The Present Simple Tense. Exercises. Formation of interrogative and negative sentences in Present Simple and Present Continuous Interrogative form present simple

Present simple is the easiest tense in English.


So,

How to ask a question in Present Simple

Look at the order of the words. Click to enlarge.

To ask a question in the simple present tense, put -Do- at the beginning of the question.

Do you hear me? Can you hear me?
Do they sleep? They are sleeping?

If you need to ask a question about Him/Her, add -s- to do

Does she sing? She sings?
Does he smoke? He smokes?

Interrogative sentences examples in present simple

1.Are they happy? They are happy?
2. Does your dog like cheese? Does your dog love cheese?
3. Does your mum read magazines? Does your mom read magazines?
4. How do children get to school in China How do children get to school in China?
5. Does he drive a BMW? Does he drive a BMW?

6. Is he a good man? He is a good man?
7. Do you have any pets in your class? Do you have pets in your class?
8. Does she like Brad Pitt? Does your sister like Brad Pitt?
9. Do they teach French? Do they teach French?
10. Does Kate work every day? Does Katya work every day?

Question words: who? What? Where? Where? When? Why? How many? put it at the beginning of the sentence.
What? When? Where? Who? How? How many? How much? Why?

1. What time do you go to bed? When do you go to bed?
2. What do they like for breakfast? What do they like to eat for breakfast?
3. What is the time? What time is it now?
4. What can you draw? What can you draw?
5. Where does he go on vacations? Where is he going on vacation?

6. What kind of a pen do you want? What kind of pen do you want?
7. What do you do on Sundays? What do you do on Sundays?
8. Why do you drink so much water? Why do you drink so much water?
9. When do your parents have lunch? When do your parents have lunch?
10. How many days a week does she work? How many days a week does she work?

EXERCISES ON Present Simple - asking questions

Exercise #1 Ask questions in English in the simple present tense

1. Are your parents at home?
2. What do you mean?
3. Do you remember my sister?
4. What day is it today?
5. Can you hear me?
6. Does he smoke?
7. What does a cat eat?
8. Are you working?
9. Does she care about you?
10. What time do you get up?

Correct answers to exercise #1

1. Are your parents at home?
2. What do you mean?
3. Do you remember my sister?
4. What’s the date today?
5. Do you hear me?
6. Does he smoke?
7. What does a cat eat?
8. Do you work?
9. Does she care about you?
10. What time do you get up?

Exercise 2. Fill in the missing do / does / is / are

1.Where ___ you? Where are you?
2. ___ you have a family? Do you have a family?
3. ___ you work? Do you work?
4. ___ you jog? You run? /in the morning or at the gym/
5. What city ___ do you live in? What city do you live in?

6. ___ you work or study? You study or work?
7. Where ___ the children? Where are children?
8. ___ she like dogs? Does she like dogs?
9. ___ he live in Japan? Does he live in Japan?
10. ___ your last name Ivanov? Is your last name Ivanov?

There are 12 tenses in the English language instead of the 3 usual for Russian people. Today we will look at the Present Simple Tense (or Present Indefinite). It is translated into Russian as “simple present tense.”

With it we talk about our habits and preferences, skills and daily actions.

This tense is used constantly in English. Therefore, it is very important to fully understand and learn how to use it from the very beginning. This is perhaps the most basic tense in the English language. The base that our students master already at the first level of courses for adults.

In this article I will explain to you how and when to use the Present Simple, and also tell you about all the nuances of its use.

• Affirmative sentences in Present Simple
• Verb endings -s and -es in the Present simple

Using the Present Simple in English

Present Simple Tense is the simple present tense in English. This tense is used when we talk about actions that happen regularly.

For example: “She does exercises in the morning.”

The following cases of using Present Simple are distinguished:

1. About actions that we do regularly, usually.
We go to work; he reads books; we play sports.

2. About someone's habits and preferences.
Do you like watching comedies? she loves to eat sushi.

3. About the daily schedule, daily routine.
The bus arrives at 10:00; the plane to Paris leaves at 22:00

4. About your skills.
I read (I can read, but do not confuse this with “I am currently reading”). He swims (he can swim). I speak English (I can speak English).

Please note that this is the time we we don't use when we talk about actions that are happening right now. For example: “I am cooking (at the moment).”

Education rules affirmative sentences in Present Simple

The affirmative form of the Present Simple is formed using a simple scheme:

1. If the action is performed:

• I - I,
• you - you/you,
• we - we,
• they - they,

then the verb does not change in any way. Look at the table:

Example sentences

I go to work every day.

They usually get up early.
They usually get up early.

2. When actions are performed:

• He - he
• she - she,
• it - it,

then the ending is added to the verb s/es. Pay attention to the verbs in the table.

Example sentences

He play s football every Friday.
He plays football every Friday.

She like s green tea
She likes green tea.

Verb endings -s and -es in the Present Simple

Let's take a closer look at how the endings change if we use the pronouns he, she, it. Ending es We bet in the following cases.

• The verb ends in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -z, -o

ki ss(kiss) - kiss es;
cat ch(grab) - catch es;
fi x(fix) - fix es;
g o(go) - go es;

Examples

He wash es(wash - washes) his car often.
He washes his car often.

She miss es her brother (miss - misses).
She misses her brother.

• The verb ends in -y and it is preceded by a consonant. In this case we replace -y with -i and add the ending -es.

fl y(fly) - fl ies;
hurr y(hurry up) - hurr ies.

For example

She stud ies(study - studies) five new words every day.
She learns five new words every day.

Ending -s we bet in all other cases.

Note: if the verb ends in -y and stands in front of her vowel, then we just add the ending -s.

l ay(put) - la ys;
st ay(stay) - sta ys.

For example

She pla ys tennis twice a week.
She plays tennis twice a week.

Special words used in Present Simple

There are some words that indicate and help determine that we have the Present Simple. What all these words have in common is that they show that an action is happening (or not happening) periodically.

• Always - always;
• often - often;
• usually - usually;
• sometimes - sometimes;
• rarely - rarely;
• never - never;
• every time, every morning, every evening, every day - every time, every morning, every evening, every day.

Having seen these words, you can immediately understand that we are talking about some kind of regular, usual action for us.

For example

She cooks dinner usually by herself.
She usually cooks dinner herself.

They never play football.
They never don't play football.

Negative form in Present Simple

A negative sentence will be constructed in exactly the same way as in Russian: using the particle not. For example, I go to work. Let’s add “not” and it turns out: I don’t go to work.

In Present Simple particle Not consists of an auxiliary verb do or does and particles not.

To make a sentence negative, we need to put “not” in front of the verb. That is, the proposal will be structured according to the following scheme:

Actor + do/does not + action (verb in initial form).

Does we use it when we talk about one person (he, she, it), and in all other cases we must use do.

Example sentences

Please note that when we use don't And does not The ending s/es is no longer added to the verb. After all, it is these auxiliary verbs that show time (read the article “Auxiliary verbs in English”). Why do you need to show 2 times that this is a real repeating tense?

Look.

He does not read_books.
He doesn't read books.

We don't talk

He does not reads books.

How can you shorten do not and does not?

We can abbreviate the particle not as follows.

Don't = don't.
Doesn't = doesn't.

Question form in Present Simple

To ask a question, you need to use auxiliary verbs do or does first place in the sentence. In this case, the word order does not change, that is, it will be the same as in the affirmative form. The scheme for constructing a question in the Present Simple is as follows:

Do/does + actor + action (verb in initial form)?

As usual, we use does with he, she, it. In all other cases we use do.

Please note that in the question the verb is in the initial form and its ending does not change.

Do es she like_sweets?
Does she like sweets?

Statement

She usually drink s coffee in the morning.
She usually drinks coffee in the morning.

They eat different fruits every day.
They eat fruit every day.

Question

Does she usually drink_ coffee in the morning?
Does she usually drink coffee in the morning?

Do they eat different fruits every day?
Do they eat fruit every day?

Answers to questions in Present Simple

Short positive answer will contain an auxiliary verb do/does, which will replace the action itself (drinking, eating).

Yes, she does.
Yes, he drinks.

Yes, they do.
Yes, they do.

Complete positive answer will be constructed as an affirmative sentence.

Yes, she usually drinks s coffee in the morning.
Yes, she usually drinks coffee in the morning.

Yes, they eat different fruits every day.
Yes, they eat fruit every day.

IN short negative answer to do/does we add not.

No, she does not.
No, he doesn't drink.

No, they don't.
No, they don't eat.

Complete negative answer is constructed as a negative sentence:

No, she does not drink coffee in the morning.
No, she doesn't usually drink coffee in the morning.

No, they don't eat different fruits every day.
No, they don't eat fruit every day.

Examples

Do do you speak English? — Yes, I do.
Do you speak English? - Yes talking.

Do do you speak English? - No, I don't.
Do you speak English? - No I do not speak.

Do do they like to dance? - Yes, they like to dance.
Do they like to dance? - Yes, they like to dance.

Do do they like to dance? - No, they don't like to dance.
Do they like to dance? - No, they don't like to dance.

Does she play_ tennis? — Yes, she does.
She plays tennis? - Yes, he plays.

Does she play_ tennis? - No, she does not.
She plays tennis? - No, he doesn’t play.

Does he like to travel? - Yes, he likes s to travel.
Does he like to travel? — Yes, he likes to travel.

Does he like to travel? - No, he does not like to travel.
Does he like to travel? - No, he doesn't like to travel.

Special questions in the Present Simple

They should be used when you want to get some additional information. List of words:

• what - what,
• where - where,
• which - which one,
• why - why,
• when - when,
• who - who,
• how - how.

Question words + do/does + actor + action (verb in initial form)?

Examples

Why does does he go to work?
Why does he go to work?

Where do do you usually go?
Where do you usually go?

When does did she come back?
When is she coming back?

What do do they usually watch?
What do they usually watch?

Which tea does she drink?
What kind of tea does she drink?

Who do do you live with?
Who do you live with?

The verb to be in the Present Simple

There is a special verb in English - to be. In the present tense, this verb has three forms: am, is, are.

Very often, English language learners get confused when to use it in the present tense and when not to. Because of this, mistakes are made.

Remember that we use the verb to be in the Present Simple when we want to say:

• who what by whom/what is (she is a nurse);
• who what what is (my cat is gray);
• who what Where is (dad at work).

That is, if we want describe the location anything state something or what is this thing/person, then we use the verb to be.

For example

I am a doctor.
I am a doctor.

She is at home.
She is at home.

We are good singers.
We are good singers.

When you say a phrase and doubt whether you should put the verb be there, you can always test yourself by asking questions to the sentence: am I who/what, is where, is what? If in translation the words “is, is, is” give the sentence a logical meaning, then in English such a sentence will be correct.

Now let's summarize briefly and look at the general table of the use of Present Simple time.

General table of present simple time use

So, Present Simple (simple present tense) is used in the following cases:

1. When we talk about actions that we do regularly, usually.
2. When we talk about someone's habits and preferences.
3. When it comes to the daily schedule, daily routine.
4. When we talk about our skills.

Let's look at the formation of all types of sentences in this tense.

We have analyzed the Present Simple tense. It is quite simple, but you need to know how to use it correctly. If something remains unclear to you, do not hesitate to ask your questions in the comments.

Useful articles on the topic:

Reinforcement task

Now let's practice using the Present Simple tense. I propose to translate the following sentences into English.

1. I love animals.
2. He doesn't work on weekends.
3. Do your parents travel every summer?
4. My brother doesn't go to the gym.
5. I'm never late.

In English, unlike Russian, . But the British often use only half of them. The most popular tense among all English-speaking inhabitants of our planet is , translated as Simple Present Tense. It is used to describe things that are done regularly, habits and hobbies. And if everything is clear with the affirmative form of this tense, and constructing sentences in the Present Simple is not difficult, then problems may arise with composing interrogative sentences. Let's figure out how questions are formed in the Present Simple.

Rule of education Present Simple questions

To correctly compose interrogative sentences, we put the helping verb do (for I, we, you, they) or does (for he, she, it) in first place. The rest of the word order remains the same as it was in the affirmative construction.

Those. The interrogative form of the Present Simple looks like this:

Do/Does + performer (subject) + 1st form of the semantic verb.

Do you spend weekends alone? - Do you spend your weekends alone?
Does she help you with your studies? -She helps you With studies?

NB! The ending “es” is added to the helping verb Do when the subject is in the 3rd person singular form. In other cases, there is no need to add the ending. It is also important to remember that the ending of the main verb does not change, the “s” is only added to the auxiliary verb Do (Do+es).

Types of questions

There are several of them in English. There are general, special, alternative, dividing questions to the subject. But don't let such diversity scare you. In Present Simple, examples of constructing the above structures follow simple rules that you can easily remember.

• General question. It implies only two answer options: “yes” or “no”. In this way we find out whether there was any action at all?

In Present Simple, a question of this type is constructed according to the following scheme:

Do/Does + performer (subject) + action (predicate) + other members of the sentence

It was this type that was discussed at the beginning of the article. Let's complicate the design a little.
Does she help you with your studies every evening? -She helps you With studies every evening?

Alternative question

When an alternative is offered. There is a choice between qualities, actions, objects. The sentence is built on the same principle as in the general question, but is divided into two parts by the conjunction “or”.

Do you work 5 days a week or in shifts? -You you're working 5 days V a week or in shifts?
Does your husband or do you look after kids?-Do you or your husband look after the children?

In the second example, it is worth noting that this is a question about the subject, so the auxiliary verb is placed before the first and second subjects.

Dividing (“tag question”)

Also known as the ponytail question.” It is very easy to create such a proposal in a simple present. It is necessary to write it in the affirmative form, and at the end, separated by a comma, add: “true”, “isn’t it”, which in the English version will sound like don’t you/doesn’t she (depending on the subject). It is interesting that an affirmative sentence has a negative tail, and a negative sentence has a positive tail.

My friend often goes to his girlfriend, doesn’t he? - my friend often goes to see his girlfriend, doesn’t he?
He doesn’t play the guitar, does he? - He doesn't play guitar, right?

In a conversation with a person, on the “tail” we increase intonation.

Special question in Present Simple

We ask when you need to find out some special, additional information about something.

We start this construction with question words:

Special questions are one of the most frequently used constructions; the ability to ask them correctly will make your English speech much richer and more varied.

Question with who (to the subject)

is asked when we need to find out who performed a particular action. It is slightly different in construction from the others. Its peculiarity is that it does not need an auxiliary verb, and the main verb, in turn, will always end in “s”
Who often goes to Moscow? - who often travels to Moscow?

Answers to common questions

They can be short and complete
Let's look at them using the following two questions as an example

Do they know each other? - Do they know each other?
Does she play basketball? — She plays basketball?

• Brief answers

Yes, they do / No, they don’t - Yes / No
Yes, she does / No, she doesn’t - Yes / No

As you can see, the auxiliary verb replaces the entire action.

• Complete answers

Yes, she does. She plays basketball every Friday - Yes, she plays basketball every Friday.
No, she doesn't. She doesn't play basketball. - No, she doesn't play basketball.

Yes, they do. They know each other - Yes, they know each other
No, they don’t know each other - No, they don’t know each other

English tenses are a broad topic in English grammar, including a number of subgroups that can take quite a lot of time to study. However, for basic use of the language, it is enough to get by with one – the Simple group. Yes, knowing exclusively this time will not give you complete freedom of expression, but you will be able to explain yourself, talk about events, and ask for something. Therefore, if you are just starting to learn English and its grammar is not yet familiar to you, choosing the Simple group for initial learning will be the most logical, simple and optimal. When making a choice between Past, Present or Future Simple, give preference to Present Simple (pronounced [present simple]) or the simple present tense, which will be discussed today.

Present Simple Tense or present simple tense in English (also known as Present Indefinite Tense [indefinite tens] or present indefinite tense) is a tense that expresses regular or constant actions in the present. Such actions are not tied to a specific moment, but occur in the present in a general sense.

The peculiarity of this time is that it does not show the duration of the action or its completion; there are no such temporal nuances. The action simply exists and it is rather taken for granted. Despite the fact that the Present Simple tense is considered one of the easiest, it also has its own characteristics of formation and application. Therefore, let's study in detail how the Present Simple is formed and in what cases it should be used.

Usually I get up at 7 am. (I usually get up at 7 am.)

They live in London. (They live in London.)

She plays tennis every Tuesday. (She plays tennis every Tuesday.)

The formation of the Present Simple consists of using exclusively a semantic verb. No auxiliary verb in the affirmative form is needed for this. The semantic verb practically corresponds to its simple dictionary form. The only difference is that the verb in the infinitive when forming the Present Simple loses the particle to:

Having received a formed verb, however, do not forget that it can vary in numbers. Thus, the ending –s (–es) is added to 3rd person singular verbs. Education formula with explanations:

Example sentences:

To avoid difficulties with adding endings, consider a number of rules:

• If verbs end with –ch, –tch, –s, –ss, –sh, –x, –z, they are appended with the ending –es:

• The same rule works with verbs ending in –o:

• If a verb ends in –y with a preceding consonant, then –y is replaced by –i, and the ending –es is added to the word. If there is a vowel before –y, this rule does not apply.

The verb to be deserves special attention, which independently changes according to numbers and tenses:

Present Simple: sentence forms

Having understood the rules of formation of the Present Simple or simple present tense, you can immediately move on to forms in order to learn how to use formed verbs in sentences.

Affirmative form of Present Simple

The affirmative English form is constructed while maintaining direct word order. In such sentences, the predicate comes after the subject. Let's look at the diagram:

To use the passive voice in the simple indefinite tense, in which the subject does not perform the action, but is affected, the following structure is used:

Negative form of Present Simple

With the negative form things are a little different. First, an auxiliary verb appears before the semantic verb do(does), which takes away the ending from verbs in the 3rd person. Secondly, this auxiliary verb is used in conjunction with the negative particle not:

If the verb to be is used in the present tense, then a negative particle is simply added to it.

Let's consider the forms of a negative sentence according to the following schemes:

Abbreviations are often used in negative sentences:

The verb to be, in turn, can be shortened in both affirmation and negation:

Am not as amn’t is usually not abbreviated. This denial may occur in Ireland and Scotland.

Question form Present Simple

In interrogative form, construction formulas may differ depending on the type of question:

• In a general question, the auxiliary verb do (does) is also added to the semantic verb, which is placed before the subject.
  Tables with examples:

For a question with the English verb to be, this verb is simply brought forward:

These questions are usually answered briefly:

• In an alternative question, the general form is retained, but a second subject/predicate/other clause member is added to provide an alternative, which is linked to the first by means of the conjunction or (or):

These questions require a more complete answer:

• A special question is built according to the general question formula, but a question word is added before the auxiliary verb:

This construction also requires a complete answer:

• In a dividing question, the affirmative or negative form of the sentence is retained, followed by short questions:

The answers to this question are formed in a short form:

Present Simple: use

Having studied education and structures, let’s move from theory to practice and take a closer look at the cases of using the Present Simple in tables. Present Simple or Indefinite is used very often in speech, sometimes performing the same functions as in Russian. But there are also cases of using the simple indefinite tense in English that are not applicable in Russian. So, Present Indefinite Tense is used in the following cases:

1. When it is necessary to express habitual, regularly repeated actions. Often in this case, satellite words are used, expressed always (always), often (often), usually (usually), sometimes (sometimes), rarely (rarely), never (ever), every day / week / month / year (every day / week / month / year), daily / on a daily basis (daily). Table with examples:

1. If you want to express some action, give it a special meaning, you can put it before the semantic verb do (does) in an affirmative sentence. In this case, the auxiliary verb has the following translation: “very”, “really”, “in fact”:

1. The Present Simple in English is also used to show that an action is happening in the present, but not necessarily at a specific moment:

1. If we are talking about well-known facts, statements, stereotypes, sentences are also constructed in the Present Simple. Some examples:

1. The simple indefinite tense is also used to list actions:

1. The use of the Present Simple in the same function is also possible in operating manuals, instructions, and recipes. Typically, such sentences replace imperative sentences to list sequential actions.

1. The sequence of actions expressed in the Present Simple can still be found in the speech of sports commentators. Let's look at an example:

1. Present Simple or simple present tense is also used when it comes to timetables or operating hours of trains, planes, (cinema) theaters, shops, activities.

This construction may imply the future tense, although even when translated into Russian the present tense will be used:

1. The Present Simple can also express the future tense when expressing planned actions with verbs of motion, without obeying the standard rule for the formation of the simple future tense. In order to indicate that an action will happen in the future, time phrases with the word next are often used:

1. The Present Simple can be used as the past tense in newspaper headlines:

Even though the action mentioned has already been done, the present tense is used to avoid too long names.

1. The use of the present simple tense is necessary to replace the Present Continuous if the sentence contains state verbs that are not used in the Continuous:

If the verb is not stative, it cannot be changed to Present Indefinite.

1. Present Simple is also used in the imperative mood:

1. The Present Simple is used when using subordinate clauses of time and conditions for the future tense. Such sentences are used to show that one action will happen after another happens. Such sentences often use the conjunctions until / till (not yet), as soon as (as soon as), when (when), used to introduce a subordinate clause. There may be several translations into Russian, but often both parts are translated into the future tense:

1. The Present Indefinite Tense can also be found in two types of conditional sentences:

• Zero Conditional or conditional sentences of the zero type are used to express scientific facts, generally accepted statements, and laws of nature. Education Formula:

The future tense can be used for translation into Russian.

• First Conditional or conditional sentences of the first type are used to show that an action will occur in the future if some condition is met. To form this type, use the following formula:

These situations are uncertain, since their outcome depends on the fulfillment of a condition.

Please note that when translated into Russian, both parts are used in the future tense.

These were all briefly outlined cases of using one of the simple English tenses - the Present Simple tense. The grammar of this tense is quite simple, so even if at the initial stage you find it difficult to master this tense, it will not cause you any problems with the language in the future. Understand the rules, do the exercises, read the explanation, make up your own examples and communicate with native speakers, because this time at a basic level can be useful for any case.

Elementary

What is this lesson about?

Special questions in English are a fairly simple topic. It is much simpler than the topic of questions with prepositions. The question word or group of words is placed at the beginning, and then comes the standard word order for constructing the question.

The lesson is intended for beginner level. In addition to practicing special questions, Present Simple tense is practiced.

After completing the grammar exercise out loud, we recommend that in the Writing exercise you come up with not only options for posing the question, but also options for answering the question, even if this is not required by the task.

Have a good imagination while doing the exercises,
Learnathome Team

Phrase 1

In English, the special question "How often" is no different from other questions in the order of words. It's more important to remember the place for OFTEN in the answer to this question. In the Present Simple it can be placed before a verb, between 2 verbs or at the end, especially if it is reinforced with the word VERY.

Phrase 2

As in other special questions, we put the expression “What kind of music” at the beginning of the sentence, then comes the classic Present Simple word order. Instead of "music" there can be anything. At the same time, countable objects are often (but not always) in the plural, and uncountable objects are in the singular.

Phrase 3

Many people ask if there is a difference between asking "What time" and "When"? By and large there is no difference, but “What time” is a little more punctual. This small difference in life can be very significant for some. Judge for yourself:

Phrase 5

The special question Why in Russian can be translated by the words why and why, but why is preferable. People usually forget about the word order that follows, especially if the question is in the negative form.