WHEN TO USE THE PRESENT SIMPLE

• PERMANENT

or long-lasting situations.

Ex:

Where do you work?
He lives in Paris.

•

Regular

HABITS

and daily

ROUTINES

.

Ex:

I usually get up at 7 o'clock.
She doesn't often go to the theatre.

• FACTS

.

Ex:

The Earth revolves around the Sun.
Water doesn't boil at 20 degrees. It boils at 100 degrees.

• FEELINGS

.

Ex:

I love cooking.
She feels sad.

• OPINIONS

and

STATES OF MIND

.

Ex:

They don't agree with us.
I think he is stupid.

• TIMETABLES

and

SCHEDULES

Ex:

The plane leaves at 6 p.m.
The train doesn't arrive until 10.35.

AFFIRMATIVE

I like
You like
He / She like

S

We like
You like
They like

NEGATIVE

I

DON’T

(DO NOT) like

You

DON’T

like

He / She

DOESN’T

like

Ø

We

DON’T

like

You

DON’T

like

They

DON’T

like

GRAMMAR POINT:

THE PRESENT SIMPLE

INTERROGATIVE

DO

I like …?

DO

you like …?

DOES

he / she like

Ø

…?

DO

we like …?

DO

you like …?

DO

they like …?

TIME TO PRACTISE!

Exercise 1: Choose the right answer.

1.

How often ___________________ go to the cinema?
… do you go

… does you go

… go you

2.

He ___________________ get up early on Sundays.
… not

… doesn’t

… don’t

3.

My father ___________________ in a hospital.
… works

… work

… do work

4.

Where ___________________ live?
… do your cousin

… your cousin

… does your cousin

5.

They ___________________ play tennis.
… not

… doesn’t

… don’t

6.

He ___________________ English and Spanish fluently
… don’t speak

… speaks

… speak

7.

I ___________________ drinking coffee.
… don’t like

… doesn’t like

… like not

8.

Where ___________________?
… does they live

… do they live

… live they?

Exercise 2: Some information in the following paragraph is missing. Write the

questions you are going to ask to know the missing information.

Mr. Lee is a bus driver. Every day he gets up at ___

1

___ and prepares for his day. He

showers, eats ___

2

___, and puts on his uniform. His wife drives him to ___

3

___ where he

checks in with his supervisor. Then, he gets on Bus ___

4

___ and starts the engine. He pulls

out of the parking lot and begins his route. At his first stop, he picks up Mrs. Miller, who lives
in a red house on the corner of Main Street and Seventh Avenue. She works at ___

5

___ and

has to be to work by 9:00. At the next stop, ___

6

___ get on the bus. They attend class at

Bayside Elementary. ___

7

___children get on at the next three stops, and they ride until the

bus reaches their school. Mr Lee enjoys seeing the kids every day and is happy to see them
again in the ___

8

___when he drives them safely back home.

(Taken from

http://www.eslgold.com/grammar/simple_present.html

)

1.

_______________________________________________________________________

2.

_______________________________________________________________________

3.

_______________________________________________________________________

4.

_______________________________________________________________________

5.

_______________________________________________________________________

6.

_______________________________________________________________________

7.

_______________________________________________________________________

8.

_______________________________________________________________________

SOLUTIONS

Exercise 1:

1.

How often

do you

go to the cinema?

2.

He

doesn’t

get up early on Sundays.

3.

My father

works

in a hospital.

4.

Where

does your cousin

live?

5.

They

don’t

play tennis.

6.

He

speaks

English and Spanish fluently

7.

I

don’t like

drinking coffee.

8.

Where

do they live

?

Exercise 2:

1. What time

does Mr. Lee get up?

2. What

does he eat?

3. Where

does his wife drive him?

4. What

bus does he get on?

5. Where

does Mrs. Miller work?

6. Who

get

s

on the bus at the next stop?

7. How many

children get on at the next three stops?

8. When

does Mr Less see the kids again?

NOTE

: Don’t forget to explain to your students why we don’t need the auxiliary DO /

DOES in Question 6 and Question 7.


Original text:
Mr. Lee is a bus driver. Every day he gets up at 7:00 a.m. and prepares for his day. He
showers, eats his breakfast, and puts on his uniform. His wife drives him to the station where he
checks in with his supervisor. Then, he gets on Bus #405 and starts the engine. He pulls out of
the parking lot and begins his route. At his first stop, he picks up Mrs. Miller, who lives in a red
house on the corner of Main Street and Seventh Avenue. She works at the post office and has
to be to work by 9:00. At the next stop, the Bartlett twins get on the bus. They attend class at
Bayside Elementary. More children get on at the next three stops, and they ride until the bus
reaches their school. Mr. Lee enjoys seeing the kids every day and is happy to see them again
in the afternoon when he drives them safely back home.

(

http://www.eslgold.com/grammar/simple_present.html

)