A1 – Tenses I – The Present Simple

1.TO BE

Subj. Pron. Positive Negative Interrogative

I am am not am I?
(I’m) (I’m not)
you are are not Are you?
(you’re) (you aren’t)
he is is not Is he/she/it?
she (he’s) (he isn’t)
it
we are are not Are we/you/they?
you (we’re) (we aren’t)
they

Don’t forget that we use the verb “to be” with a person’s age.
ex: “I am 32 years old.”

The simple past is a verb tense that is used to talk about things that happened or existed before now.
Here are the simple past forms of the verb “to be”.

Subj. Pron. Positive Negative Interrogative

I was was not Was I?
(I wasn’t)
you were were not Were you?
(you weren’t)
he was was not Was he/she/it?
she (she wasn’t)
it
we were were not Were
you (we weren’t) we/you/they?
they
2. THERE IS / THERE ARE

there is + singular nouns

"There is a book on the table."
"There is a table and two chairs in the room."

il y a
there are + plural nouns
"There are two books on the table."
"There are two chairs and a table in the room."
"There is a table and two chairs in the room."

3. THE PRESENT SIMPLE

A. FORM

POSITIVE

subject Infinitive + -s/-es

I work
you work
he/she/it works
we work
they work

Spelling rules for the 3rd person singular

Spelling rules examples

Most verbs  add –s sings likes
reads listens
Verbs ending in –s, -ss, -ch, -sh, -x, -z  add -ES watches passes
finishes
Verbs ending in consonant + y  -y becomes –IES studies tries
Verbs ending in vowel + y  -YS plays stays
The verbs go and do  add –ES goes does
The verb have is irregular has
NEGATIVE

subject Auxiliary+not infinitive

I do not (don’t) like the job very much.
you do not (don’t) eat meat.
he/she/it does not (doesn’t) watch tv a lot.
we do not (don’t) play tennis very well.
they do not (don’t) swim well.

Nobody, no, none, nothing, rarely, seldom, hardly, barely, never… are used with a positive verb!
ex: “Nobody helps me” (“Personne ne m’aide.) / “I have nothing for you” (“Je n’ai rien pour toi.)
“Nobody does not help me.” / “I don’t have nothing for you.”

INTERROGATIVE

Question word auxiliary subject infinitive

do I need?
do you do?
What does she/he/it watch on TV at night?
do we eat every Sunday?
do they want?

“to have” is a full verb. It is used with the auxiliary “do” in negative sentences and in questions.
ex: “Do you have a lot of friends?” / “I don’t have much money.”
“Have you a lot of friends?” / “I haven’t much money.”
It is different from “have got” which is used in British English (not in American English). “Have got” does not
require the use of the auxiliary “do” in negative sentences and in questions.
ex: “Have you got a lot of friends?” / “I haven’t got much money.”

Pay attention to the fact that we don’t repeat the verb in short answers!
ex: “Does she like my apple pie?” => “Yes, she does.” or “No, she doesn’t.”
“Yes, she likes.” or “No, she doesn’t like.”
B. USE

We use the present simple with:

General truths (things that are true in general)

• "The earth goes round the sun."

• "Water boils at 100°c."
• "Cats love milk."

Repeated actions, habits

• I start work at 8.00 am and I finish at 5.00 pm.

• I visit my parents every Sunday.
• I often have a sandwich for lunch.
• I seldom cycle to work.
4. QUESTION TAGS
Question tags are short questions at the end of sentences. They are mainly used to ask for
confirmation. To form a question tag, we use the auxiliary “do” except for the verb “to be”.
ex: “John is from Liège, isn’t he?” / “Alice speaks four languages, doesn’t she?”
“You never use your cell phone in class, do you?”

Positive sentence => Negative question tag

"My friends are funny, aren't they?"
"You study in Liège, don't you?"
 Negative sentence => Positive question tag
"The girls aren't tired, are they?"
"He doesn't work in Brussels, does he?"

In the question tag, a subject pronoun is used to replace the noun.

ex: “John is from Liège, isn’t he?” (and not “John is from Liège, isn’t John?)

With “I am” in the main sentence, the question tag is “aren’t I”.
ex: “I’m very smart, arent’t I?” (and not “I’m very smart, am I not?”)

5. IMPERATIVE CLAUSES
We use imperative clauses when we want to tell someone to do something (most commonly for advice,
suggestions, requests, commands, orders or instructions).

POSITIVE NEGATIVE WITH LET

• infinitive • Don't (Do • Let's (Let

without to not) + us) +
"Be quiet!"
infinitive infinitive
"Enjoy your stay!" without to without to
"Don't shout!"
"Don't be late!" "Let's start!"
"Let's play the
• With never: recording!"
"Never cheat at an "Let's meet at 9.00"
exam!"
 The imperative is a very direct form and we don’t generally use it to make requests or commands or
to give instructions. We can use just or please to make an imperative sound less direct.
ex: “Tell me the truth, please!”

The negative imperative of “Let’s” is “Let’s not”.

ex: “Let’s not forget to close the window!”

We sometimes use question tags with imperatives:

Question tags with

imperatives
Positive - Won’t (polite)
ex: “Take a seat, won’t you?”
- Will (less polite)
ex: “Take a seat, will you!”
Negative - Will
ex: “Don’t forget, will you.”
Let’s - Shall
ex: “Let’s start, shall we?”