9. Present Simple and Present Continuous.

3. The Present Simple tense

Verb (s)

To form the Present Simple tense we use the verb's base form (go, work, speak, study). In 3^rd person singular (he, she, it), the base form of the verb takes -s/es. (Auxiliary verbs "be," "do," "have", which can also be used as main verbs, are exceptions.)  

Affirmative form I you                 WORK we      they he/she/it      WORKS

Negative form I you      DO NOT /don't/ we            WORK they he/she/it     DOES NOT WORK

Interrogative form                I DO       you       WORK?              we              they DOES   he/she/it    WORK?

If the verb ends in -ss, -sh, -ch, -x or -o, add -es to the base form:   kiss - kisses, finish - finishes, watch - watches, mix - mixes, go - goes  If the verb ends in consonant + y change y to i and add -es:   study - studies, copy - copies,  try - tries, carry - carries

! Remember: to be I am

you/we/they are he/she/it is to do I/you/we/they do he/she/it does to have I/you/we/they have he/she/it has   Questions and short answers: Do you like spaghetti? Yes, I do. No, I don't. Does she know Bulgarian? Yes, she does. No, she doesn't.

The Simple Present tense is used for :

1. General truths. These are scientific facts that are always true and cannot be argued with. e.g. The Sun rises in the east.

Honey is sweet. Water boils at 100˚C.

2. States. Things which do not often change (for example, opinions and conditions)

e.g. Michelle lives in Paris. She works in Versailles. She believes in balancing business and pleasure.

3. Future plans and schedules.

e.g. My plane leaves at eight tonight.

All new German courses begin next week.

4. Reporting live events, story-telling, or retelling a plot (narrative present). This provides an instantaneous sense of the present, adding drama to live sport commentaries. Also used in giving accounts of stories, jokes, novels, movies, and plays (no matter how old they are).

e.g. “Owen kicks the ball to Ronaldinio, who passes it to Beckham. Beckham scores a goal!” “A guy walks into a bar and starts talking to…” This is how the movie begins. In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet’s father wants her to marry Paris, but Juliet loves Romeo.

4. The Present Continuous tense

BE+VERB+ING

To form the Present Continuous tense we use the verb be (I am, you/ we/ they are, he/she/it is) + the '-ing' form of the main verb. The '-ing' form of the verb is called the Present Participle.

Affirmative form I am you                  we      are playing they he/she/it      is

Negative form I am not you                  we      are not playing they he/she/it   is not

Interrogative form                 Am       I you Are we  playing? they Is he/she/it

The Present Continuous tense is used for:

1. A temporary action happening now. Something which is going on right now (but it will stop in the future).

e.g. Watch out, the water is boiling and about to spill over ! Be quiet ! The Prime Minister is speaking.

2. A definite plan for the future. For prearranged future plans related to such a near future time that we feel we are almost already in the middle of the process.

e.g. I'm meeting John after class today.

I am watching a movie on TV this evening. Susan is meeting new investors next week.