The Simple

Present
Tense
Unit 1
ENGL 102

Mr. Abdulaziz
Alkhorasi
 Disclaimer

Please remember that this is a supplementary material. It is

meant to help you in your learning. It may have additional
information that isn’t included in the book. Your quizzes and
exams only cover what is included in the Grammar in Context
books.
The Basics
Before discussing the form and use of the simple present, it’s
important to know about the basics relating to pronouns and the
verb Be. Subject Pronouns
1st person 2nd person 3rd person

Singular I You He She It

Pronouns
Plural We You They
Pronouns
 First Person Pronouns
When we talk about ourselves, we use first person
pronouns. We use “I” if we’re talking about ourselves
and we use “we” if we’re talking about more than one
person including ourselves.

Second Person Pronouns

The pronoun “you” is used when addressing someone. “You
should be proud of yourself for finishing the project” is an
example of addressing someone using the pronoun ‘you’.
Note that ‘you’ can be either singular or plural.

Third Person Pronouns

When we talk about other people and things, we use (he, she and it). You
must use ‘he’ when referring to a singular male whereas you can use ‘she’
when talking about a singular female. You can use ‘it’ when referring to
singular non-human subjects (a book, a dog, a flower). When referring to
plural third persons, you must use ‘they’, and this plural pronoun can be used
with both human and non-human subjects (people, books).
 Pronouns
Pronouns are words used to replace a noun. Without pronouns, spoken and
written English would be very repetitive. Pronouns often signal whether the noun
they refer back to is singular or plural and its gender.

Nicola loves to play golf. She finds it very relaxing.

Sam heard some noise from the cave. He was scared to see what
is inside of it.

In the two following examples, we can replace the underlined

noun phrases with subject pronouns:
 S V Subject Pronoun
Our grammar textbook is very useful. = It is very useful.
noun phrase personal pronoun
The noun phrase “our grammar textbook” is in the place of the subject so we must use a
subject pronoun (I, he, she, it, you, we, and they). The noun phrase refers to one
grammar textbook so we must use one of the singular subject pronouns. The pronoun
‘it’ is specific to non-human objects so that makes it the most appropriate pronoun to be
used to refer to the grammar textbook.

S V
The students in this class are very intelligent. = They are very intelligent.
noun phrase personal pronoun

The noun phrase “the students” refers to more than one student so we must use one
of the plural subject pronouns. The pronoun ‘they’ is the most appropriate pronoun
because it’s the only third person plural pronoun.
 Find the verbs

Which words are the verbs in these sentences?

are happy.
The children are happy. The cat is ginger. II am
am tired today.

These words (is, are and am) are all different forms of the present verb ‘Be’.
 Be-Present Forms
The present forms of the verb be are am, is and are. You can use any of these
forms as the main verb in the present, and they can be followed by an
adjective or a noun. Note that some adjectives may end with –ed (e.g. excited,
worried, tired, married, interested, bored, crowded, located, etc). These
adjectives usually express ‘having a feeling or a state’

S V Adj
Ahmed and Saleh are excited to
compete at the chess tournament.

S V N
Ali is a student at KSAU.
 Subject & Verb Be Agreement
When using verbs to be, you must take a good look at the subject (the noun or
the pronoun) to make sure that the form of be agrees with the subject.

I am interested in collecting The form ‘am’ can only be used with the
pronoun ‘I’
snowballs.

He The form ‘is’ can only be used with the

pronouns ‘he, she, it’ or with the singular
She is excellent.
nouns that can be replaced with ‘he, she
It and it’ (Ahmed, Sarah, this chair, etc)

You The form ‘are’ can only be used with the

We are hardworking students pronouns ‘you, we and they’ or with the
plural nouns that can be replaced with
They. ‘they’ (people, students, etc)
 Subject-Verb Agreement
When using ‘there’ to indicate that something or someone exists, you must
make sure you look at the noun that follows the verb Be to decide whether to
use ‘is’ or ‘are’ For example:
Singular
noun
There is a woman waiting to see her doctor in
the waiting room.
plural noun
There are two men waiting to see the doctor.
 Uses of Be
The structure of a sentence in English usually follows this form (Subject + Verb +
Object). The subject and the verb are necessary in every sentence, and that is why it is
important to use the verb be when used as the main verb.
The verb to be in the examples below play a role as the main verb in the sentence,
and it’s used to connect the subject to a noun, adjective or a prepositional phrase

The form of the verb be is used for several reasons such as:

S V Adj S V Adj
This chair is uncomfortable. My child is afraid of heights..

1. You may use a verb to be (is, are or am) to describe the general states of a
subject. This could also describe the subject’s physical or emotional state.The
structure of the sentence here is usually (Subject + Verb to Be + Adjective).
 S V Noun Phrase
Riyadh is the capital of Saudi Arabia
Cryptocurrency is a digital currency.

2. You may use a verb to be (is, are or am) to define or classify the subject. In
this case, you are using the verb to be to give more information. In such cases, the
common structure of the sentence would be (Subject + Verb to Be + Noun).

S V Prepositional phrase
The biggest Apple store is in Dubai..

3. You may use a verb to be (is, are or am) to provide the location of the subject.
In such cases, the common structure of the sentence would be (Subject + Verb to
Be + Preposition + Noun).
 S V Prepositional phrase (preposition + noun)
Malala is from Pakistan.
Ali and Sultan are from Abha.

4. You may use a verb to be (is, are or am) to give information about the
place of origin of the subject, i.e., the subject’s place of birth. In such
cases, the common structure of the sentence would be (Subject + Verb to
Be + Preposition + Noun).

S V
Ali is 25 years old.

5. You may use a verb to be (is, are or am) to give information about the
age of the subject in the sentence.
 It is hot and dry in Riyadh.
It is cloudy and rainy in Colombia.
6. You may use a verb to be to describe the weather. Note that the pronoun “it” in the
sentence above refers to the weather, not the actual place. You may also say Riyadh is
hot and dry or The weather is hot and dry in Riyadh.

7. You may also use the verb to be ‘is’ to give the time. Note that
It is 8 o’clock now.
the pronoun ‘it’ here also refers to ‘the time’. You may replace
‘it’ with ‘the time’ (the time is 8 o’clock now). However, it is
more common to use the pronoun ‘it’ instead of the noun.

It is important to be responsible with a pet.

8. We use the verb Be (is) with expressions that begin with ‘it’. In this sentence, (it) is
a delayed subject that expresses the same idea as (being responsible with pets). In
other words, we may say “Being responsible with pets is important”

Note any of the sentences in the examples above Malala from Pakistan
will not be complete without a verb to be.
It’s not a complete sentence because it doesn’t have a verb. Although the sentence may
be correct when translated to Arabic, English requires us to use verbs to be.
 Contractions with Be
The verb Be (am, is, are) can be contracted by joining the pronoun or noun and the
verb Be, using an apostrophe.

I’m a student in the College of Medicine.

Ahmed has read the Batman series several times. He’s interested in comic books.
Aisha is very patient and kind around kids. She’s a great kindergarten
teacher.
Aspirin relieves headaches easily. It’s an effective medicine.

You have seized every chance to improve at work. You’re an ambitious employee.
Our neighbors never play loud music at nighttime. They’re considerate neighbors.
We practice what we learn in class in our free time. We’re intelligent students.
Note you may also contract the verb Be (is) with (there, here, and
that). However, we must not contract (this):
There’s always a chance for you to work on yourself.
Here’s my book. I’ve been looking for it.
That’s the TED Talk I recommended to you a whole ago.
This’s the most important exam for future college students.
 Contractions with Nouns
You can also use contractions with most nouns except plural nouns and nouns
that end s, se, ce, z, ze, ge, sh, ch or x.

Ahmed’s a creative businessman.

The classroom’s large enough to accommodate 100 students.

Gas’s expensive in California.

(We cannot contract the noun and the verb to be here because the noun ends with -s.)

Computers’re necessary in offices and classrooms.

(We cannot contract the noun and the verb to be here because the noun is plural)
 Contractions with Negatives
 When forming negative statements with be, the negative form (not) immediately
follows the verb.

 We may contract the verb Be with the negative form as in (isn’t and aren’t). However,
we cannot contract the verb Be (am) with the negative form.

Khaled isn’t a member in our book club. Khaled’s not a member in our book club.

The employers aren’t interested in selling their businesses.

We don’t contract The employers’re not interested in selling their businesses.

plural nouns

I’m not irresponsible when I shop online.

I amn’t irresponsible when I shop online.
We must not contract the
negative form with ‘am’
 Find the verbs

Which words are the verbs in these sentences?

Local customers shop at My

My cat
cat always
always watches
watches Once in a while, my brother
this supermarket the most. birds..
birds. drives to the countryside to
visit his mother in-law.
.
These words (shop, watch, drive) are all present simple verbs.
 Simple Present
Tense
Habits, Routines
and repeated
The simple present actions Salah
is used when
I go through sometim
talking about The kids never es takes
habits, facts, my social sleep without
media the train
general truth, and the air to work.
accounts conditioner on.
customs.
every
morning. Fact and general
truths A snake sheds
Strawberri Oranges its skin from
es ripen contain three to six
from early Vitamin C. times per year.
summer to College students find it
early hard to manage their
autumn. time well.
Customs
Muslims fast from dawn to sunset during the holy month of
Ramadan.
In Korea, people take off their shoes before they enter a
 Simple Present Tense
When using the simple present, the form of the verb depends on the subject.
run at night
sing karaoke every
I, you, we, weekend.
watch TV before
bed.
they have
allergies.
In the present simple, we add –s to the
main verb only when the subject is (he),
(she) or it.
runs at
he she Sings
night karaoke
it weekly.
watches
Have is an
(third irregular
person
verb, and it must be
singular)
changed to ‘has’ when
TV
has
used with he, she or
it in the present simple allergies
Simple Present Tense
Note you still need to add –s if you have a noun instead of a
pronoun that refers to ‘he, she and it’. For example:
pushes us
The trainer to do our
best.
Muath prefers to stay
home during
The monthly weekends.
covers all new
meeting projects and
Exercising ideas.
helps me gain
energy.
Note that we add –s when the subject is a gerund (a noun
ending with –ing such as exercising). Gerunds are considered
singular nouns.
The Simple Present – Negative Statements
If the main verb is not a verb to be (is, are, am), then you
must use “do” to form questions and negatives in the
present simple tense.
don’t
I you we they
do not know how to skate

he she it does not know how to

(third person
singular) skate.
doesn’
We change ‘do’tto ‘does’ with (he, she
and it). We don’t add –s to the main
verb in negative statements and
questions.
The Rules
When adding –s to the main verb with (he, she and it), it’s important
to note that the spelling of the verb depends on the ending of the
verb.
-ch, -sh, -ss, -s, -x or -z
Verbs ending with:

Exampl
Add -es
es:
mix– mixes miss–-misses was - washes buz -
h z buzzes
The Rules
Verbs like have, go and do have irregular forms when
used in the present simple tense. (I have an iPhone and he
has an Android.) ‘go’
‘do’
Jack does his homework
Ali goes shopping once a every afternoon.
month.
Add -es
The Rules
The spelling of the verb depends on the ending of
the verb.
Verbs ending in:
Consonant and -y

Remove –y and add

Exampl
es: -ies
carry– carries cry – cries study- studies
The Rules
The spelling of the verb depends on the ending of
the verb.
Verbs ending in:
Vowel and -y

Exampl Just add -s

es:

pay– pays enjoy– enjoys

The Rules
The spelling of the verb depends on the ending of
the verb.
Verbs ending in:
For all the other verbs
&
Words ending with -e
Ahmed often bakes cookies
with his mother.

Just add -s
Saleh walks to school every
morning.
 Frequency
Adverbs
One of the common reasons we use the simple is to express
repeated actions and habits. Therefore, we usually use certain
words and expressions to describe how often something happens.

whenever Every day/night

Rarely
Always seldom Every week
Hardly
ever Few times a day
Usually Many times a
Never
Generally year
Not ever From time to
time
Once in a while/
Often
once a year
Frequently
Once a week
Sometimes Twice a month
Occasionall Three time a year
y
 I usually I
I hardly ever
write in my sometimes
eat pancakes
diary before ride my bike
for breakfast.
bed. to school.

Bella’s Schedule I
Monday Tuesday Wednesda Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
always
y
wake up
Wake up
at 6am
at 6am.

Eat
pancakes
for
breakfast

Ride my
bike to
school

Write in
my diary

Play chess
with my
brother

I never play
chess with my
brother.
Rules about the Positions of Frequency Words and Expressions.
Frequency adverbs usually take place before the main verb in statements
except with the verb Be.

Talal always takes his vitamins after breakfast.

Saeed never goes to bed before 12:00 am.

Frequency adverbs take place after the verb Be in statements.

The shoppers in this market are usually polite and quiet.

My roommate is sometimes late for his morning classes.

Frequency adverbs such as “sometimes” and “usually”” can also be used at the
beginning of the sentence.

Sometimes I skip breakfast and have a big lunch instead.

Usually students submit their assignments on Thursday
night.
 Frequency expressions such as once in a while and once/twice/three times
a week can also be used at the beginning or end of the sentence. When
used at the beginning, we normally use a comma after the expression

Twice a month, my cousins fly to Jeddah to visit their grandfather.

Khalid buys a new fiction novel to read once in a while.

Frequency expressions that begin with every and each are used at the
beginning or end of the sentence. When used at the beginning, we
normally use a comma after the expression

Every weekend, I ride the train to Qassim.

My roommate and I pay the rent each month.

Don’t use negative frequency adverbs “seldom, rarely, hardly ever, almost never, never”
with the negative form “not”. Negative adverbs must be used in affirmative sentences.

I never ask for a ride from a stranger. (Incorrect: I don’t never

ask ….)
My neighbors rarely invite me over for dinner.
 When expressing a regular activity that happens at any time another event takes
place, we may use ‘whenever’ at the beginning of the sentence or clause.
I don’t feel judged whenever I’m around my friends.
Whenever I spend time with my friends, I forget about my
problems.

Ever is used in Yes/No questions to ask about whether an action or situation occurs
often. In such questions, ‘ever’ is always after the subject.

Do you ever take vacations from work and travel?

Does Salah ever ask for a raise from his boss?
Is your school ever crowded?.

When answering ‘Yes/No Questions’ with short answers, we place the frequency
adverb between the subject and verb with both main verbs and the verb Be.
Does your boss ever thank you for your effort?
Yes, he always does No, he never does
Is your brother ever helpful around the house?
Yes, he usually is No, he rarely is
 Questions and Answers with How Often
Questions
We usually begin our questions with ‘how often’ to ask about the frequency of an
action. We often use frequency expressions to answer such questions. The
frequency expressions could occur at the beginning or end of the sentence.
(once in a while) (once a week/twice a month), (every other day/every
week), (several times a day/ a few times a week), (from time to time)

How often does Abdullah practice horse riding?

Three times a week. Abdullah practices horse riding three times a week.
Note that you must use ‘in’ with (once in a
while), but not with (once/twice/three times
a week)
How often does Frida visit art galleries?
Once in a while, Frida visits art galleries.

How often do the siblings go to the beach with their parents?

Every weekend. The siblings go to the beach with their parents
every weekend.
 Yes/No Questions with Be

• A Yes/No question is a question that requires an answer of yes or no.

• To form a Yes/No question, we must move the verb Be to the front of the question
(before the subject). When answering such questions, we use the appropriate
pronoun that agrees with the question.

S V
I am late for class this morning. Statement
V S
Are you late for class?
Yes, I am. Yes/No Question
No, I am not.
Is our homework due tonight?
No, it isn’t. It’s due tomorrow.
Is that your roommate? Is this the project you’ve been working on?
Yes, it is. Yes, it is.

• Note that questions that begin with ‘this’ and ‘that’ are always
answered with the pronoun ‘it’ even with people.
 Yes/No Questions: Using There

• Sometimes the word there can be added to a sentence to show that something exists.
• This ‘existential’ there can also be used in yes/no questions. In these questions,
you must be careful to keep subject-verb agreement (i.e. to use a singular verb
with a singular subject, and a plural verb with a plural subject).

V Singular Singular
There is a cafeteria in this building. Statement
V Singular
Is there a cafeteria in this building?
(Yes, there is. or No, there isn’t.)
Yes/No Question
Plural
V Plural
There are many shopping centers in this city. Statement
V Plural
Are there many shopping centers in this city?
(Yes, there are. or No, there aren’t.) Yes/No Question
 Answering Yes/No Questions
• When answering yes/no questions, you can use contractions only with negative
answer. However, you cannot contract affirmative answers.
Is Ali happy with his new car?

Yes, he is. No, he isn’t.

Yes, he’s. No, he is not.

Are the students satisfied with their teacher?

Yes, they’re. No, they aren’t

Yes, they are. No, they are not.

• When answering yes/no questions, we usually use pronouns instead of nouns.

Is Ahmed allergic to peanuts?

common unusual
Yes, he is. Yes, Ahmed is.
No, he isn’t. No, Ahmed isn’t.
Forming Negatives and Yes/No Questions
If the main verb is not a verb to be (is, are, am), then you must
use “do” to form questions and negatives in the present simple
tense. Base
form of
the verb
Do I you we they like skating?
Yes, I/you/we/they do. No, I/you/we/they don’t.
Base
form of
the verb
Does he she it like skating?

Yes, he/she/it does. No, he/she/it

doesn’t.
Note that in questions and
negatives, we don’t add anything
to the main verbs (e.g. –s or –es).
However, we must change the
helping verb ‘do’ with he, she and
it.
WH- questions (which are also called “information questions”) ask for specific
information. They always begin with one of the following WH- words (or how):

what
who

where

when

why
What
time
how
 Forming WH- Questions
When we make a WH- question, we always begin with the WH- question word and
then invert the subject (S) and the verb Be or the helping verb (as we did for Yes/No
questions).

WH- Word + Verb Be (as the main verb) +

Subject
WH- Word + Helping Verb + Subject + Main Verb

dve r bial of pla ce: where?

A
Where is Mohammed right now? Where’s Mohammed right now?
(In the library. Mohammed is in the library right now.)
Where are the fiction books in this library?
(In the third aisle. The fiction books are in the third aisle in this
library.)
Note that you may contract the verb Be (is) with all the WH-
words except for (which and how much). These WH- words end
with (-ch); therefore, we must not contract them.
 l of ti me : whe n? what time?
Adverbia
When is your flight to Jeddah?
(Tomorrow. My flight to Jeddah is
tomorrow.)
What time/When is your dentist appointment?
(At 3:30. My dentist appointment is at 3:30.)
Note: When can be used for any time question. What time, however, can be used only
for specific clock time.

l of re a so n/c ause: why?

Adverbia

Why are you late again to class?

(Because my car broke down. I’m late again to class because my car broke down.)
 What & Which + Nouns

‘What’ and ‘Which’ may also be followed by a noun to make questions more
specific. It’s also common to ask questions that begin with “what kind of + noun” to
ask about a specific kind.

What kind of person is Raid?

((A) polite (person). Raid is a polite person.)

What nationality is Bilal?

Iraqi (Bilal is Iraqi).
Which country are you going to visit next?
South Korea.
 Using How (+ Adjective/Adverb)
How is followed by an adjective or an adverb when we want to measure the amount
or degree of something.

How tall is your son? How thirsty are you?

(130 cm. My son is 130 cm tall. ) (Very (thirsty). I am very thirsty.)

How old is Khaled?

(Nineteen (years old). Khaled is nineteen years old.)

How high is that building?

(One hundred meters (high). That building is one hundred meters high.)
 How Many Vs How Much
When asking about the amount of something, you can use ‘many’ with countable
nouns and ‘much’ with noncountable nouns.

How many cows are there in How much ketchup

the field? would you like on your
hot dogs
You can count the cows so we
use the word ‘many’. You cannot count
‘many’. ketchup so we use the
word ‘much’.

‘much’.
How many cities are in Saudi Arabia?
(Around 70 cities. I think there are around 70 cities in Saudi
Arabia.)
How much water do you drink a day?
(2 liters. I drink 2 liters of water a day.)
 Forming WH- Questions
In case the verb Be (is, are, am) is not the main verb in the sentence, we must use ‘do’
or ‘does’ to form a question in the present simple. Whenever prepositions are used in
questions, they are normally placed at the end of the question.
WH- word do I you we verb
WH- word does he they she verb
it shopping?
Where do Ahmed and Aisha usually go to do their monthly
(Lulu Market. Ahmed and Aisha usually go to the Lulu market to do their monthly shopping.)

Who (whom) does Sultan regulary talk to?

(His father. Sultan regularly talks to his father.)

Note that ‘whom’ can also be used in the place of ‘who’ in formal English. In very formal
English it is also possible to move the preposition and place it before the question word ‘whom’.
Who(m) does Sultan regularly speak to? or To whom does Sultan regularly speak? (formal)

When placing the preposition before the ‘WH- word’, you can only say ‘to whom’, not ‘to who’
Forming WH- Questions

Note that the verb stays the same in questions and negatives. We only change the
helping verb ‘do’ to ‘does’ when the subject is ‘he, she or it’

What does Talal think about the novel?

What does Talal thinks about the novel?

Note we do not use the helping verb do (or does) for negatives or questions with the
main verb be.
Is Muath usually does busy on Mondays to Thursdays?
When is does the class begin?
Is Muath usually busy on Mondays to Thursday?
What is the opening hours like in this restaurant?
Note although prepositions are normally used at the end of questions, we normally
omit the prepositions with WH- questions about time.
What time does the train arrive? What time does the train arrive at?
 Using WH- Qs in the Present Simple to Ask for
Meaning of Words, Spelling, Costs and Time
the m e a ning of words or
sim p le p re se n t to ask about
u e sti o ns a re used in the
W H-Q terms .

What does ‘ambiguous’ mean?

- The word ‘ambiguous’ means unclear or undecided.
What does PC stand for?
- PC stands for Personal Computer.
o w w o r ds a r e spelled,
p le p re se n t to ask about h with ‘how’.
re use d in th e sim n s u su a ll y b e g in
 WH-questions a e r lan gu a g e . These questio
aid in anoth
pronounced or s
- How do you spell development?
D-E-V-E-L-O-P-M-E-N-T.
- How do you say ‘obvious’ in your language? example
- How do you pronounce ‘pear’?
 of an item. The se
the c o st
sim p le p re se n t to ask about
H- qu e sti on s a re used in the b e g in w it h ‘ h ow much’.
W
questions usually
- How much does it cost to rent a car?
Around 100 Riyal a day. I think it costs around 100
Riyal a day to rent a car.
- How much is this coffee table?
300 Riyals. This coffee table costs 300 Riyals.

a bo ut the dur ation of an

in the sim p le p resent to ask
re use d be done.
 WH- questions a n a c ti on ta ke s to
o r the le ngth o f time that a
action
- How long does it take for you to usually get ready in the morning?
30 minutes. I usually take 30 minutes to get ready in the morning.

- How long does it take to walk to the bus stop?

15 minutes. It takes 15 minutes to walk to the bus stop.