Results (
Indonesian) 1:
[Copy]Copied!
Simple Present Tense
We use the simple present tense:
1. For facts
Whales live in the ocean.
Aconcagua is the highest mountain in Latin America.
The flight from Chile to Australia is thirteen hours.
2. For repeated or regular actions
Flights to Buenos Aires leave every hour.
I eat breakfast at the table.
We work every day of the week.
3. For habits
I brush my teeth three times a day.
He only drinks Martinis.
We celebrate Christmas on the twenty-fifth of December.
4. For things that are generally true in the present time period:
Boca Juniors is the best team in Argentina at the moment.
She is my girlfriend.
We study English.
Present Progressive Tense
We use the present progressive tense:
1. When somebody is doing something at this moment.
Sarah is changing her clothes right now.
Her boyfriend is waiting for her.
We are learning the progressive tense in English.
2. When something is happening at this moment. When the action has started but hasn't finished.
It is snowing at the moment.
The economy is growing at an exponential rate.
The children are sleeping, so please be quiet.
3. To talk about something that is happening around the time of speaking but not necessarily at that exact moment.
Alfredo is studying a lot for his exam.
I'm reading a great book. (not necessary right at this moment)
We are planning a trip to Jamaica.
Present vs. Progressive Tense
A significant difference between these two tenses is we use the simple present tense for things that are permanent or are in general and the present progressive tense for things that may change or are temporary.
Compare:
Permanent Temporary
Simon lives in Birmingham. Simon is living with his friends for now.
James smokes. James is smoking in the kitchen.
We walk to work. We're walking in the park.
I speak English. I am speaking English right now.
Verbs that we don't use in the Progressive Tense
Another difference is that there are some verbs in English that we don't use in the progressive tense. These include:
Belong - Cost - Hate - Have (possession) - Hear - Know - Like - Love - Need - Own - Remember - Seem - Smell - Understand - Want
Different Meanings
In questions the same verb can change the meaning depending on if it is in the present or the present progressive tense.
Differences in meaning of verb
Statement Meaning
What do you do? What is your job?
What are you doing? What are you doing at the moment?
What do you read? What do you like to read?
What are you reading? What are you reading right now?
Simple Present Tense (English Grammar Rules)
The simple present tense in English is used to describe an action that is regular, true or normal.
We use the present tense:
1. For repeated or regular actions in the present time period.
I take the train to the office.
The train to Berlin leaves every hour.
John sleeps eight hours every night during the week.
2. For facts.
The President of The USA lives in The White House.
A dog has four legs.
We come from Switzerland.
3. For habits.
I get up early every day.
Carol brushes her teeth twice a day.
They travel to their country house every weekend.
4. For things that are always / generally true.
It rains a lot in winter.
The Queen of England lives in Buckingham Palace.
They speak English at work.
Verb Conjugation & Spelling
We form the present tense using the base form of the infinitive (without the TO).
In general, in the third person we add 'S' in the third person.
Subject Verb The Rest of the sentence
I / you / we / they speak / learn English at home
he / she / it speaks / learns English at home
The spelling for the verb in the third person differs depending on the ending of that verb:
1. For verbs that end in -O, -CH, -SH, -SS, -X, or -Z we add -ES in the third person.
go – goes
catch – catches
wash – washes
kiss – kisses
fix – fixes
buzz – buzzes
2. For verbs that end in a consonant + Y, we remove the Y and add -IES.
marry – marries
study – studies
carry – carries
worry – worries
NOTE: For verbs that end in a vowel + Y, we just add -S.
play – plays
enjoy – enjoys
say – says
Negative Sentences in the Simple Present Tense
To make a negative sentence in English we normally use Don't or Doesn't with all verbs EXCEPT To Be and Modal verbs (can, might, should etc.).
• Affirmative: You speak French.
Negative: You don't speak French.
You will see that we add don't between the subject and the verb. We use Don't when the subject is I, you, we orthey.
• Affirmative: He speaks German.
Negative: He doesn't speak German.
When the subject is he, she or it, we add doesn't between the subject and the verb to make a negative sentence. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the negative sentence. We will see the reason why below.
Negative Contractions
Don't = Do not
Doesn't = Does not
I don't like meat = I do not like meat.
There is no difference in meaning though we normally use contractions in spoken English.
Word Order of Negative Sentences
The following is the word order to construct a basic negative sentence in English in the Present Tense using Don't orDoesn't.
Subject don't/doesn't Verb* The Rest of the sentence
I / you / we / they don't have / buy
eat / like etc. cereal for breakfast
he / she / it doesn't
* Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part.
Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc.
Examples of Negative Sentences with Don't and Doesn't:
You don't speak Arabic.
John doesn't speak Italian.
We don't have time for a rest.
It doesn't move.
They don't want to go to the party.
She doesn't like fish.
Questions in the Simple Present Tense
To make a question in English we normally use Do or Does. It has no translation in Spanish though it is essential to show we are making a question. It is normally put at the beginning of the question.
• Affirmative: You speak English.
Question: Do you speak English?
You will see that we add DO at the beginning of the affirmative sentence to make it a question. We use Do when the subject is I, you, we or they.
• Affirmative: He speaks French.
Question: Does he speak French?
When the subject is he, she or it, we add DOES at the beginning to make the affirmative sentence a question. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the question. We will see the reason why below.
We DON'T use Do or Does in questions that have the verb To Be or Modal Verbs (can, must, might, should etc.)
Word Order of Questions with Do and Does
The following is the word order to construct a basic question in English using Do or Does.
Do/Does Subject Verb* The Rest of the sentence
Do I / you / we / they have / need
want etc. a new bike?
Does he / she / it
*Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part.
Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc.
Examples of Questions with Do and Does:
Do you need a dictionary?
Does Mary need a dictionary?
Do we have a meeting now?
Does it rain a lot in winter?
Do they want to go to the party?
Does he like pizza?
Short Answers with Do and Does
In questions that use do/does it is possible to give short answers to direct questions as follows:
Sample Questions Short Answer
(Affirmative) Short Answer
(Negative)
Do you like chocolate? Yes, I do. No, I don't.
Do I need a pencil? Yes, you do. No, you don't.
Do you both like chocolate? Yes, we do. No, we don't.
Do they like chocolate? Yes, they do. No, they don't.
Does he like chocolate? Yes, he does. No, he doesn't.
Does she like chocolate? Yes, she does. No, she doesn't.
Does it have four wheels? Yes, it does. No, it doesn't.
However, if a question word such as who, when, where, why, which or how is used in the question, you can not use the short answers above to respond to the question.
Simple Past Tense
The Simple Past Tense, often just called the Past Tense, is easy to use in English.
If you already know how to use the Present Tense, then the Past Tense will be easy.
In general, the Past Tense is used to talk about something that started and finished at a definite time in the past.
How to form the Past Tense in English
The main rule is that for every verb in English, there is only one form of it in the past tense. (The exception is the Past tense of To Be, which has two forms: was and were)
This is totally different from other languages such as Spanish, French, Italian etc. where you change the verb ending for every subject.
For example: The past tense of the verb want is wanted. Wanted is used as the past tense for all subjects/pronouns.
I wanted
You wanted
He wanted
She wanted
It wanted
We wanted
They wanted
So you just have to learn one word to be able to use it in the past tense. In this case we just needed to learn the one word wanted which can be used for all subjects (or people).
Past Tense Regular Verbs
To change a regular verb into its past tense form, we normally add –ED to the end of the verb.
play – played
cook – cooked
rain – rained
wait – waited
There are some exceptions with a slight change in spelling which you can see here:
Spelling of words ending in ED.
Examples of sentences using regular verbs in the past tense
Last night I played my guitar loudly and the neighbors complained.
She kissed me on the cheek.
It rained yesterday.
Angela watched TV all nig
Being translated, please wait..
