Unit 1.

Grammar: Present Simple

Affirmative: subject + verb + -s (III, sg.)

To work:
 I work in London. / We work in London.
 You work in London. / You work in London.
 He/she/ it works in London. / They work in London.
! To be:
 I am a student. / We are students.
 You are a student. / You are students.
 He/she/it is a student. / They are students.

Negative: subject + do / does not (III, sg.) + verb

To work:
 I do not work in London. / We do not work in London.
 You do not work in London. / You do not work in London.
 He / she / it does not work in London. / They do not work in London.
! To be:
 I am not a student. / We are not students.
 You are not a student. / You are not students.
 He/she/it is not a student. / They are not students.

Interrogative: do / does + subject + verb

To work:
 Do I work in London? / Do we work in London?
 Do you work in London? / Do you work in London?
 Does he / she / it work in London? / Do they work in London?
! To be:
 Am I a student? / Are we students?
 Are you a student? / Are you students?
 Is he/she/it a student? / Are they students?

Uses:

We use the present simple to say when things happen, if they take place regularly.

 They eat lunch at 2 o’clock.

 We always go to church at 8 o’clock in the morning.
 My mother cooks breakfast at precisely 7 o’clock in the morning.

We use the present simple to talk about permanent situations.

 I work in London.
 My parents are divorced.
 My sister is married.
We use the present simple to make declarations, i.e. express opinions and feelings.

 I hope you’ll come to my party.

 I bet you don’t know the answer.
 I hereby declare this hospital open.
 I don’t like gangster movies.

We use the present simple to state general truths.

 Popular CDs sell really fast.

 Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
 The moon goes round the Earth.

We use the present simple to talk about habits and how often they happen.

 I eat dinner with by parents every Sunday.

 You buy new clothes every Saturday.
 They go to the beach every year.

We use the present simple to describe the plots of books and films.

 The story begins and ends in Spain. The year is 1937.

 At the end of the play both families realize that their hatred caused the death of the
lovers.

Exercises:

I. Put the verbs into the correct form.

1. I (to like) …………… lemonade very much.

2. The girls always (to listen) ……………… to music.
3. Janet never (to wear) ……………… jeans.
4. Mr. Smith (to teach) ………………… French and Spanish.
5. You (to do) ……………. your homework in the afternoon.
6. We (to have) ………………. a nice garden.
7. She (to be) ……………… six years old.
8. Simon (to have) …………… two rabbits.
9. I (to be) ……… from Vienna, Austria.
10. They (to be) ……… Sandy’s parents.

II. Make negative sentences.

1. My father makes breakfast. -> ..............................................................

2. They are eleven. -> ...............................................................................
3. She writes a letter. -> ............................................................................
4. I speak Italian. -> ..................................................................................
5. Danny phones his father on Sundays. -> ..............................................
 III. Make questions.

1. you / to speak / English -> .....................................................................

2. when / he / to go / home -> ....................................................................
3. they / to clean / the bathroom -> ............................................................
4. where / she / to ride / her bike -> ...........................................................
5. Billy / to work / in the supermarket -> ...................................................

IV. Put the verbs in the correct form.

Tom (1.to work) ................... at a bank. He (2.to be) ............. the manager. He (3.to start)
................ work every day at 8:00 a.m. He (4.to finish) ............................ work every day at
6:00 p.m. He (5.to live) ...................... very close to the bank. He (6.to walk) ..................... to
work every day.

His brother and his sister also (7.to work) ..................... at the bank. But they (8.to live)
........................ close to the bank. They (9.to drive) ..................... cars to work. They (10.to start)
.................. work at 9:00 a.m.

In the bank, Tom (11.to be) ........... the boss. He (12.to help) .................... all the workers and
tells them what to do. He (13.to like) ................... his job. He (14.to be) ................. also very
good at his job. Many customers (15.to like) .................... Tom, and they say hello to him
when they come to the bank.