Present Simple Tense Rules + Exercises

FORM [VERB] + s/es in third person Examples: You speak English. Do you speak English? You do not speak English.

Use 1: Repeated Action The Simple Present is used to express the idea that an action is repeated or usual. The action can be a habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or something that often happens. It can also be something a person often forgets or usually does not do.

Use 1: Examples I play tennis. She does not play tennis. Does he play tennis? The train leaves every morning at 8 AM. The train does not leave at 9 AM.

……. When does the train usually leave? She always forgets her purse. He never forgets his wallet. Every twelve months, the Earth circles the Sun. Does the Sun circle the Earth?

USE 2: Facts or Generalizations The Simple Present can also indicate the speaker believes that a fact was true before, is true now, and will be true in the future. It is not important if the speaker is correct about the fact. It is also used to make generalizations about people or things.

USE 2: Examples Cats like milk. Birds do not like milk. Do pigs like milk? California is in America.

………… California is not in the United Kingdom. Windows are made of glass. Windows are not made of wood. New York is a small city. (It is not important that this fact is untrue.)

USE 3: Scheduled Events in the Near Future Use Simple Present to talk about scheduled events in the near future. This is most commonly done when talking about public transportation, but it can be used with other scheduled events as well.

USE 3: Examples The train leaves tonight at 6 PM. The bus does not arrive at 11 AM, it arrives at 11 PM. When do we board the plane? The party starts at 8 o'clock. When does class begin tomorrow?

USE 4: Now (Non-Continuous Verbs) Use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is happening or is not happening now. This can only be done with Non-continuous Verbs and certain Mixed Verbs.

USE 4: Examples I am here now. Snakes are reptiles. She is not here now. He needs help right now. He does not need help now. He has his passport in his hand. Do you have your passport with you?

ADVERB PLACEMENT The placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc. Examples: You only speak English. Do you only speak English?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE Examples: Once a week, Tom cleans the car. (Active) Once a week, the car is cleaned by Tom. (Passive)

Opinion? Fact? Schedule? Habit? 1.The train leaves at The sun is very hot in the summer. 3.Traffic is terrible in the morning! 4.The sun rises in the east. 5.Susan hates traffic.

……. 6.Every Saturday Sherry goes to the supermarket. 7.That company makes auto parts. 8.Maria dances every Saturday night. 9.Jack works every day. 10. A river carries water.

Exercises 1. Do you ___chocolate milk? 2. He ___not want to come to the movies. 3. ____we too late to catch the bus? 4. It ____a beautiful day today. 5. Sorry, Lisa ____not here at the moment.

……. 6. ____I correct? 7. Robert ____not go to my school. 8. My parents ___in a 2 bedroom apartment. 9. We _____European. 10. You_____so happy today!

……. 11. She ___ four languages. 12. Jane is a teacher. She ___ French. 13. When the kettle ___, will you make some tea? 14.I always ___ the window at night because it is cold. 15.Those shoes ___ too much.

……. 16. The food in Japan is expensive. It ___ a lot to live there. 17.His job is great because he ___ a lot of people. 18.He always ___ his car on Sundays. 19.My watch is broken and it ___ to be fixed again. 20.I ___ to watch movies.

……. 21.I ___ to the cinema at least once a week. 22.They never ___ tea in the morning. 23.We both ___ to the radio in the morning. 24.He ___ a big wedding. 25.George ___ too much so he's getting fat.

……. 26.The earth ___ round the sun, doesn't it? 27.The shops in England ___ at 9:00 in the morning. 28.The post office ___ at 5:30 pm. 29.Jackie ___ two children now. 30.Mr. Smith ___ too much. He always has a cigarette in his mouth.

……. 31.When the phone ___, please answer it. 32.Mary and I,___at the store. (work) 33.Ted, Rick and I ____to school everyday. (walk) 34.Mr. and Mrs. Thatcher ____letters daily. 35.Bob and Ted ____the lawn. (weed)

……. 36.Tommy ____at the garbage dump. (work) 37.The dog _____over the fence. (jump) 38.Bill Clinton ____to Washington. (hurry) 39.The boy_____television. (watch) 40.You ______all of the time. (cry)

……. 41.I ________ in a bank. (work) 42.She ________ in Florida. (live) 43.It ________ almost every day in Manchester. (rain) 44.We ________ to Spain every summer. (fly) 45.My mother ________ eggs for breakfast every morning. (fry)

The bank ________ at four o’clock. (close) 47.John ________ very hard in class, but I don’t think he’ll pass the course. (try) 48.Jo is so smart that she ________ every exam without even trying. (pass) 49.My life is so boring -- I just ________ TV every night. (watch) 50.My best friend ________ to me every week. (write)

+ or - 51.That kind of earthquake ___ happen often. 52.We live close to the sea, but we ___ go often. 53. I love sumo, but I ___ like boxing. 54.You ___ like me very much, do you? 55.My son ___ like skiing. He likes snowboarding now.

……. 56.We ___ have time to do that on the way home. 57.Harry has bad breath because he ___ brush his teeth very often. 58.We are rich so we ___ have to work. 59.Dave speaks English, French, and German, but he ___ speak Italian. 60.They ___ sell that brand anymore.

……. 61.It is really a cheap restaurant, it ___ cost much to eat there. 62. I have a television, but I ___ watch it often. 63.Rice ___ grow in cold climates. 64.They like coffee, they ___ like tea. 65.We are new here. We ___ know him.

……. 66.I ___ understand, do you? 67. Dr. Watson ___ smoke, does he? 68.We ___ like classical music very much. 69.Sally said she ___ want it anymore. 70.Mr. Hill ___ live in New York. He lives in Boston.