Uses of the Simple Present

The simple present is used for talking about routines, habits, and repeated activities in the
present time. We use the simple present to talk about facts, which are always true. Time
expressions (e.g., every day, in the summer) and adverbs of frequency (e.g., never, sometimes,
always) signal the simple present tense.

What is a routine? Something you do every morning, every week, every year.

 I brush my teeth two times a day.

 You go to the gym three times a week.
 He makes breakfast for my children every morning.
 She starts work at 7:00 am.
 They do laundry every Saturday.

What is a habit? Something you do regularly.

 My husband reads in bed before he goes to sleep.

 My cat wakes me up on Saturdays because he is hungry.

What is a repeated action? Action that we do more than once.

 I shop at Winco (not every week, but I like to go there).

 She wears shorts in the summer.

What is a fact? Something that is always true.

 The moon revolves around the earth.

 She has two children.
 Vegetables are healthy.
 Water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit.

Forms of the Simple Present

Affirmative Statements in the Simple

Present

You must add an -s to the verb with the subjects he, she, and it.
subject + verb

Subject Verb

I walk.
You
We
They

He walks.
She
It

Directions: Write the correct form of the verbs in parentheses.

1. Yuri (wake up)______________ at 6:00 am.

2. Palani (drive)______________ to school.

3. Yuri (bike)______________ to school.

4. Yuri (make)______________ coffee.

5. I (cook)______________ breakfast.

6. She (eat)______________ cereal.

7. Palani (take)______________ a shower in the evening.

8. They (carpool)______________ together.

9. She (ask)______________ for a pencil.

10. Yuri and Palani (attend) ______________ Clackamas Community College.

11. We (attend) ______________ Clackamas Community College.

12. I (take)______________ a shower in the morning.

13. He (make)______________ and (drink)______________ coffee every morning.

14. She never (arrive)______________ late.

15. Class (begin)______________ at 11:30 am.

16. He usually (find)______________ parking easily.

17. Palani (live)______________ with Yuri.

18. They (brush) ______________ their hair in the morning.

19. We (brush)______________ our teeth twice a day.

20. My cats (sleep)______________ all day.

Ana and Pedro’s Morning Routine

Ana and Pedro (1)__________ at 6:00 am. Ana (2)__________ coffee. Her brother, Pedro,
(3)__________breakfast. She (4)__________a shower at 6:30 am. Her brother (5)__________ a
shower at 7:00 am. They (6)__________ and (7)__________ their teeth. Ana (8)__________
the cat. Ana (9)__________ her hair and (10)__________ makeup. Pedro (11)__________ his
hair. Ana’s book bag (12)__________ready. Pedro (13)__________ his books in his backpack.
Ana (14)__________lunches. Class (15)__________ at 9:00 am. Ana and Pedro
(16)__________ the house at 8:30 am. They (17)__________ at school at 8:45 am. Ana
(18)__________ out books from the college library before class. She always (19)__________
good books to read. Ana and Pedro (20)__________ to class at 8:55 am. Their first class
(21)__________ at 10:50 am.

Interview your partner.

1. Where do you live?

___________________________________________________________________

2. What time do you wake up?

___________________________________________________________________

3. When do you eat breakfast?

___________________________________________________________________

4. What do you eat for breakfast?

___________________________________________________________________

5. How do you get to school (walk, bus, car, etc.)?

___________________________________________________________________

6. What time do you go to school?

___________________________________________________________________

7. What time do you get home?

___________________________________________________________________

8. When do you go to bed?

___________________________________________________________________
Part 2 Directions: Write 8 sentences about your own daily routine using the same questions.

1. ________________________________________________________________

2. ________________________________________________________________

3. ________________________________________________________________

4. ________________________________________________________________

5. ________________________________________________________________

6. ________________________________________________________________

7. ________________________________________________________________

8. ________________________________________________________________

Adverbs of Frequency with the Simple Present

Study the chart below to learn the meanings of the following adverbs.

Adverb Frequency

always 100%

usually 70-90%

often 50-60%

sometimes 30-40%

seldom/rarely 10-20%

never 0%
Adverbs of Frequency (AoF) with the BE Verb

With the BE verb, the AoFs are added between BE and the rest of the sentence. You will see in
the next section that this is different with other verbs.

subject + BE + AoF + rest of sentence

Subject BE AoF Rest of Sentence

I am never late.

He is always on time.
She
It

You are sometimes early.

We
They

Directions: Put the correct form of the BE verb followed by the AoF on the line.
1. I (be/always) _____________________________________ late.

2. He (be/never) _____________________________________ on time.

3. She (be/often) _____________________________________ busy on Saturday.

4. It (be/never) _____________________________________ cold in August.

5. You (be/usually) _____________________________________ cold in the morning.

6. We (be/never) _____________________________________ hungry in the morning.

7. They (be/seldom) _____________________________________ tired at 9:00 pm.

8. You (be/rarely) _____________________________________ late for school.

9. He (be/sometimes) _____________________________________ tired after work.

10. It (be/usually) _____________________________________ sunny in Los Angeles.

Directions: Complete the sentences with the correct form of the BE verb and the AoF.
Example: She (always) is always late.
1. Class (usually)___________________________ interesting.

2. They (often)___________________________ busy.

3. I (always)___________________________ friendly.

4. You (never)___________________________ hungry after lunch.

5. She (always)___________________________ hungry at 3:00 pm.

6. He (rarely)___________________________ on time for class.

7. They (sometimes)___________________________ confused in class.

8. You (often)___________________________ sleepy.

subject + AoF + verb + rest of sentence

Subject AoF Verb Rest of Sentence

I always eat breakfast.

He usually does his own laundry.

She
It

You never walk to school.

We
They

We use the AoF to talk about how often or how frequently something happens.

How often do you eat breakfast? I always eat breakfast.

In the sentence above, we are saying how often we eat breakfast (always).

How often does he cook dinner? He usually cooks dinner.

In the sentence above, we are saying how often he cooks dinner. (usually).

How often do they walk to school? They never walk to school.

In the sentence above, we are saying how often they walk to school (never).
Directions: Write the Adverb of frequency (AoF) and the verb in the correct form on the line.
Remember: When we use any verb except the BE verb, the AoF goes before the verb.
Example: Miho (always/get up) always gets up at 7:00 am.
1. I (never/eat) ___________________ breakfast.

2. You (often/do) ___________________ laundry on Saturdays.

3. He (usually/swim) ___________________ on weekends.

4. She (never/sing) ___________________ karaoke.

5. It (rarely/rain) ___________________ in July.

6. They (seldom/watch) ___________________ movies.

7. We (always/do) ___________________ our homework.

8. She (sometimes/make)___________________ the bed.

Directions: Put the AoF and the verb in the correct order.
1. usually

Ana and Pedro (wake up) _______________________________ at 6:00 am.

2. always

Our class (start) _________________________________________ at 6:00 pm.

3. rarely

The college (cancel) ________________________ classes because of snow.

4. usually

The teacher (give) ____________________________________ us homework.

5. often

Vegetarians (eat) ________________________________________ vegetables.

6. never

The students (sleep) ____________________________________ during class.

7. sometimes

Ana (make) _________________________________________ lunch for Pedro.

8. always

Students (speak) ____________________________________ English in class.

Directions: Write the correct form of the verb in parentheses on the lines.
Remember: Add -es if the verb ends in /s/, /z/, /ch/, /sh/ or /x/ sounds.
1. (watch) I __________ TV in the morning, but she ________ TV at night.

2. (wash) They ________ dishes together after dinner. He ________ dishes on weekends.

3. (fix) My father and I _________ cars together. My husband ________ the bicycle.

4. (teach) They ________ their daughter Ukrainian. Eva ________ her son Amharic.

5. (brush) I ________ my teeth twice a day. He _______ three times a day.

6. (kiss) She _______ her husband in the morning. I ________ my children before bed.

7. (stretch) I always ________ before exercise. Viktor ________ after exercise.

8. (guess) I never ________ the answer, but Tatiana often ________ the answer.

9. (mix) She ________ Spanish and English. They _______ English and Ukranian.

10. (splash) The kids ______ in the bathtub. My daughter always ________, too.

11. (cash) I ______ my check at the bank. He _________ his check too.

12. (latch) I ________ my screen door. She ________ her screen door.

13. (notice) I always ________ mistakes. She never ________ mistakes when she writes.

14. (touch) He ________ the door. We ________ the window.

15. (brush) They ________ their hair once a day. He _________ his hair three times a day.

16. (pass) She ________ all her classes. They ________ their ESL classes.

17. (ask) I ________ for vegetarian food. Natasha ________ for Ukrainian food.

18. (ask) He ________ a question. We ________ to play a game.

19. (watch) She ________ Jackie Chan movies. They ________ Jet Li movies.

20. (dance) I ______ twice a week. He ________ once a week.

Directions: Write the correct form of the verb on the line in the sentences below.

1. (study) I ___________ in the morning, but he ___________ at night.

2. (worry) He ___________ about money. I ___________ about him.

3. (cry) The cat ___________ when I leave. The babies ___________ all the time.

4. (play) She ___________ piano. We ___________ violin.

5. (pay) I ___________ for groceries with a credit card. Tatiana ___________ with cash.

6. (stay) He ___________ after class for help. They ___________ after class to talk.
7. (stay) She ___________ at a hotel. I ___________with my mom.

8. (worry) My husband ___________ about school. I ___________ about our health.

9. (enjoy) We ___________ playing board games. He ___________ online games.

10. (say) They ___________ they are busy Friday, but she ___________ Friday is ok.

11. (fly) A bird ___________ south in winter. Birds ___________ north for the summer.

12. (buy) They ___________ paper online. She ___________ supplies at the store..

13. (fly) He ___________ to Paris today. I ___________ to Denver tomorrow.

14. (study) We ___________ before vocabulary tests. She ___________ for grammar.

15. (pay) He ___________ for 2 classes. I ___________ for 3 classes.

16. (try) I ___________ to study 3 times a week. She ___________ to study every day.
Directions: Complete the sentences by writing like, want, or need on the line.

1. I ___________ to pay my rent.

2. She ___________ to study for the test.

3. They ___________ to buy a diamond necklace.

4. You ___________ to have an expensive new car.

5. I ___________ to read a book before bed to help me sleep.

6. You ___________ to do your homework.

7. We ___________ to eat dessert first.

8. I ___________ to sleep until 10:00 am, but I __________ to get up because work starts at
7:00 am.
Directions: Choose the correct form, and then write the contraction on the line. Remember that
the auxiliary DO (do/does) has to agree with the subject.

1. The teacher do not / does not eat meat. ___________________

2. I am a homemaker. I do not / does not work outside my home. ___________________

3. She is a driver. She do not / does not work in an office. ___________________

4. He is a vegetarian. He do not / does not eat meat. ___________________

5. They do not / does not drink coffee in the evening. ___________________

6. Palani do not / does not like to wake up early. ___________________

7. Yuri do not / does not want to come to school late. ___________________

8. Yuri do not / does not press snooze on his alarm clock. ___________________

9. They do not / does not have the same habits. ___________________

10. It do not / does not look like a good book. ___________________

11. The students do not / does not do their homework. ___________________

12. He do not / does not get good grades on tests. ___________________

Directions: Write the correct form of do or does on the line.

1. (do/sing) She ___________ not ___________ in public.

2. (do/write) They ___________ not ___________ on the wall.

3. (do/drive) He ___________ not ___________ for a job.

4. (do/ask) You ___________ not ___________ for a diamond ring.

5. (do/play) We ___________ not ___________ guitar.

6. (do/like) The dog ___________ not ___________ my cat.

7. (do/type) She ___________ not ___________ fast.

8. (do/read) He ___________ not ___________ online.

Directions: Make these sentences negative. Use full forms for numbers 1-5 and contractions for
numbers 6-10.

1. I go to work at 3:00 pm.

___________________________________________________________________

2. She wants to eat Chinese food.

___________________________________________________________________

3. They have two children.

___________________________________________________________________

4. He has a dog and two cats.

___________________________________________________________________

5. You need to stand in line.

___________________________________________________________________

6. She finishes her homework.

___________________________________________________________________

7. I eat breakfast.
___________________________________________________________________

8. You drink coffee.

___________________________________________________________________

9. He drinks diet soda.

___________________________________________________________________

10. My car has red seats.

___________________________________________________________________