First Year, Second Semester IESC

2019-2020

Seminar II: The Simple Present

Key aspects:
 We use the Simple Present with action verbs as we (1) refer to habitual actions,
(2) customs and routines or (3) facts- things that are considered to be true, (4)
permanent situations (or nearly permanent)
 We use the Simple Present + time references to indicate future time.
 We can also use Simple Present to talk about what happens in books, plays
and films.
 We also use present simple with stative verbs (to talk about now; to describe
states i.e. like, sound, belong to, need, seem; they do not imply movement but
rather, they describe a mental state or a state-of-being)

A. Complete each sentence with the simple present form of the verb in parentheses. Circle
the reason that the simple present is used.

1. I _____________(eat) lunch in the cafeteria every day but Friday.

Habitual action Custom Fact Future time

2. Julia _______________ (carry) a heavy backpack to school every day

Habitual action Custom Fact Future time

3. You _____________(speak) English well.

Habitual action Custom Fact Future time

4. The state of Florida _______________(produce) a great deal of citrus fruit.

Habitual action Custom Fact Future time

5. During the holidays, we always ____________(make) special meals.

Habitual action Custom Fact Future time

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6. He ____________(watch) television every night.

Habitual action Custom Fact Future time

7. My roommate _______________(say) a prayer before he eats.

Habitual action Custom Fact Future time

8. The game _______________(begin) in an hour.

Habitual action Custom Fact Future time

9. My friends and I ____________(live) near a park.

Habitual action Custom Fact Future time

10. Trees ____________(grow) tall in the Pacific Northwest.

Habitual action Custom Fact Future time

11. We ________________(wear) traditional dress on holiday.

Habitual action Custom Fact Future time

12. Most people __________(shake) hands when they first _________(meet).

Habitual action Custom Fact Future time

B. Using the pronoun and verb provided, create your own sentences.

1. She always (made) _____________________________________________________

2. I (take) _______________________________________________________________
3. It (give) ______________________________________________________________
4. They (come) __________________________________________________________
5. I (use) _______________________________________________________________
6. He (leave) ____________________________________________________________
7. They (like) ___________________________________________________________
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8. She (write) __________________________________________________________

9. We (listen) __________________________________________________________
10. It (contain) _________________________________________________________
11. It (start) ___________________________________________________________
12. He (understand) _____________________________________________________

C. FORMING NEGATIVES
Key aspects:

To make a verb negative, add the auxiliary verb do and the word not before the main
verb. Ex: do not go vs does not go (for the 3rd person, singular)

Remember that does is used with the pronouns he, she, and it. When does is used, the
main verb has no –s or –es ending.

C. Make each of the following sentences negative.

Example 1: I spend a lot of money.

I do not spend a lot of money.

1. He goes to school every day. ________________________________________________

2. My roommate likes snakes. ________________________________________________

3. You know my family. ________________________________________________

4. The owner opens the store every day at 8:00. __________________________________

5. We help our neighbors. ________________________________________________

6. My friends send me letters. ________________________________________________

7. I feel tired. ________________________________________________

8. She speaks five different languages. _____________________________________________

9. They study in the library. ________________________________________________

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D. FORMING CONTRACTIONS

In English, verbs are often combined with other words to form contractions, These shortened
forms include an apostrophe (‘) to indicate missing letters. It is important to learn contractions
because you will often hear them in conversation or see them in informal writing. Formal
writing, though, rarely contains contractions.

The auxiliary verb do is often combined with not to form a contraction. Notice that an
apostrophe indicates that the letter o is omitted.

Do + not= don’t does + not= doesn’t

D. Rewrite the exercise from C using contractions.

1. ____________________________________________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________________________________________

3. ____________________________________________________________________________

4. ____________________________________________________________________________

5. ____________________________________________________________________________

6. ____________________________________________________________________________

7. ____________________________________________________________________________

8. ____________________________________________________________________________

9. ____________________________________________________________________________

E. Forming Yes/No questions

Did you know?

To form questions that can be answered yes or no (yes/no questions), begin the questions with
the auxiliary verb do. After the auxiliary verb, place the subject and the main verb.

Statement: He rides his bicycle to school.

Yes/no question: Does he ride his bike to school?

Statement: They ride the bus to work. – Question: Do they ride the bus to work?

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E. Rewrite the following statements as yes/no questions.

Example: You get tired easily.

Do you get tired easily?

1. The artist shows his work at a local gallery.

______________________________________________________________________________

2. They meet on Thursday mornings.

______________________________________________________________________________

3. She works hard.

______________________________________________________________________________

4. You commute to work.

______________________________________________________________________________

5. It seems like a good decision.

______________________________________________________________________________

6. This work requires patience.

______________________________________________________________________________

7. The Carsons live in a small town.

______________________________________________________________________________

8. You don’t believe my story. (Notice that do has already been used to indicate single negation)

______________________________________________________________________________

9. The patient feels better.

______________________________________________________________________________

10. The lecture ends at 5:30.

______________________________________________________________________________

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F. Forming Wh-Questions

Wh-questions are used to obtain specific pieces of information. They usually begin with what,
who, why, where, when, how, or combinations such as how much, how many, and how often.
The auxiliary verb do comes after the question word and is followed by the subject and the main
verb.

Statement: She collects butterflies.

Wh-question: What does she collect?

F. Complete the following questions based on the statements provided.

1. The person in the back row knows the answer.

Who ________________________________________________________________________?

2. She looks healthy.

How ________________________________________________________________________?

3. They always go to a restaurant because they like the food.

Why_________________________________________________________________________?

4. They go golfing twice a week.

How often ___________________________________________________________________?

5. We turn left at the corner.

Where ______________________________________________________________________?

6. The notebook costs $ 3.00.

How much __________________________________________________________________?

7. My mother worries too much.

Who ________________________________________________________________________?

8. You exercise every day at the gym.

How often ___________________________________________________________________?