/, /s/, /x/, /z/. +es
She watches TV.
It finishes at 10
p.m.
/iz/
ends con. + y Drop y, add -ies He worries a lot. /z/
ends in a vowel+ y +s She stays at
home.
/z/

12. 3.5Irregular verbs
I have a job. He
She
It
has a problem.
I do the work. He
She
It
does the work.
I go to work. He
She
It
goes outside.

13. 3.6have (got) & has (got)
 We use have (got) & has (got):
 For things we possess or own. I have got a car.
 To describe people, places, animals, and things.
She has (got) black hair.
 For our families and people we know. I have (got) a
son.
 With some expressions like the following: have got
(a cold, the flu, temperature, headache, toothache, a
problem)

14. 3.6have (got) & has (got)
Singular
I, you have (got)
He, she, it has (got) a book
Plural
You, we, they have (got) books.

15. 3.8The simple present: yes /
no
 We use do or does to make questions in the
simple present. We always use the base form
after do and does.
do/does subject Base v. Affirm. Neg.
Do I, we, you,
they
Work? Yes,
I do.
You do.
No, they
don’t
We don’t
Does He, she, it Work? Yes, he
does
No, it
doesn’t

16. The simple present:wh-
questions
 Where does he live?
 What do they do?
We put question words (what, where, when,
why, who,…) before do or does.
 Frequency adverbs comes after the subject in
the question.
 When do you usually get up?

17. 4.1The present continuous
 We form the present continuous with the
present of verb to be (am, is, are) and the base
verb + ing.
subject To be Base v. + ing
I am
He, she, it is working
They, we,
you
are

18. 4.2The spelling of verbs
ending in -ing
Verb ending Rule example
Consonant + e Drop the e, add
-ing
dance, come dancing
coming
1 vowel +
consonant
Verbs end in w,
x, y
Double the con.,
add –ing
Do not double
the con.
sit
show
fix
say
fitting
showing
fixing
saying
2 vowels + 1
con.
Do not double,
add -ing
eat
sleep
eating
sleeping
All other verbs Add -ing talk
read
talking
reading

19. 4.3The present continuous
negative
 To form the negative of the present
continuous, we use not after the verb to be
and the verb with –ing.
 He is not working.
 You are not sleeping.

20. 4.4The present continuous:
yes/ no questions
To be subject Base v. + ing
Am I
Is he, she, it Working?
Are you, we, they

21. 4.5The present continuous:
wh- questions
 Where, What, Why, When, How, Who
 I am drinking tea.
 What am I drinking?

22. 4.6Verbs not used in the
present continuous
 Non action verbs (describe a state or
condition):
 Believe hate have hear
know like remember think
see smell taste think
understand want
 Julia has a car.
 Julia is having a cup of tea.

23. Conclusion
1. The simple present has two forms.
2. Adverbs of frequency usually come with the
simple present between the subject and the
verb.
3. Adverbs of frequency come after verb to be.

24. To practice more
 www.englischhilfen.de/en/exercises/adverbs_of_
frequency.htm
 www.english-zone.com/verbs/freq-adv01.html
 http://esl.about.com/library/grammar/blgr_adverbs_
frequency.htm

25. Thank you