Nguyen Tri Tuan Nguyen Tuan Kiet

Chapter 5

29

Simple Present

1. Formation
Affirmative Statements
I
You(*)
We
V bare inf
They
Plural nouns
He
She
It
Proper
name
Nouns

V-s/es
sing

Negative Statements
I
You(*)
We
do not
V
They
(dont)
Plural
nouns
He
She
It
does not
Proper
V
(doesnt)
name
Nounssing

bare inf

bare inf

unC

unC

*You is both singular and plural

I walk to school.
She likes strawberries.

I do not (dont) walk to school.

She does not (doesnt) like
strawberries.
(For spelling rules for the Present Simple, see appendix 7 on
page xxvii.
For pronunciation rules for the Present Simple, see appendix 11
on page xxx.)
Yes/No Questions
WH-Questions
What
I
I
you(*)
you(*)
Where
we
we
Do
do they
they
When
plural
Plural
nouns
nouns
Vbare inf
What
V bare inf ?
he
?
he
time
she
she
it
Doe
it
Why
does proper
s
Proper
name
name
Who(m)
nouns sing /
Nouns sing / unC

Do you walk to school? Yes, I do.

Does she like strawberries?
No, she doesnt.

unC

What does she like?

She likes mangoes.

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Wh-Questions About The Subject

Who
Complement ?
V-s/es
What
Who buys new cars? Annas brothers (do).
What costs a lot? Annas car (does).
Usage

We Use the Simple Present

1. to express a general truth.

2. to express a present habit or

routine.

3. for a present situation (not

temporary).
4. for a scheduled future event
(timetables,
programs,
schedules)
Verbs such as start, begin,
leave and end are often used in
this way.
5. always with stative verbs.

verbs of the senses

verbs of opinion and

understanding

88

verbs of emotions and

feelings
in the first conditional

Example

The
English
are
reserved and cold.
Vietnam doesnt
export automobiles.
The earth revolves
around the sun.
My father always goes
to work by bus.
He doesnt
drink
coffee.
She and I go to the
cinema once a week.
He lives in the United
States.
The press conference
begins at 8:30 A.M.
Our meeting ends
promptly at 4:30 P.M.

Do you hear anything?

He
doesn't
understand Japanese.
She hates classical
music.
He will come to the
party if you invite him.

Nguyen Tri Tuan Nguyen Tuan Kiet

Chapter 5

NOTES:
i) Adverbs of frequency are often used in the simple present: always,
usually, often, sometimes, occasionally, rarely, seldom, never,
once / twice a week
My aunt never eats meat.
Kate Winslet usually wears a pair of size 11 shoes.
ii)

The following adverbs are placed either at the beginning or at the end
of a sentence:
sometimes, every day, every week, every year, occasionally
Every day his grandfather eats meatless meals.
EXERCISE 1
Put the verbs in parentheses into the correct form.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

The swimming pool ______________ (open) at 9:00 and ______________

(close) at 6:30 every day.
What time ______________ (the banks / close) here?
I have a car, but I ______________ (not / use) it very often.
How many cigarettes ______________ (you / smoke) a day?
"What ______________ (you/do)?" "I'm an electrical engineer.
"Where ______________ (your father / come) from?" "He ______________
(come) from Mexico.
It ______________ (take) me an hour to get to work. How long
______________ (it / take) you?
I ______________ (play) the piano, but I ______________ (not / play) very
well.
I don't understand the word "deceive". What ______________
("deceive" / mean)?

EXERCISE 2
Complete the sentences. Use the correct form of the verbs in
parentheses.
Al Brown ___teaches__ (1. teach) English as a second language. He is
unlike the other teachers in his department. He is only twenty-seven
years old. The other teachers are over thirty. The other teachers
_____________ (2. wear) button-down shirts. Al _____________ (3. wear) Tshirts or sweatshirts. After class the other teachers ______________ (4. go)
home. Every afternoon Al _____________ (5. go) to the park. Many students
_____________ (6. play) soccer in the park. Sometimes Al ______________ (7.
watch) his students, and sometimes he _____________ (8. play) soccer with
them.
Three evenings a week Al _____________ (9. have) Japanese lessons with a
private tutor. His tutor is one of his students. Every evening Al
_____________ (10. study) Japanese at the library and _____________ (11. do)
Japanese homework.

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Als girlfriend is in Japan. Al _____________ (12. miss) her a lot. He

_____________ (13. worry) about her, too. He _____________ (14. hope) to
see her in the summer.
EXERCISE 3
Use these sentences to make questions. Begin your questions
with the word(s) in parentheses.
Examples:

Tom plays tennis. (How often?)

How often does Tom play tennis?
I jog in the morning. (What time / usually?)
What time do you usually jog?

1. Ann watches television.

(How often?)_____________________________________________________?
2. I write to my parents.
(How often?)_____________________________________________________?
3. I have dinner in the evening.
(What time / usually?) _____________________________________________?
4. Tom works.
(Where?) _______________________________________________________?
5. I go to the movies.
(How often?)_____________________________________________________?
6. People do stupid things.
(Why?) _________________________________________________________?
7. The car breaks down.
(How often?) ____________________________________________________?
EXERCISE 4
Find and correct the mistakes in this story about Doug.
My name is Doug Winston. Im in my second year of high school. Im the
live
captain of my schools soccer team. I lives
in New York City with my
parents. We lives in a large apartment in an old building. Both my mother
and father works. My mother is a writer. She write stories for magazines.
My father is a businessman. His work take him all over the world. I has
two older sisters, Carol and Norma. Carol live in Oregon and Norma live in
Massachusetts. I no have any brothers. Carols a student at Oregon State
University and Normas a Spanish teacher in a high school in Boston.
Normas a good Spanish teacher, but Im glad she no is my teacher. She
gives her students a lot of homework.

30

Present Continuous

1. Formation

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Chapter 5

Affirmative
Negative
Interrogativ
e

S + Am / Is / Are + VING +
I am reading now.
The bees are humming.
My students arent taking the midterm test.
He isnt taking a shower.
What are you doing? I am tying up my shoelaces.
Is she leaving for Japan tomorrow? Yes, she is/ (No, she
isnt.)

(See appendix 6 on page xxvi.)

2. Usage
We use the Present Continuous
to express
1. a continuous action at the
moment of speaking.

2.

an action that is happening in

the
extended
time
(e.g.,
nowadays, this month, this
semester, this year, etc.),
even if its not occurring at the
moment of speaking.

3. a planned action in the near

future.

4. a gradual change.
5. a present and temporary activity.

6.

a repeated action that irritates

the speaker (with always,
constantly, continually,
repeatedly, forever).

Example
My students are writing now.
They are talking noisily at the
moment.
He is preparing for the final
test this week.
She is studying computer
programming this semester.
She is flying to Japan
tomorrow.
Are you paying for dinner next
time?
It is getting colder and colder.

The
tests
difficulty
is
increasing.
She is smoking a lot.
(She doesnt normally smoke.)
The boy is always asking me
for candies.
He is continually telling other
people what to do.

NOTES:
i)
ii)

Non-action verbs are not normally used in the continuous

tense. (See Appendix 2 on page xxiii for a list of non-action verbs.)
Some non-action verbs can be used in the Present
Continuous tense when they have another meaning, as in the
following examples:

Non-action Verbs
Are you hungry?

Other meanings
You are being foolish. You

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I think youre right. (think =

believe)
He has a car. (have = own)
This soup tastes delicious.
(taste = have a particular flavor)
This room smells a little damp.
(smell = have a particular smell)
He sees the scene clearing now.
(see = catch sight of)
You look about twenty.
(look
=
have
a
particular
appearance)
My present job appears not easy
at all. (appear = seem)

know?
(be = act)
Im thinking about
grammar.
(think about= consider)
He is having a good time.
(have = spend)

My mother is tasting the sauce

shes made. (taste = eat)
Sashay is smelling the sweet
aroma of warm chocolate. (smell
= notice)
He is seeing the zoo. ( see =
visit)
Sheila is looking at herself in
the mirror.
(look = direct ones eyes)
The most famous singer is
appearing on the stage. (appear
= begin to be seen)

EXERCISE 5
Write the ing forms for the following words.
1. stan

1. _________

11. study

11. _________

2. _________

12. write

12. _________

2. smil

3. _________

13. get

13. _________

4. _________

14. drop

14. _________

3. eat

5. _________

15. camp

15. _________

4. cut

6. _________

16. dye

16. _________

5. plan

7. _________

17. sneeze

17. _________

6. say

8. _________

18. lie

18. _________

7. cry

9. _________

19. refer

19. _________

8. ride

10. _________

20. see

20. _________

9. clap
10. fly

EXERCISE 6

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Nguyen Tri Tuan Nguyen Tuan Kiet

Chapter 5

Supply the correct tenses of the verbs in parentheses.

1. Anna _____________ (look) for a new job.
2. If all _____________ (go) well, I will finish it in a fortnight.
3. You _____________ (like) this toy car? I _____________ (give) it to my
nephew on his birthday tomorrow.
4. Listen! Someone _____________ (knock) at the door.
5. They always _____________ (lie) on the beach and _____________ (chat)
away on Sunday mornings.
6. I _____________ (walk) to school every day, but today I _____________
(go) to school by bus.
7. What you _____________ (do)? I _____________ (type) my English essay.
8. She _____________ (begin) to play tennis in two weeks.
9. She _____________ (share) the same room with me, but shell move to
another one some days later.
10. On schedule, they _____________ (traffic) weapons across the border
next Tuesday.

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EXERCISE 7
Put the verbs into the correct form: Present Continuous or Simple
Present.
Los Angeles
15 September 2003
Dear Glen,
How are things? I'm doing fine. I _____________ (1. spend) my holidays in
Los Angeles. It's a great city with excellent beaches and lots to do. I
_____________ (2. enjoy) it very much. I _____________ (3. stay) with a
Mexican family. I _____________ (4. get up) at 10 o'clock every morning,
then we ______________ (5. go) to Venice Beach where we _____________ (6.
have) breakfast. Venice Beach is a famous beach in LA, and although
many tourists _____________ (7. frequent) the place, it's still one of my
favorite hangouts.
The weather is very good and the sun _____________ (8. shine) all the time,
just like in the song "It never _____________ (9. rain) in Southern
California". Today, however, it _____________ (10. rain) cats and dogs.
Tomorrow we _____________ (11. leave) for Mexico to visit my host familys
relatives. I _____________ (12. look) forward to seeing a different country
for a change - hopefully there will be less smog in Mexico. We
_____________ (13. return) to LA in two weeks.
Write me and tell me what you _____________ (14. do) these days.
Love,
Jan

EXERCISE 8
Decide whether the verbs in these sentences are RIGHT or
WRONG.
Correct the verbs that are wrong.
Example: I don't know your telephone number.
RIGHT

___________________________________________________
Please don't make so much noise. I study.

WRONG Please don't make so much noise. I am studying.

1. Look! Somebody is climbing that tree over there.
______

________________________________________________________.

2. Can you hear those people? What do they talk about?

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Chapter 5

______

________________________________________________________.

3. Are you believing in God?

______

________________________________________________________.

4. Look! That man tries to open the door of your car.

______

________________________________________________________.

5. The moon goes around the earth.

______

________________________________________________________.

6. What are you thinking about my idea?

______

________________________________________________________.

7. The government is worried because the number of people without

jobs is increasing.
______

________________________________________________________.

8. I am usually going to work by car.

______

________________________________________________________.

EXERCISE 9
Put the verbs into the CORRECT form: Present Continuous or
Simple Present.
Example:

Please don't make so much noise. I am studying (study).

How many languages does Tom speak (Tom / speak)?
Jean doesn't speak (not speak) any foreign language.

1. I ______________ (not / belong) to a political party.

2. Hurry! The bus ______________ (come). I ______________ (not / want) to
miss it.
3. The Nile River ______________ (flow) into the Mediterranean.
4. The river ______________ (flow) very fast today - much faster than
usual.
5. ______________ (it/ever / snow) in India?
6. We usually ______________ (grow) vegetables in our garden, but this
year we ______________ (not / grow) any.
7. A: Can you drive?
B: No, but I ______________ (learn).
8. You can borrow my umbrella. I ______________ (not / need) it right now.
9. I ______________ (get) hungry. Let's get something to eat.
10. George is a vegetarian. He ______________ (not/eat) meat.
11. George says he's 80 years old, but I ______________ (not / believe) him.
12. Ron is in Caracas now. He ______________ (stay) at the Hilton Hotel. He
usually ______________ (stay) at the Hilton Hotel when he is in
Caracas.
13. Where ______________ (your parents / live)?
My parents ______________ (live) in Acapulco. They were born there
and have never lived anywhere else.

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14. She ______________ (stay) with her sister until she finds somewhere
else to live.
15. A: What ______________ (your father / do)?
B: He's a teacher in Lima, but he ______________ (not / work) right now.
EXERCISE 10
Read this students journal. Find and correct eleven mistakes in
the use of the Present Progressive or Simple Present Tense.
Its 12:30 and I sit in the library right now. My classmates are eating lunch
together but Im not hungry yet. At home, we eat never this early.
Today our journal topic is culture shock. Its a good topic for me
right now because Im being pretty homesick. I miss my old routine.
At home we always are eating a big meal at 2:00 in the afternoon.
Then we rest. But here in Toronto Im having a 3:00 conversation
class. Every day, I almost fall asleep in class, and my teacher ask
me. Are you bored? Of course Im not bored. I just need my
afternoon nap! This class always is fun. This semester we work on a
project with video cameras. My team is filming groups of people
from different cultures. We are analyze social distance. That
means how close to each other these people stand. According to
my new watch, its 12:55, so I leave now for my 1:00 class.
Teachers here really arent liking tardiness!

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