Present
Simple

Talk about what you do every day and what is always true. Add -s to the verb with he / she / it; do / does helps with negatives and questions.

A18 mistakes46 questions5 levels

ExplanationV1 / V-s, don't / doesn't + V1, Do / Does…? Talk about habits and facts Common Mistakes8 mistakes and who tends to make them Exercises46 questions, 5 levels

For teachers

Start with “your morning routine”. Each student says three sentences: I get up at 7. I have breakfast. I go to school by bus. Then they report a partner's routine: He gets up at 7. Moving from first to third person fixes the -s naturally.
Make the -s visible. Draw two columns on the board: I / you / we / they and he / she / it. Ask students to write the same verb in both. Seeing the difference makes the -s hard to forget.
Catch “doesn't likes” before it appears. Next to does and doesn't, cross out the -s on the board (-s): “the -s is already in does.”
A frequency ladder. Write always – usually – often – sometimes – never from 100% down to 0%. Students place their own routines on the ladder: I never eat breakfast. Adverb position settles naturally.
Pair interview: students ask each other Do you…? / How often do you…?, note the answers and report to the class with He / She…. Questions and the third person work together.
Do the “Type it” level with books closed. Students decide for themselves between -s, -es and do / does.

Topic order

What it's for

The main use: habits and routines. I get up at 7. She plays tennis on Saturdays. It is for repeated, regular actions. Always, usually, often, sometimes, never, every day, on Mondays are its typical companions.

Facts and general truths. The sun rises in the east. Water boils at 100 degrees. My father works in a bank. Also timetables and schedules: The train leaves at 8:15.

Positive sentences: base verb; verb + s with he / she / it. I work, you work, we work, they work but he works, she works, it works. Spelling: watch → watches, go → goes, study → studies, have → has. (Verbs ending in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, -o add -es; consonant + y → -ies.)

Negatives and questions: do / does + base verb. I don't work. She doesn't work. Do you work? Does she work? Does already carries the -s, so the main verb stays in its base form: ~~doesn't works~~. Short answers: Yes, she does. No, she doesn't.

The verb be is different: am / is / are. I am a teacher. She is tired. They are at home. The negative is isn't / aren't and questions start with the verb: Are you ready? Do / does is not used here. Things happening right now (now, at the moment) need the present continuous, not the present simple.

Many languages have a simple present, so the idea is familiar. The challenge is the form: English adds an ending only for he / she / it and builds negatives and questions with do / does plus the base verb. Learners often forget the -s, or put it on both the helper and the verb (doesn't works).

The patterns side by side

Positive (I, you, we, they)	base verb	I work. They play football.
Positive (he, she, it)	verb + s / es	She works. He watches TV.
Negative	don't / doesn't + base verb	I don't work. She doesn't work.
Question	Do / Does + subject + base verb?	Do you work? Does she work?
Short answer	Yes, I do. · No, she doesn't.	Does he play? Yes, he does.
The verb be	am / is / are · isn't / aren't	I am a teacher. Are you ready?

Signals: which tense?

always, usually, often, sometimes, neverPresent simple — how oftenI usually get up at 7.

every day / week / yearPresent simple — regular repetitionShe studies English every day.

on Mondays, at weekends, in the morningPresent simple — routine timeWe play football on Saturdays.

once a week, twice a monthPresent simple — how many timesHe goes to the gym twice a week.

How often…?Present simple — asking about frequencyHow often do you go shopping?

always true (a fact)Present simple — general truthThe sun rises in the east.

now, at the moment, todayPresent continuous — happening right nowI am studying now.

yesterday, last week, agoPast simple — finished pastI watched TV yesterday.

Adverbs of frequency (always, usually, often, sometimes, never) go before the main verb and after be: I always eat breakfast. She is always late. Don't skip the last two rows: now and yesterday do not take the present simple.

Common mistakes

and who tends to make them

These eight mistakes turn up in classrooms everywhere. Three sources explain most of them: forgetting the -s with he / she / it, putting -s on both does and the verb, and using be together with a main verb. Under each one you'll see who tends to make it.

Most common worldwideHe go to school by bus.He goes to school by bus.

Why: With he / she / it the verb takes -s (or -es). It is the only person that changes, so it is easy to forget.

Who makes it: Learners at every level, especially speakers of languages where the verb has no special ending for the third person (Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese).

She doesn't likes coffee.She doesn't like coffee.

Why: Doesn't already carries the -s, so the main verb stays in its base form. You don't show it twice: doesn't like, doesn't work.

Who makes it: Learners who have just learned the -s rule and apply it to every verb in the sentence.

Does she plays tennis?Does she play tennis?

Why: The same rule in questions: Does + subject + base verb. Does shows the third person, and the verb stays in its base form.

Who makes it: The same learners, in questions.

Be + verbI am work in a bank.I work in a bank.

Why: Am / is / are are not used together with a main verb. Learners add am because it feels like “I am working”, but the present simple needs only the verb: I work. For jobs use am + noun: I am a teacher.

Who makes it: Learners who feel the present as “I am doing” and add am / is / are, often mixing it up with the present continuous.

IrregularMy brother haves a new bike.My brother has a new bike.

Why: Have is irregular: with he / she / it it becomes has. The same goes for go → goes and do → does.

Who makes it: Beginners who add -s mechanically to every verb.

Where you live?Where do you live?

Why: After a question word (where, what, when) you still need do / does + subject + base verb. In many languages the word order stays as in a statement; in English the helper comes forward.

Who makes it: Beginners from languages where a question keeps statement word order and only the intonation or a small word changes.

SpellingShe studys and watchs TV in the evening.She studies and watches TV in the evening.

Why: Verbs ending in -ch, -sh, -s, -x, -o take -es: watch → watches, go → goes. A consonant plus y changes y to i: study → studies, cry → cries. A vowel plus y just adds -s: play → plays.

Who makes it: Learners from languages with very regular spelling, who treat -s as a fixed ending.

Word orderI go always to school by bus.I always go to school by bus.

Why: A frequency adverb (always, usually, often, sometimes, never) goes before the main verb, but after be: She is always late. The position is fixed in English.

Who makes it: Speakers of Spanish, French and Italian, where adverbs often follow the verb.

Exercises

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I ___ to school every day. (go / goes / going)

She ___ English on Mondays. (studies / study / studying)

My brother ___ football every weekend. (plays / play / playing)

They ___ breakfast at 7 o'clock. (have / has / having)

He ___ like coffee. (doesn't / don't / isn't)

___ you speak English? (Do / Does / Are)

The sun ___ in the east. (rises / rise / rising)

We ___ not live in Ankara. (do / does / are)

She ___ up at six. (gets / get / getting)

He ___ TV in the evening. (watches / watchs / watch)

My mum ___ in a hospital. (works / work / working)

Does he ___ football? (play / plays / playing)

I ___ coffee. I drink tea. (don't like / doesn't like / not like)

The shop ___ at nine. (opens / open / opening)

How often ___ you go to the gym? (do / does / are)

He always ___ his homework. (does / do / doing)

My sister ___ a car, so she walks. (doesn't have / doesn't has / don't have)

What time ___ the film start? (does / do / is)

Water ___ at 100 degrees. (boils / boil / boiling)

She ___ late for work. (is never / never is / does never)

I usually ___ to bed at eleven. (go / goes / am going)

My parents ___ in Izmir. (live / lives / is living)

___ your brother like pizza? (Does / Do / Is)

He ___ English very well. (speaks / speak / is speak)

We don't ___ meat. (eat / eats / ate)

My teacher ___ a lot of homework. (gives / give / gived)

Ali ___ his teeth twice a day. (brushes / brush / brushs)

She ___ TV in the morning. (never watches / watches never / doesn't never watch)

___ she live near the school? (Does / Do / Is)

I ___ coffee because it makes me nervous. (don't drink / doesn't drink / am not drink)

Where ___ your father work? (does / do / is)

My cat ___ fish. (loves / love / is love)

They ___ to school by bus. (go / goes / are go)

The train to Ankara ___ at 8:15. (leaves / leave / is leaves)

He ___ the dishes after dinner. (washes / washs / wash)

My friends often ___ to the cinema on Fridays. (go / goes / going)

She ___ to school by bus. (go)

He ___ a big family. (have)

I ___ fish. (not / like)

___ English? (you / speak)

My brother ___ every night. (study)

We ___ TV on Sundays. (not / watch)

___ in a bank? (she / work)

The shop ___ at nine. (open)

Tom ___ meat. (not / eat)

What time ___ ? (the lesson / start)

Present Simple