PRESENT SIMPLE

Form We add s for the third person singular he / she / it: E.g. I / you / we / they work here. He / she / it works here. Negative form: Does / does not: E.g. I / you / we /they do not (dont) work here. He /she / it does not (doesnt) work here. Questions: Auxiliary verb do /does + infinitive: E.g. Do you work here? Yes, I do. / No, I dont. Does she work here? Yes, she does. / No, she doesnt. Some verbs have present simple spelling changes with 'he', 'she' or 'it': Verbs that end in 'y': Verbs that end in 'y' often change 'y' to 'ie' before 's': study > studies try > tries marry > marries fly > flies cry > cries (Be careful! 'y' doesn't change to 'ie' if the ending is 'ay', 'ey', 'oy', 'uy'. So, play > plays, say > says, buy > buys, enjoy > enjoys, stay > stays)

Verbs that end in 'es', 'sh', 'ch', or 'x': Verbs that end in 's', 'sh', 'ch' or 'x' often add 'e' before 's': pass > passes wash > washes teach > teaches

PRESENT CONTINUOUS
Form Auxiliary verb be + -ing form of the main verb: ECS is setting up online stores, handling product delivery and even administering Internet customers credit card numbers. Negative form: be + not Im not working here. Youre not / You arent working here. Shes not / She isnt working here. Were not / We arent working here. Theyre not / They arent working here.

I am (Im) working here. You are (youre) working here. She is (shes) working here. We are (were) working here. They are (theyre) working here.

Questions: Are you working here? Yes, I am / No, Im not. Is he working here? Yes, he is / No, he isnt.

Basic rule Just add -ing to the base verb: work > working play > playing assist > assisting see > seeing be > being Exception 1 If the base verb ends in consonant + stressed vowel + consonant, double the last letter: s t o p consonant stressed vowel consonant (vowels = a, e, i, o, u) stop > stopping run > running begin > beginning Note that this exception does not apply when the last syllable of the base verb is not stressed: open > opening Exception 2 If the base verb ends in ie, change the ie to y: lie > lying die > dying Exception 3 If the base verb ends in vowel + consonant + e, omit the e: come > coming / mistake > mistaking

Present Simple Uses (1)

Eternal truths Despair gives courage to a coward. The earth moves round the Sun. What is a nymph? Nymphs often accompany various gods and goddesses. Still waters run deep. A good deed never goes unpunished.

Definitions

Proverbs and sayings

Habitual/ repeated actions

He always smokes a cigarette after breakfast. My mother seldom drives our car.

Step-by-step instructions

To get to the station you go straight on to the traffic lights, then you turn left.

Sport commentaries (quicker actions)

The player hits and the ball goes straight into the audience.

Stage directions In newspaper headlines

George enters the room and draws the curtain. Plane crashes in Paris. [Avionul s-a prbuit n aris. / Avion prbuit n Paris.]

Present Simple Uses (2)

With verbs of mental activity: think, imagine, know, mean, suppose, suspect, understand, believe, expect, doubt, consider, agree, forget, guess, note, realize, remember, wonder, feel (think) With verbs of perception See, hear: Do you really think that he can make a good job of that? I imagine they live high due to that big fortune.

Do you see the man over there? Do you hear that song?

Feel, taste, smell, sound to The silk feels soft. show permanent The juice tastes sour. characteristics of the subject The roses smell beautiful. Your offer sounds tempting to me. Verbs of emotions, of likes and dislikes: like, dislike, love, hate, hope, forgive, refuse, care, prefer, want, bear, stand With expressions such as Here comes/There goes I hope to see him there.

Look, here comes Nick! There goes our bus; well have to wait for the next one.

Present Simple Uses (3)

With future reference: officially planned actions (timetables): The train for London leaves at six. planned activities where the idea of certainty is implied: She returns tomorrow morning. subordinate clauses of time and condition: My son will look after his little sister while I am away. If your cousin comes here tomorrow, well go to the cinema.

TIME EXPRESSIONS
Adverbs of frequency + Present Simple: always, often, usually, normally, sometimes, occasionally, rarely, not often, hardly ever, never. E.g. Terry Smith, the chief executive of Collins Stewart, usually rises at 6 a.m. He takes the train to London and arrives at his office by 8 a.m. Lunch is usually a sandwich with some Japanese tea. Positions of frequency adverbs: Before the main verb: I often take (I dont often take) the Eurostar to Brussels. After the verb be: Im usually (Im not usually) nervous before a presentation. Adverb phrases like every day, once a year, most of the time, from time to time, now and then - at the beginning / end of the sentence: Terry Smith travels to his New York office once a month.

Present Continuous Uses (1)

To express an action happening at the moment of speaking The children are sleeping now. The pupil is just writing the exercise. For an action intended to be polite Im hoping youll give the book to John.

To create a contrast between a temporary action and habitual action

My mother usually cooks lunch, but today Im cooking. John is a polite young boy, but today he is being rude.

To express an action in a subordinate clause of time or condition

The child will play in the garden while his mother is cooking dinner. I will not disturb her if she is learning.

To express a meaning of annoyance, irritation, sarcasm associated with a habit

You are always borrowing money from me. Those children are constantly making noise.

With activities/ processes (to get or to grow) to express a transition from one state to another taking place over a period

Its getting dark. Hes growing older and older.

Present Continuous Uses (2)

With particular meanings: Think = reflect, meditate. What are they thinking of? She is imagining things. She is expecting a baby. The police are expecting trouble.

See = to accompany somebody to, to wave somebody good-bye, date, visit

Were seeing Nick to the airport in the afternoon. We are seeing each other a lot this week. Are you seeing things?

Feel, taste, smell - when they denote voluntary actions:

What on earth are you doing here? Im feeling this cloth; I dont like it because it feels too rough. Im tasting the soup; I think it needs some salt.

To express a definite action planned for the near future

What are you doing tomorrow? Im meeting my friend. Oxford are drawing a head of Cambridge now; theyre rowing marvellously. The latter are looking a little disorganized.

Sport commentaries (longer actions)