SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE AND SIMPLE PAST TENSE

Simple Present Tense

The simple present tense is used

 To describe things that happen regularly such as routines or habits.
 To give information, facts or generalizations.
 As a non-action verb.
Non-action verbs denote
 Opinion (E.g.: like, believe, prefer)
 Thoughts (E.g.: think, remember, know)
 Possession (E.g.: have, own, possess)
 Perception (E.g.: hear, see, smell) and feelings (E.g.: want, love, hate).

Function Examples

E.g.: I go for English classes on weekends.

a) Routines or habits

E.g.: Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen.

b) Information or facts

E.g.: She likes your new car.

I think Sweden is a great place to travel.
c) Non-action verbs Shani gets angry very quickly.
She has a red bag.

Verb ending rules

1. Add -es when the verb ends with o, ss, ch, sh, x or zz;

E.g.: do – does kiss – kisses

punch – punches search – searches
push – pushes wish – wishes
relax – relaxes buzz –buzzes
2.Add -ies when a verb ends in consonant
+ y; E.g.: Fly – flies
Hurry – hurries.
Study - Studies

3. When the verb ends in a vowel + y, only s is added to the end of the verb;
E.g.: employ – employ
buy – buys

Simple Present Affirmative sentences

Subject Verb
I Eat Everyday
You
We
They

Subject
He eats Everyday
She
It

Activity 1
 Circle the correct form of the verb in the following sentences

1. My friend study/studies Biology.

2. Doctors treat/treats people.
3. Sales people sell/sells products in a company.
4. Our office closes/close at 4.30. p.m.
5. They walk/walks home every day.
6. I start/starts work at 8.00 every morning.
7. Danesh love/loves horror movies
Subject Verb
I 8. Authors
do write/writes books
work everyday
You
go to work everyday
Irregular
We Verbs: Do, Go and Have
have to work everyday
They Verb
Subject
 He does work everyday
She goes to work everyday
It has to work everyday

Activity 2
Complete the paragraphs with the correct form of the verbs in parentheses.
Mahesh and Geetha (1) ……………………… (have) a busy lifestyle. Mahesh is a
doctor at a hospital. He works at night, so he (2) ……………….. (go) to work at 7:00 p.m.
and comes home at 7:00 a.m. His wife Geetha works at a bank. She (3) ……………. (go) to
work at 8:00 a.m. and comes home at 6:00 p.m. They don’t see each other a lot during the
week.

Mahesh and Geetha also (4) ……………… (have) two children, Sara and Meena.
Every morning they all (5) ………………. (have) breakfast together at 7:30. Then, Sara and
Meena (6) ……………………(go) to school, and Geetha (7) ………………….(go) to work.
Mahesh (8) …………………. (do) the dishes, and then (9) ………………. (go) to bed.
Meena usually (10) …………………… (do) her homework at a friend’s house in the
afternoon, and Sara (11) ………………..(have) badminton practice. Mahesh gets up at 4:00
p.m. At 6:00 p.m., he (12) ……………….(have) dinner with Geetha, Sara, and Meena. After
dinner, he (13)………………(go) to work. Mahesh and Geetha (14) …………….. (have) a
busy schedule during the week, but on weekends they relax.

Simple Present Negative sentences

Subject Base form of Subject Base form of
the Verb the Verb
I She
You He does not/
We do not/ don’t Work It work
doesn’t
They

Activity 3
Change each affirmative statement to a negative statement
1. I drive to work. - ………………………………………………………………….
2. Pilots fix planes. - ………………………………………………………………...
3. Our teacher does homework. - ……………………………………………………
4. I go to the gym in the morning. - …………………………………………………
5. We have class on Sunday - ………………………………………………….........
Simple Present Interrogative sentences
Yes/No Questions

Auxiliary Verb Subject Main Verb

Do I, We, You, They Plural Subject Base form
Does He, She, It Singular Subject Base form

Examples: Do you live in the old house?

Do they eat fried rice?
Does he like computer games?
Does the dog play with strangers?
Information Questions
Auxiliary
WH question word Subject Main Verb
verb
Where, What, When … do I, We, You, They Plural Subject Base form
Where, What, When … does He, She, It Singular Subject Base form

Examples: Where do you work?

How does Shehan go to work?
What does he do before eating?
Why do you learn English?

Activity 4
Change the following into interrogative sentences
1. She does her homework every day - ………………………………………………
2. He has his breakfast on time - ……………………………………………………
3. You know the answer - …………………………………………………………...
4. I play cricket - …………………………………………………………………….
5. You do not read - …………………………………………………………………
6. She does not cook for every meal - ………………………………………………
7. The teacher reads a lot - …………………………………………………………..
8. The do not work hard - ……………………………………………………………
Simple Past Tense

The simple past tense is used to talk about

 Completed actions
I watched the movie last night

 Repeated actions in the past

I went to the theatre thrice last month

 General truths about the past

Twenty years ago, people did not spend for entertainment as they do today.

 Main events in a story

They lived happily ever after.

Verb ending rules

Infinitive
Regular Spelling Past Form
(Base Form)
Silent ‘e’ take -d -d close closed
smile smiled
complete completed
Vowel + y takes -ed -ed enjoy enjoyed
destroy destroyed
Consonant + y takes -ied -ied marry married
try tried
cry cried
Other regular Verbs take -ed -ed help helped
finish finished
Irregular verbs- Use the Past speak spoke
forms eat ate
take took
buy bought

Simple Past Affirmative sentences

Subject Main Verb

I
Past Form
You
Ate
We
Drank
They
Studied
She
Played
He
It
Examples: We entered the university in January.
I went to Colombo last week.
My mother gave me a present on my birthday.
It rained heavily last night.
My brother phoned me last night.

Activity 5
Fill in the blanks by changing the given verbs into the past tense.
buy catch cost drink fall hurt sell spend teach throw win write
1). Mohan ………… a letter to his mother yesterday.
2). How did you learn to drive? My father ……………. me.
3). We couldn’t afford to keep our car, so we ……….. it.
4). I was very thirsty. I ………… the water very quickly.
5). Pawan and I played tennis yesterday. He is much better than me. So he ………. easily.
6). Dilum ……….. down the stairs this morning and ……………. his leg.
7).Jayani ……….. the ball to Senali, who …………. It.
8). Ama ………… a lot of money yesterday. She ……….. a dress which …….. Rs.3000.

Simple Past Negative sentences

Subject Auxiliary Verb Main Verb
I
You Base Form
We Eat
They Did Not Drink
She Study
He Play
It
Examples: I did not go to school yesterday.
They did not tell me the truth.
Many students did not know about the new schedule.

Activity 6

Complete the sentences. Put the verbs into the correct form, positive or negative.
1). It was warm, so I ……………… off my coat. (take)
2). The film wasn’t very good. I ……………………. It very much. (enjoy)
3). I knew Sarath was very busy, so I …………….. him. (disturb)
4). I was very tired, so I ………… to bed early. (go)
5). The bed was very uncomfortable. I …………… very well. (sleep)
6). Sumith wasn’t hungry, so he ………………. anything. (eat)
7). We went to Kamal’s house but he …………….. at home. (be)
8). It was a funny situation but nobody ………….. (laugh).
9). The window was open and a bird ……………..in to the room.(fly)
10). The hotel wasn’t very expensive. It ………………. Very much. (cost)
11). I was in a hurry, so I ………………. time to phone you. (have)
12). It was herd work carrying the bags. They ………………. very heavy. (be)

Simple Past Interrogative sentences

Yes/No Questions
Auxiliary Verb Subject Main Verb
I
You Base Form
We Eat
Did They
She
Drink
Study
?
He Play
It

Information Questions

Auxiliary verb Subject Main Verb

I
You Base Form
WH
Question
Word
did
We
They
Eat
Drink ?
She Study
He Play
It