Present Simple

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• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 1

The Present Simple

Present Simple

The Present Simple

What is the present simple?

The present simple is an English tense. A normal present simple sentence looks like this:

                   We eat french fries every Sunday.

How many verbs do you see in this normal present simple sentence? 

Why do you think it is called 'simple'?

The Present Simple

What is the present simple?

A normal present simple sentence only has one verb in the present tense. 

On the next slide, drag and drop the sentences into the correct box. Look at the amount of verbs and the tense. 

1. I like scary movies.

2. He is walking the dog.

3. We danced all night long.

4. She plays the piano.

5. They are my parents.

Present Simple

Not Present Simple

1

2

3

4

5

The Present Simple

What is the present simple?

Now you know what the present simple looks like. But when do you use it?

We use the present simple when we talk about:

- Facts

The leopard runs very fast.

- Routines

Harry plays football every Wednesday. 

The Present Simple

What is the present simple?

In a sentence, you know if it is a fact or routine by looking at signal words. 

Words like everyday, never, always, every Wednesday  tell you it is about a routine. It happens often.

If there are no signal words, the sentence tells you a fact.

Look at the words below. Which ones are signal words for the Present Simple and which ones are not?

Signal word

Not a signal word

Next Friday

Yesterday

Never

Wednesday

Often

Every week

Great work!

The Present Simple

What is the present simple?

Now you know what a normal present simple sentence looks like.

Now, we are going to take a look at:

- The SHIT-Rule

- Questions

- Negations

The Present Simple

The SHIT Rule

The SHIT Rule has to do with She, He, and IT.

The rule is:

If the subject is a he, she or it, the verb gets +s.

So I dance becomes She dances.

Explain the SHIT-Rule in your own words.

The Present Simple

The SHIT Rule

For the next exercise, try to make logical sentences. 

Also think about the correct use of the SHIT Rule.

1. Timmy

every Saturday.

2. They never

with oil.

3. That tree

very fast.

4. I always

chocolate ice cream.

5. Those boys

in class very often.

cook

grows

dances

shout

choose

chooses

shouts

grow

The Present Simple

Questions

To make a present simple question, you have to put the verb do in front of the sentence:

 I like ice cream.     becomes      Do I like ice cream?

If the subject is a he, she or it, you have to use does. Also, look at what happens with the +s of the original verb.

Bob plays football.   becomes   Does Bob play football?

The Present Simple

Questions

For the next exercise, turn the normal present simple sentence into a question. Think about capital letters, questions marks and the SHIT Rule (do/does)!

                                    Use short forms!    

My dog likes meat.

That tree looks 100 years old.

I never go to parties.

The Queen of England plays golf every evening.

The girls always wear the same dresses.

The Present Simple

Questions

The verb 'to be' is a special one. 

If the first verb in the sentence is am, is, or are, you switch it with the subject.

She is very beautiful.  becomes  Is she very beautiful?

'Is' switched places with the subject. In these cases, you don't use 'do' or 'doesn't'.

The old man always sits in his chair.

the old man always

in his chair?

Turn the normal present simple sentence into a question

Do

Does

Is

sits

sit

sitting

Did

She is my best friend.

she 

my best friend?

Do

Does

Is

Be

Am

Are

Did

They are at the club every Tuesday evening.

they

at the club every Tuesday evening?

Do

Does

Is

Be

Am

Are

Did

My sister likes everything pink.

my sister

everything pink?

Do

Does

Is

Be

likes

like

Did

You are doing great!

Take a moment to relax with this short minions clip!

The Present Simple

Negations

Now you know how to make a normal present simple sentence and questions in the present simple.

Now we are going to look at negations.

The Present Simple

Negations

Negations tell you that something is not happening. 

You can see the word not in negations, but almost always as a short form n't, as in don't or doesn't.

An example of a negation is:

                             She doesn't see very well. 

The Present Simple

Negations

So you make a negation by adding don't or doesn't to the sentence. Think about the SHIT Rule!

So not like this:

                                        I like not cookies. 

But like this:

                                       I don't like cookies 

The Present Simple

Negations

Look at what happens to the verb in this sentence when we turn it into a negation:

                                 He plays video games every day.

                        He doesn't play video games every day.

The +s disappears after doesn't. The same happened with the questions!

The Present Simple

Negations

In the next exercise, try to turn the normal present simple into a negation. Pay attention to capital letters, full stops and the SHIT Rule.

                                     Use short forms!

The girls wear the same dresses.

The boy always cleans his plate after eating.

They give out flyers every morning.

The sun shines very brightly.

Minions like bananas very much.

The Present Simple

Negations

Again, the verb 'to be' is special. 

If the first verb in the sentence is am, is or are, you can just add not. You don't need do or don't in that case.

I am an English teacher. 

Becomes 

I am not an English teacher.

The Present Simple

Negations

For the next exercise, turn the normal present simple sentences into negations. Pay attention to capital letters, full stops, and the SHIT Rule!

                                    Use short forms!

I am a very happy person.

She wears her best dress on Sundays.

My dog is almost deaf.

They are at the pool every week.

My baby brother usually vomits after dinner.

Congratulations! 

You have finished this lesson.

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The Present Simple

Present Simple