The Simple Present

(1.2) The Simple Present 

Form 

(we use the base form of the verb with I , we ,you , they ,and Plural subjects.) 

I like English  

You know Mandarin 

We come from China.

I come from Burma.

The people of Iran speak Farsi. (people is a plural word)

We use the -s form with he she ,it, and singular subjects.

Timothy lives in New York. 

He studies Languages.

We use the -s form with subjects beginning with every and no.

Every language shows something about the culture . 

No one in the class speaks Ojibwe. 

Every one in the class speaks English. 

Timothy family lives in New York . ( Family is singular word) 

Observe the seven patterns with the base form 

AFFIRMATIVE STATEMENT :  

1. You speak Urdu.
2. He speaks Spanish.
3. She speaks many languages.
4. He knows too much information.
   

NEGATIVE STATEMENT: 

1. You don't speak Hindu.
2. I don't speak English.
3. She doesn't speak Farsi. 
4. She doesn't come to work.
5. She doesn't go to school.
6. She doesn't come to birthday party.
   

YES/NO QUESTION : 

1. Do you speak Farsi?
2. Do you know Lindsay?
3. Do you know how to do ? 
4. Do you know how to go ? 
5. Do you know the address? 
6. Do you know where he lives? 
7. Do you know how to contact her?
   

Short answer :  

1. Yes, I do.
2. No , I don't .
   

WH QUESTION : 

1. Where do you speak Urdu? 
2.     Where do you live ?

NEGATIVE WH QUESTION : 

1. Why don't you speak Spanish ? 
2. Why don't you come to work ? 
3. Why don't you go to school? 

SUBJECT QUESTION : 

1. How many people speak Hindi? 
   

Observe these seven pattern with -s form 

AFFIRMATIVE STATEMENT : Timothy studies Farsi .

NEGATIVE STATEMENT : He doesn't study Spanish . 

YES/No QUESTION : Does he study French ? 

SHORT ANSWER :Yes he does . 

WH    QUESTIONS ; Where does he study French ? 

NEGATIVE WH QUESTION : Why doesn't he study Spanish  ? 

SUBJECT QUESTION : Who studies Spanish?  

Have has an irregular -s form. 

1. I have a language dictionary. Timothy has many language dictionaries.

The -s form of go is goes 

1. We go to college . My sister goes to high school. 

The -s form of do is does . The pronunciation is  /d-s/.

You do your homework at home . She does her homework at the library 

 

When we ask questions about meaning ,spelling  ,cost and take + time we use normal question word order.

 

What does challenge mean? 

How do you say challenge in your language . 

How do you spell challange ? 

How much does a dictionary app cost ? 

How long does it take to learn another language ? 

 

USE : 

We use the simple present with facts , general truths ,habits and customs .

Timothy speaks 20 languages 

He likes language but he doesn't like maths. 

 

We use simple present with regular activities and  repeated actions

(1) Timothy often practices with native speakers.

(2) He always tried to learn languages.

(3) Does he ever use videos?

(4)How often does he use a dictionary ?