A2​ ​-​ ​UNIT​ ​2

GRAMMAR
PRESENT​ ​SIMPLE

USE

We​ ​use​ ​the​ ​present​ ​simple​ ​to​ ​talk​ ​about:

● Daily​ ​routines​​ ​(things​ ​that​ ​you​ ​do​ ​every​ ​day,​ ​week,​ ​year).

I​ ​have​ ​a​ ​shower​ ​every​ ​morning​.

● Things​ ​that​ ​are​ ​generally​ ​true​.

The​ ​Earth​ ​moves​ ​around​ ​the​ ​sun​.

● Likes​ ​and​ ​dislikes​.

I​ ​like​ ​fruit​ ​and​ ​I​ ​don’t​ ​like​ ​hamburgers​.

FORM

Look​ ​at​ ​these​ ​tables​ ​and​ ​see​ ​how​ ​easy​ ​the​ ​present​ ​simple​ ​is:

I
speak
You

He​ ​/​ ​She​ ​/​ ​It speak​s English​ ​and​ ​Spanish.

  We
You
speak
They

1
 I
don’t​ ​live
You

​ ​in​ ​England.
He​ ​/​ ​She​ ​/​ ​It do​es​n’t​ ​live

We
You don’t​ ​live
They

don’t​ ​=​ ​do​ ​not

doesn’t​ ​=​ ​does​ ​not

I
Do
you

Do​es he​ ​/​ ​she​ ​/​ ​it like learning​ ​English?

we
Do you
they

Examples:

I​ ​/​ ​You​ ​/​ ​We​ ​/​ ​They He​ ​/​ ​She​ ​/​ ​It

I​ ​have​ ​English​ ​lessons​ ​every Mary​ ​walks​ ​to​ ​work​ ​every​ ​day​.
week​.

We​ ​don’t​ ​live​ ​near​ ​the​ ​mountain​. It​ ​doesn’t​ ​snow​ ​in​ ​Alicante​.

-​ ​Do​ ​you​ ​drive? -​ ​Does​ ​she​ ​have​ ​a​ ​dog?

-​ ​ ​Yes,​ ​I​ ​do​.​ ​/​ ​ ​No,​ ​I​ ​don’t​. -​ ​Yes,​ ​she​ ​does​.​ ​/​ ​No,​ ​she​ ​doesn’t​.

2
 ​ ​To​ ​make​ ​negative​ ​sentences​ ​we​ ​use​ ​don’t​ ​(do​ ​not)​ ​/​ ​doesn’t​ ​(does​ ​not)​.​ ​To
make​ ​questions​ ​we​ ​use​ ​do​ ​/​ ​does​.

Spelling​ ​rules​ ​for​ ​the​ ​third​ ​person​ ​singular

As you have seen, to make the third person singular (​he​, ​she ​and ​it​) we add an -s.
For​ ​example:

I​ ​work.​ ​→​ ​He/She/It​ ​work​s​.

However, there are some spelling rules that you need to know. These rules are the
same as for the plurals that you studied in unit 1. Do you remember? Let’s revise
them!

➧​ ​When​ ​the​ ​verb​ ​ends​ ​in​ ​-ss​,​ ​-sh​,​ ​-ch​,​ ​-x​,​ ​-o​,​ ​we​ ​add​ ​-es​.​ ​For​ ​example:

kiss​ ​→​ ​kiss​es

wash​ ​→​ ​wash​es
watch​ ​→​ ​watch​es
fix​ ​→​ ​fix​es
go​ ​→​ ​go​es

➧ When the verb ends in ​consonant + -y​, we change -y to ​-i​, and then add ​-es​. For
example:

study​ ​→​ ​stud​ies

fly​ ​→​ ​fl​ies

Watch out! When the verb ends in vowel + y, you simply add -s, as in the
general​ ​rule.

For​ ​example:

say​ ​→​ ​say​s

buy​ ​→​ ​buy​s

3
ADVERBS​ ​OF​ ​FREQUENCY

We often use the present simple with ​adverbs of frequency​. The most common
ones​ ​are:

always siempre

usually/normally habitualmente,​ ​normalmente

often a​ ​menudo

sometimes a​ ​veces

occasionally ocasionalmente

never nunca

Examples:

I​ ​usually​ ​play​ ​football​ ​every​ ​Tuesday​.

​ ​Put​ ​the​ ​adverb​ ​before​​ ​the​ ​verb,​ ​but​ ​after​​ ​the​ ​verb​ ​to​ ​be.

I​ ​never​ ​have​ ​a​ ​shower​ ​at​ ​night​.

BUT

He​ ​is​ ​never​ ​late​.

4
There​ ​are​ ​also​ ​very​ ​useful​​ ​expressions​ ​of​ ​frequency​​ ​and​ ​time​ ​phrases​,​ ​like:

every​ ​day todos​ ​los​ ​días

every​ ​week todos​ ​las​ ​semanas

every​ ​month todos​ ​los​ ​meses

every​ ​year todos​ ​los​ ​años

in​ ​the​ ​morning por​ ​la​ ​mañana

in​ ​the​ ​afternoon/evening por​ ​la​ ​tarde

at​ ​night por​ ​la​ ​noche

at​ ​the​ ​weekend (durante)​ ​el​ ​fin​ ​de​ ​semana

on​ ​weekdays entre​ ​semana

These​ ​go​ ​at​ ​the​ ​end​​ ​of​ ​the​ ​sentence.

Examples:

I​ ​take​ ​yoga​ ​lessons​ ​every​ ​week​.

She​ ​plays​ ​basketball​ ​at​ ​the​ ​weekend​.
I​ ​love​ ​swimming​ ​in​ ​the​ ​evening​.

5
VERB​ ​TO​ ​HAVE

The verb ​to have (as a main verb = ​verbo principal​) means ​tener​. It is formed like
any​ ​other​ ​verb​ ​in​ ​the​ ​present​ ​simple.​ ​Look:

I
have
You

He​ ​/​ ​She​ ​/​ ​It has love​ ​all​ ​around.

  We
You have
They

have​ ​=​ ​’ve

has​ ​=​ ​’s

I
don’t​ ​have
You

any​ ​problems.
He​ ​/​ ​She​ ​/​ ​It do​es​n’t​ ​have

We
You don’t​ ​have
They

don’t​ ​have​ ​=​ ​do​ ​not​ ​have

doesn’t​ ​have​ ​=​ ​does​ ​not​ ​have

I
Do
you

Do​es he​ ​/​ ​she​ ​/​ ​it have a​ ​best​ ​friend?

we
Do you
they

6
HAVE​ ​GOT

In​ ​English,​ ​there​ ​is​ ​another​ ​way​ ​of​ ​expressing​ ​the​ ​meaning​ ​of​ ​tener​.​ ​Look​ ​at​ ​these
examples:

You​ ​have​ ​got​ ​a​ ​lovely​ ​voice​.

Natalie​ ​has​ ​got​ ​brown​ ​eyes​.

Have​ ​got​ ​and​ ​have​ ​mean​ ​exactly​ ​the​ ​same,​ ​but​ ​have​ ​got​ ​is​ ​a​ ​bit​ ​more​ ​informal.

Study​ ​these​ ​tables​ ​to​ ​see​ ​how​ ​to​ ​form​ ​sentences​ ​with​ ​have​ ​got​:

I
have​ ​got
You

He​ ​/​ ​She​ ​/​ ​It has​ ​got a​ ​pet.

  We
You have​ ​got
They

have​ ​got​ ​=​ ​’ve​ ​got

has​ ​got​ ​=​ ​’s​ ​got

I
haven’t​ ​got
You

a​ ​farm.
He​ ​/​ ​She​ ​/​ ​It hasn’t​ ​got

We
You haven’t​ ​got
They

don’t​ ​have​ ​=​ ​do​ ​not​ ​have

doesn’t​ ​have​ ​=​ ​does​ ​not​ ​have

7
 I
Have
you

Has he​ ​/​ ​she​ ​/​ ​it got any​ ​questions?

we
Have you
they

Examples:

I​ ​/​ ​You​ ​/​ ​We​ ​/​ ​They He​ ​/​ ​She​ ​/​ ​It

I’​ve​ ​got​ ​English​ ​lessons​ ​every She’​s​ ​got​ ​a​ ​wonderful​ ​family.
week.

We​ ​haven’t​ ​got​ ​a​ ​house​ ​by​ ​the He​ ​hasn’t​ ​got​ ​a​ ​bedroom​ ​at​ ​home.
sea.

-​ ​Have​ ​you​ ​got​ ​a​ ​pen? -​ ​Has​ ​she​ ​got​ ​a​ ​dog?
-​ ​ ​Yes,​ ​I​ ​have​.​ ​/​ ​ ​No,​ ​I​ ​haven’t​. -​ ​Yes,​ ​she​ ​has​.​ ​/​ ​No,​ ​she​ ​hasn’t​.

¿Te has dado cuenta de que al responder a una pregunta con la estructura
have​ ​got​ ​no​ ​hay​ ​que​ ​repetir​ ​el​ ​got​?

Have​ ​you​ ​got​ ​any​ ​sunglasses?

Yes,​ ​I​ ​have​. NOT *​Yes,​ ​I​ ​have​ ​got​.

Has​ ​she​ ​got​ ​a​ ​guitar?

No,​ ​she​ ​hasn’t​. NOT *​No,​ ​she​ ​hasn’t​ ​got​.