1) SIMPLE TENSES

Simple Present Tense

It snows in Alaska.
I watch television every day.
I visit my cousin all the time.

In general, the simple present expresses

events or situations that exist always,
usually, habitually; they exist now, they have
existed in the past, and will probably exist in the
future.

Formation of Simple Present Tense

Subject + Verb + Complement

Affirmative Form
I speak English.
Subject + Don't / Doesn't + Verb + Complement
Negative Form
I don't speak English.
Do / Does + Subject + Verb + Complement?
Question Form
Do you speak English?
Don't / Doesn't + Subject + Verb + Complement?
Negative Question Form
Don't you speak English?
The third person singular (he, she, it) is usually formed by adding S to the root
of the verb. Sometimes -ES is added. -S, -ES and IES are added in positive
sentences.

Affirmative
I walk
You walk We walk
He walks You walk
She walks They walk
It walks

a. Hamid listens to music every night.

b. He rarely watches TV.
c. She usually takes the train to work.

Uses of Simple Present Tense

1. To show a habit
We drink coffee every morning.

2. To express a general truth

Water boils at 100 degrees.

3. To express an action with a future time expression

I leave tomorrow.

Negative
I don't cry
You don't cry We don't cry
He doesn't cry You don't cry
She doesn't cry They don't cry
It doesn't cry

Example Sentences

1. We buy a newspaper every Sunday.

2. He doesn't visit his father.
3. Does she lie to her mother?
4. My sister works at the theatre (Cinema).
5. The boss gives us a lot of work to do.
6. Marry and Lucas don't play fairly.
7. Do you like to read comic books?
8. They spend a lot of money.
Complete the following sentences using present simple tense.

1. My friends   (go) camping every summer.

2.   (you / like) swimming?
3. Katie   (get up) at 6:00 am every day.
4. We always   (use) dictionary in class.
5. School   (start) at 9:00 in the morning.
6. My parents   (not live) in Chicago.
7. Your aunt   (not like) pop music.
8.   (Kara / study) French?
9.   (he / play) basketball?
10. Lea and her sister   (watch) TV every day after dinner.
11. Pamela never   (play) video games.
12. Dogs   (not play) with cats.
13. Claire   (listen) to jazz music.
14. His daughter always   (take) their dog out for a walk.
15. I usually   (go) to bed around 10 o'clock.
16. What time   (you / get up) on weekdays?
17.   (the movie / start) at 8 o’clock?

Reading Practice
Choose the correct answers to complete the following short passage.

My name is Hans. I (1)---- a mechanic. I (2)---- in London, I (3)---- a brother and

a sister. My sister is a university student. She (4)---- medicine. She is going to
be a doctor. My brother doesn't want (5)---- to university. (6)----he wants to be a
mechanic like me. He comes and (7)---- me in my shop on Sundays. He hasn't
finished his education yet. (8)---- his education, he is thinking of (9)---- with me.
We will (10)---- the business together.

1.  is  are  am  do

2.  believe  think  arrive  live

3.  owns  learn  have  study

4.  teach  learn /  studies  uses

5.  go  goes  went  to go

6.  Because  Although  Behind /  During

7.  works  helps  is angry with  shouts at

8.  For  Because  After  So

9.  works  worked  to work  working

10.  run  depart  put  wear

Choose the correct meaning of the underlined word, and identify the type
of context clue used: example, contrast, definition, or logic

1. Our baseball team's pitcher has a few eccentric habits, such as throwing

exactly thirteen warm-up pitches and never wearing socks.

A) normal
B) strange
C) messy

clue: 
2. After the heavy rains, the stream became murky; in fact, the water was so
cloudy you couldn't see the bottom.

A) cloudy
B) bottomless
C) clear

clue: 

3. The debris on the stadium floor included numerous paper cups, ticket stubs,
and cigarette butts.

A) products
B) papers
C) trash

clue: 

4. The coach takes every opportunity to censure his players, yet he ignores

every opportunity to praise them.

A) approve of
B) criticize
C) choose

clue: 

5. The newlyweds agreed to be very frugal in their shopping because they

wanted to save enough money to buy a house.

A) economical
B) wasteful
C) interested
clue: 

6. Although Alex usually looks  unkempt, he had a very neat appearance at his
job interview.

A) orderly
B) handsome
C) messy

clue: 

In the sentences below, which type of context clue is provided for the
underlined word?
7. I'm looking for a unique gift for my boyfriend; he appreciates unusual things.

A) example
B) synonym
C) antonym / contrast

8. Expecting that his license would be renewed, the pilot was surprised when it
was revoked instead.

A) example
B) synonym
C) antonym

Note that in questions 1-6 the system does not check for clues' correction. It
only checks if you chose the correct meaning for the word.