Simple present

A)    Study this example situation:

Alex is a bus driver. But now he is asleep in bed.

So:

He is not drives a bus (he is asleep).                             

But : He drives a bus.

This is the simple present tense:

I / we /you/they drive

He/she/(it)           drives

We use the simple present to talk about thing in general. We are not thinking only about the present. We use it to say that something happens all the time or repeatedly, or that something is true in general. It is not important whether the action is happening at the time of speaking:

§  The earth goes around the sun.

§  Nurses take care of patients in hospital.

§  In Canada, most stores close at 6.00 p.m.

Remember that we say he /she/it-s. Don’t forget the s:

§  I work in the bank .Barry works in a department store.

B)use do/dose to make questions and negative sentences:

do           I/we/you/they

does             he/she/it            work ?

I/we/you/they         don’t                

         he/she/it          doesn’t              work

§  Excuse me, do you speak English?

§  “Would you like a cigarette?”  “No, thanks. I don’t smoke.”

§  Want does this word mean? (not Want means this word?)

§  Rice doesn’t grow in Alaska.

C)     We use the simple present when we say how often we do things:

§  I get up at 8:00 every morning. ( not am getting )

§  How often do you go to the dentist?

§  Ann doesn’t go out very often.

§  In the summer , Tom usually plays tennis twice a week.

 D )   Note that we say  “Where do you come from?” (= Where are you from?):

                  §  Where do you come from? (not Where are you coming from?)

                        §  He comes from   Japan.  (not He is coming from Japan.)

Exercise 

   

Complete the sentence with the ffirmative form of the verb in brackets.

A) I (drive) drive   but my sister (cycle)..................

B) The Sun ( rise) ...............in the east and (set) ..............in the west.

C)The Prine Minister (travel)..............abroad in his own private aeroplane.

D)It (cost).................$20 million to be a space tourist for one week in the International Space Station.

E)The European Commission (meet).............in Brussels.

Complete the sentence with the negative from of the verb in the brackets.

Use contraction.

A)You (do) don't do     any of the cooking!

B) My brother (play) ................tennis because he (like)..................it.

C) I (think) .............................that good idea.

D)Teacher(work)........................at weekends.

E)The goverment (agree)................with the new EU law.

Reference
Michael Vince.(2007).Macmillan English Grammar In Context.Oxford