Present

PRESENT

Form

Look at the example of how to form the present simple tense of the verb work. All verbs except to be and the modal verbs follow this pattern.

COMMON MISTAKES: A common mistake is to forget to put the -s ending on the he/she/it forms. All verbs except modals must end in -s in the third person singular affirmative:

WRONG: Our new computer system work very efficiently.

RIGHT:     Our new computer system works very efficiently.

A second common mistake is to add the -s to the he/she/it forms of the negative and questions. We add the -es form to the auxiliary (do), and not to the ain verb (work):

WRONG: I know Karl doesn´t works in Accounts.

RIGHT:     I know Karl doesn´t work in Accounts.

Notes on the simple present, third person singular

In the third person singular the verb always ends in -s:

he wants, she needs, he gives, she thinks.

Negative and question forms use DOES (= the third person of the auxiliary ‘DO’) + the infinitive of the verb.

He wants ice cream. Does he want strawberry? He does not want vanilla.

Verbs ending in -y : the third person changes the -y to -ies:

fly –> flies, cry –> cries

Exception: if there is a vowel before the -y:

play –> plays, pray –> prays

Add -es to verbs ending in:-ss, -x, -sh, -ch:

he passes, she catches, he fixes, it pushes

Examples

He goes to school every morning.

She understands English.

It mixes the sand and the water.

He tries very hard.

She enjoys playing the piano.

Permanent Situations

The present simple is used to talk about actions and situations that are generally or permanently true:

Brazil is a large country located in South America. The language spoken in Brazil is Portuguese.

IBM is the largest computer company in the world; it manufactures mainframes and PCs and sells its products all over the world.

Routines and frequency – Habitual actions

We use the present simple to talk about routines and things we do regularly. A frequency adverb is often used:

I always take the bus to work.

I usually get to the showroom at about 8.00 o`clock and I have a quick look at the post.

The sales reps arrive at about 8.15 and we open at 8.30.

General facts

We use Present Simple to show actions, events, or states that are true in general.

Sharon lives and works in Vancouver. She works for a large department store. She is married to Tom and they have two children, Kim of 2 years old, and Gary of 5.

Scientific facts

Facts that are always true

The Simple Present is used to describe facts in science, and geographical descriptions.

The light from the Sun takes 8 minutes 20 seconds to reach the Earth.

Superconductors are special materials that conduct electricity and do not create any electrical resistance.

Plot summaries and historical tables

The Present Simple is used to describe the events in a narrative, when the events are summarised. It is used to describe what happens in a film or book or in a table of events.

In Chapter 1, Susan meets David, and agrees to go to the school dance with him.

1789, The French Revolution begins.

George Washington becomes the first president of the USA.

Programmes and timetables

We use the Present Simple to talk about programmes and timetables. When we use the present simple like this, it can refer to the future.

There are two flights to Tokyo next Thursday. There is a JAL flight that leaves Heathrow at 20.30 and gets in at at 6.20, and there is a British Airways flight that departs/departures at 22.00 and arrives at 8.50.

What time does the movie start?         It starts at 2.00 p.m.

Agenda or schedule

We used the Simple Present to talk about someone´s agenda or schedule. When we use the simple present like this we also refer to the future.

I have a very busy day tomorrow. It starts with a meeting with my boss followed by a business lunch with new clients. Later I have a doctor´s appointment and at night, I have a dinner party.

COMPARE:

How is your day?Here I am asking about today, and the idea is to know how things are with you so far, up until this moment, if everything is all right with you.

How is your day tomorrow?How is your day on Wednesday?How is your next weekend?I need to know if you have anything scheduled for these days.

Painting and Pictures

We use the simple present to describe what you see in painting and pictures.

When I look at The Mona Lisa, I see a figure of a woman, dressed in the Florentine fashion of her day, seated in a visionary, mountainous landscape. Mona Lisa´s enigmatic expression seems both alluring and aloof. If you look closely, you notice that she has no eyebrows or eyelashes, she has a blanket over her shoulder, which gives the idea that one of her arms or hand looks like a chair arm. She looks rather sad with a forced smile. She just stares right into your soul …

Stories and Jokes

If somebody is telling a joke or story, he or she may use multiple tenses. It is, however, very common to use the Present Simple, if the joke tells a story that could happen at any time (as opposed to a joke about a specific event, e.g. about a celebrity saying something stupid).

A man walks into a bar and orders a beer.

We also use the present tense to give a dramatic narrative effect:

The year is 1066. In medieval England people are worried that the king, Harold, is not strong enough to fight off a Norman invasion.

Sport Commentary

If you’ve every listened to the commentary of a sport event, you certainly noticed a variety of tenses in use. When using the Present Simple, the speaker usually describes actions that are happening at the moment of speaking.

Nick Pike runs with the ball (sorry strolls with the ball) and gets the ball stolen off him by Chris Brown, he passes it to Bristol Rovers answer to Cliff Richard who passes it to Matt Dark. It gets intercepted by Lardy (Rich Massey), he gets a shout from Feet, but Chris read the game, ran into space and got the ball, he passes it to Jap but he loses it to Tony. Jap battles for the ball he lost and wins it back he then knocks the ball to me, I lose it to Feet. Feet has a shot which our keeper collected with ease. Ger throws the ball out to me, I get closed down by Foxy, he challenges for the ball, I knock it on to Martin Bryant, he has a little run switches the ball to other side to find Matt who crosses the ball to Pugsy, who is in the 18 yard box and Clemco (Martin Clemmence) puts a good foot in. Chris Brown tackles well, he turns with the ball, he has a shot but it never troubled the keeper.

Have / Has + Got

In spoken and informal written English, Have/Has + Got can be used instead of have in these four situations:

1. To talk about things we own or posses

We have a house in Vancouver.

We´ve got a house in Vancouver.

She doesn´t have any money.

She hasn´t got any Money.

He has a new car!

He´s got a new car!

Do you have a minute?

Have you got a minute?

I don´t have time right now.

I haven´t got time right now.

I have an idea!

I´ve got an idea!

2. To talk about family and relationships

I have a new boy/girlfriend.

I´ve got a new boy/girlfriend.

Mike doesn´t have any brothers.

Mike hasn´t got any Brothers.

Do you have any children?

Have you got any children?

3. To describe people and physical characteristics

Carol has brown eyes.

Carol´s got brown eyes.

He doesn´t have blond hair.

He hasn´t got blond hair.

Does your sister have long hair?

Has your sister got long hair?

4. To talk about illness or to say that you don´t feel well.

I have a bad cold.

I´ve got a bad cold.

She doesn´t have a headache anymore.

She hasn´t got a headache anymore.

Do you have the flu?

Have you got the flu?

Notes:

*Have got CANNOT be used for any other use of have (for example, talking about actions and experiences):

I usually have dinner at 18:00. NOT: I usually have got dinner at 18:00

*Have got is ONLY used in the present simple tense. It CANNOT be used in any other tense:

I had a bad cold last week. NOT: I had got a bad cold last week.

*Continuous / progressive forms are NOT possible with these meanings of have and have got.

*Have got has NOTHING to do with get. It is NOT the present perfect form of get. [In North American English, have gotten is the present perfect of get.]

*Sometimes the have is left out of have got in SPOKEN English (it is not acceptable to leave out have in written English). Here are some examples:

Got Milk? This is a popular advertising campaign for milk in North America. It should be “Have you got milk?

Got a minute? In English ‘a minute’ is often used to mean ‘a short amount of time.’ People often say: ‘Got a minute?’ which is short for ‘Do you have a minute?’ or ‘Have you got a minute?’

I Gotta Feeling This is the title of a song by the Black Eyed Peas. It should actually be ‘I have got a feeling.’ Gotta is not a proper English word. It is what native speakers sometimes SAY instead of ‘got a’ or ‘got to.’