00:00:00
Hi, I'm Rebecca. Welcome to this series on
English tenses. In this class, we will look
00:00:07
at the present simple tense. I'll show you
exactly when to use it, how to use it, and
00:00:14
also what mistakes to be careful of when you're
using this tense. We'll also go through lots
00:00:21
of practice exercises together, so you'll
learn exactly how to use this tense correctly
00:00:27
and confidently. Are you ready? Let's get
started.
00:00:32
This series is about English tenses. But what
are tenses anyway? Tenses are simply the way
00:00:39
we talk about time in English. What do we
mean by time? We mean the past, the present,
00:00:49
the future, right? These are all different
times and we have different tenses to express
00:00:55
or talk about those times. So, in this lesson,
we're going to look at the two basic ways
00:01:03
that you - we can speak about the present
in English and they are: the present simple
00:01:10
and the present continuous, or present progressive
as it's also called.
00:01:16
Now, although we are focusing on the present
simple, I want to give you a little overview
00:01:22
so you understand the basic differences between
these two simple tenses, alright? So, let
00:01:30
me give you an example. In present simple,
we would say "I work". And in present continuous,
00:01:41
we would say "I am working". So, what's the
difference? What's the difference between
00:01:48
these two sentences? What's the difference,
is there a difference? I don't know, what
00:01:55
do you think? Well, I do know. And there is
a difference. Perhaps, in your language, there
00:02:03
isn't any difference because in many languages,
there is no difference between the way that
00:02:09
these two ideas are expressed, but in English,
there is a difference in the idea and the
00:02:17
way that we say it.
00:02:18
So, let me explain what that difference is.
When we say "I am working", which is that
00:02:24
other tense, present continuous, which we
can learn later, that is talking about something
00:02:30
that is happening now, or something temporary.
What do I mean by now? For example, I am teaching.
00:02:41
You are listening, right? All these things
are happening right now. So, when we are saying
00:02:47
that, when I'm saying that, I'm using present
continuous. But when I say "I work", that
00:02:56
is in general. For example, I may not be working
at this moment, but I work somewhere. I have
00:03:02
a job. So, when we talk about something that's
true in general, that's present simple. Also,
00:03:11
present simple is for something that's more
or less permanent. For example, if you have
00:03:17
a job, of course, no job or thing in life
is necessarily permanent. What does permanent
00:03:24
mean, that it lasts all the time, but let's
say you're not changing jobs every day. So,
00:03:31
more or less, this is the job you'll always
have. This is your permanent job. So then,
00:03:37
for those kind of activities, we use present
simple and we say "I work at the bank". "I
00:03:44
work in the store" etc. But, "I am working"
would just be right now, or it could also
00:03:52
be for something temporary. "Temporary" means
only for a short period of time. This is for
00:03:59
always, this is for a short period of time.
This is true in general, and this one is true
00:04:09
for something happening now. So, those are
some basic differences between these two tenses.
00:04:14
Now, let's focus on the tense that we're working
on today, which is present simple. So, how
00:04:22
does it sound? How does it actually work?
It's like this - so these are the different
00:04:28
subjects, and this is the verb and the way
we use it. So just repeat it after me: I work.
00:04:38
You work. We work. They work. He works. She
works. And: It works. "It" meaning the air
00:04:57
conditioner, or the computer. "It" is for
something which is not a person but it's for
00:05:02
a thing.
00:05:04
And we saw some differences there. Don't worry
about those changes now. We're going to learn
00:05:09
all about that in a later part of this lesson,
okay? So that's what it sounds like. This
00:05:17
is a basic description of these two differences
which you can keep in mind as we now move
00:05:24
forward with the present simple tense.
00:05:26
Now, let's look at when we use the present
simple tense, okay? So, we have five different
00:05:34
situations in which we can use this tense.
Let's go through them one by one.
00:05:41
First of all, we can use the present simple
tense to talk about things which are permanent.
00:05:47
Which are more or less always true, okay?
For example: "We live in New York". So, let's
00:05:57
suppose that this is where you live, right?
Not just for a short time, but for a long
00:06:03
time, and more or less, it's a permanent situation.
It's always true for you. It doesn't mean
00:06:09
it's completely true always, but most of the
time, this is where you live. So, that's what
00:06:15
we consider permanent. So, we could say "We
live in New York", "He works at a bank", so
00:06:24
when we say, "He works at a bank", it means
that's his permanent regular job, okay? It's
00:06:31
not a temporary job, it's not a job that he
has just for a little while, that's where
00:06:35
he works most of the time, okay? So, we use
this for permanent situations. Think about
00:06:43
yourself, okay? Whenever you're trying to
learn a tense, one of the great things you
00:06:48
can do is to think of an example that applies
to your life, or to people that you know.
00:06:54
What is permanent for you? So, you could say
a sentence right now, such as "I live in _______",
00:07:03
whichever city you live in. Or, if you're
working somewhere, and then you could say
00:07:08
"I work __________", okay? So, you, by making
these sentences are already using the present
00:07:16
simple tense. It's that simple. Okay.
00:07:20
So, let's look at another situation in which
you can use the present simple tense. For
00:07:27
routines. So, what's a routine? A routine
is something you do regularly, okay? For example,
00:07:34
"I wake up at 6:00 every day.", okay? "I go
to sleep at 11:00". So, wake, go, these verbs
00:07:47
are in the present simple tense because they're
talking about a regular activity, a routine.
00:07:55
We can also use this tense to talk about facts.
For example: "The sun rises in the east".
00:08:03
It's just a fact, it's something that's a
scientific truth. It's not something that
00:08:08
I decided or you decided, it's just true.
We could also say "The sun sets in the west",
00:08:17
okay?
00:08:18
Next, we can use this tense to talk about
schedules, because think about it, what is
00:08:27
a schedule? A schedule tells us when something
is going to happen, and that's kind of connected
00:08:34
to this point, right? A regularly scheduled
event. So, for example, we could say "Our
00:08:42
class starts at 9:00." Why are we using present
simple? Because our class always starts at
00:08:50
9:00, alright? It's kind of permanent, it's
kind of a routine, it's a schedule. Or, the
00:08:58
flight leaves at noon. Not just this time,
but the flight always leaves at noon. It has
00:09:07
a schedule and therefore we're using the present
simple tense with the words "starts" and "leaves".
00:09:15
Okay, got that?
00:09:18
Now, let's look at one other situation. There
are some words in English, and they're called
00:09:24
adverbs of frequency, to describe how often
something is happening. And these words are
00:09:33
shown down here, but let's look at this sentence
first. "She always takes the bus". So, always
00:09:41
is a word that tells us how often something
happens, and all of these words down here
00:09:49
are just like that. So, if always is like
100% of the time, we have other words. We
00:09:59
have the word "never", which is 0%, it never
happens. It doesn't happen at all. So, we
00:10:06
could say he or she never takes the bus. We
could also say, let's say, 50% of the time,
00:10:16
okay, she takes the bus. So, we could say
"She sometimes takes the bus". Or, once in
00:10:23
a while, okay, "She rarely takes the bus".
Or, "She often takes the bus". So, when you
00:10:34
see one of these words, which are called adverbs
of frequency, that also tells you that you
00:10:40
should be using the present simple tense,
along with these other situations. So, if
00:10:46
you want to learn it really well, as I said,
apply it to yourself. Say something about
00:10:53
your routine. Say something about what you
always do, or what you never do, and that
00:11:01
way, you are already using the present simple
tense.
00:11:04
Now, let's look at how to form the present
simple tense. So, I've divided the board into
00:11:11
three sections. For positive sentences, negative
sentences, and for questions. And we'll go
00:11:20
through each one step by step, okay? So, for
these subjects, I, You, We, and They, we just
00:11:30
say "work". For example, "I work". You can
say it after me, that way, you will remember
00:11:38
the grammar, you'll also get the pronunciation,
and it'll help you to learn and remember.
00:11:45
So, repeat after me: I work, you work, we
work, they work. Good. Now, look what happens
00:12:05
here. When it comes to he, she, and it, we
need to add an "s", okay? That's all. We need
00:12:14
to add an "s" for he, she, and it, not because
it's plural, it's not plural, but from a grammar
00:12:21
point of view, in the present simple, we need
to add an "s" here. So, say it after me: He
00:12:28
works, she works, and it works. Okay? Very
good. So, that's for a positive or affirmative
00:12:42
sentence.
00:12:44
Now, let's look at a negative sentence. So,
what we would say is "I don't work" if we're
00:12:54
shortening it, or we would say "I do not work".
So, what happened here? How did we make it
00:13:02
negative? First, we have to add this word
"do", and down here, we have to add the word
00:13:10
"does". So, this is a helping verb that we
have to use in this negative form, alright?
00:13:16
So just learn it the way it is and then you'll
understand it and you'll get used to it. So,
00:13:23
we say "I do not work". The "do not", when
we shorten it, becomes "don't", and how does
00:13:33
that happen? We take out the "o" here and
then we squeeze these words together, we join
00:13:41
them together, and it becomes "don't". So,
first, let's say it with the contraction,
00:13:48
with the short form, because that's how we
usually speak. It is correct to say, "I do
00:13:55
not work", but usually we'll say "I don't
work", alright? But the most important thing
00:14:02
to remember is here we say, "I do not work"
but here it becomes "He does not work", and
00:14:10
"does not" when we shorten it, when we contract
it, becomes "doesn't". So, what happened here?
00:14:20
We cancelled the "o" and again, we joined
these two words "does" and "not" and it became
00:14:27
"doesn't", and you can always know how to
spell this contraction or this short form
00:14:34
because of where we put the apostrophe. We
put the apostrophe, this little comma that's
00:14:40
in the in the air, in the place where we take
out a letter. So, we put it here instead of
00:14:47
the "o" and we put it here instead of the
"o". So, let's go through these. I don't work,
00:14:57
You don't work, We don't work, They don't
work. Now, let's go to he, she, and it. Remember,
00:15:09
he, she, and it is always going to be a little
bit different. Let's hear it and say it: He
00:15:15
doesn't work, She doesn't work, It doesn't
work. Let's say the phone, the computer, it
00:15:26
doesn't work, okay?
00:15:29
Now, let's go to the questions. So, what happens
in the questions? In the question, we also
00:15:35
have to use that helping verb: "do". "Do"
here, and "does" down here, and we have to
00:15:44
change the order, so instead of saying "I
do", we say "Do I?", alright? So, repeat it
00:15:51
after me: Do I work? I don't know, I don't
remember. Do you work? Do we work? Do they
00:16:04
work? Down here, you would say, with he, she,
and it: Does he work? Does she work? Does
00:16:20
it work? Alright? Now usually, of course,
you're not just going to say "Do you work?"
00:16:26
You might say something more than that. Do
you work on Fridays? Do you work Monday to
00:16:31
Friday? Do you work at the bank? Alright?
So usually there's something more, but I've
00:16:36
just put the basic form here so that you understand
the structure of how to use this tense.
00:16:42
Now, another important point is that sometimes,
when we ask questions, we don't just start
00:16:49
with "do" or "does", but we need to add a
question word, right? So, maybe you want to
00:16:55
say "where". What are the question words,
first of all: who, what, when, where, why,
00:17:04
how, how much, how many, how often, okay?
These are all what are called question words,
00:17:11
but if you have one of these question words,
all you have to do, it's really easy, the
00:17:17
only thing you have to do is to put that question
word right before this structure. So, "Where
00:17:27
do you work?", right? When do you work? Why
do you work? How much do you work? How often
00:17:36
do you work? But we're keeping the same structure
and we still need to have that helping verb
00:17:42
"do". The same down here: Where does he work?
When does she work? Okay? So, keep that structure
00:17:51
and even if you have a question word, don't
worry, just put it at the beginning. So, here
00:17:57
we have some examples: Where do you live?
What do you do? Okay?
00:18:04
But the most important thing to remember is
this part, okay? He works. She works. It works.
00:18:14
This is the only place in the entire board
where we're adding an "s" to the verb itself.
00:18:21
Everywhere else, we're just using the base
form of the verb, right? So, let's say our
00:18:27
verb is "to work". So, here it's "work". I
work, I don't work, Do you work? He works,
00:18:36
here it's different, but after that, it goes
back to the base form of the verb, right?
00:18:42
He doesn't work. Does he work? So even though
with he, she, and it in the positive sentence
00:18:49
we add the "s", but here in the negative,
no, go back to the base form and in the question,
00:18:56
go back to the base form of the word "work",
but you do need to remember that in that positive
00:19:02
sentence, add the "s", okay? So, that's the
structure of the present simple tense. It's
00:19:09
really pretty straightforward, you just need
to practice it and you will get it.
00:19:15
Now, let's look at some of the spelling changes
we need to make in the present simple tense.
00:19:20
We only need to make those changes, as I mentioned
earlier, when we're using he, she, or it,
00:19:28
because, for example, we say "I work" but
"He works", right? So what was the spelling
00:19:35
change we needed there? We had to add an "s".
And most of the time, with most verbs, all
00:19:42
you need to do is add that "s". For example,
dance becomes dances. You can say it after
00:19:52
me as well, okay? Cook - cooks. Sleep - sleeps.
Alright? So there, all we did, we just added
00:20:06
the "s" for the he, she, or it.
00:20:10
Next, if the verb ends with an s, or an sh,
or a ch, or an x, then we need to add "es".
00:20:27
And we can almost hear it, okay? Just listen.
For example, kiss - kisses. You see that we're
00:20:36
hearing "kisses" "es" a little bit - it's
a little bit longer, so that tells us we need
00:20:44
to add an "es". The next one, wash becomes
washes. Teach - teaches. Fix - fixes. Okay?
00:21:02
So, that's another change. Another one is
verbs ending in a consonant and y. What do
00:21:12
I mean by that? If we look at this verb: study,
it ends with a y, right? And just before the
00:21:20
y, we have a consonant. What's a consonant?
Anything that's not a vowel is a consonant.
00:21:29
So, what's a vowel? A vowel in English is
a, e, i, o, or u. Everything else: b, d, g,
00:21:40
x, etc., these are all consonants. So, d is
a consonant. Or here, in the word try, we
00:21:49
have a y and before that, we have a consonant,
right? So, what happens in those cases? We
00:21:55
have to drop that last y and we have to add
"ies". You've probably seen this lots of times,
00:22:05
okay, but this is actually what's happening.
So, study becomes studies. Try becomes tries,
00:22:16
okay? You'll get it, you'll see. Fry - fries,
right? Like French fries, okay? Alright.
00:22:24
So, then, last of all, there are some other
verbs. They're usually irregular verbs, okay?
00:22:32
These are the most common patterns, but there
are a few verbs where the ending might be
00:22:40
different in one way or another, okay? Sometimes
the verb really changes and you have to pay
00:22:46
attention to that. You may be familiar with
many of these already, but here are a few
00:22:50
examples. Go becomes like "I go", "He goes".
"I do", "She does". "I have", "It has". So
00:23:07
you see that in some cases, the verb changed
completely, okay? So these are the most common
00:23:13
patterns for spelling changes in the present
simple tense.
00:23:18
Now, let's look at how to give short answers
in English. See, in real conversation, when
00:23:25
someone asks you a question, we don't usually
repeat the whole question in our answer. We
00:23:32
just give what's called like a short answer.
Let me give you an example. If someone says,
00:23:39
"Do they need help?", then you can just say,
in short, either "Yes, they do" or "No, they
00:23:50
don't". So, we do not have to say "Yes, they
need help", right? You don't have to repeat
00:23:57
that whole question. You just give what's
called the short answer. And how do you know
00:24:03
how to shorten it? It's really easy. So, if
the question starts with "Do", like this,
00:24:11
right? Then your answer will include some
form of "do" or "don't", depending on if it's
00:24:20
a positive sentence or a negative one. So,
we see here "Do they need help?" "Yes they
00:24:28
do.", right? Or "No, they don't." Alright?
So, the "do", the way the question starts
00:24:37
is the way you will be able to answer it,
alright. It's really pretty simple, it really
00:24:44
is. The important thing to remember is that
in the affirmative or positive answer, we
00:24:52
cannot shorten it, okay? There is no way to
shorten that correctly. So here, we have to
00:24:59
say "Yes, they do", but here we can use the
short form, or that contraction that we learned,
00:25:06
and you can say "No, they don't". Alright?
00:25:10
Let's look at another example. This time,
I think you'll be able to apply the principle
00:25:15
yourself. So, the question is "Does he speak
French?". So, how did it start? With "does".
00:25:24
So, what are our options? "Yes, he does.",
right? Or "No, he doesn't." Okay? Again, the
00:25:38
"does" is used in the short answer. "Yes,
he does." "No, he doesn't." Got it? Alright.
00:25:49
So, based on that, you can see that you could
answer any question that someone's asking
00:25:55
you in present simple by just listening carefully
to the question, but you do have to pay attention
00:26:01
also to the subject here. So for example,
in this last one, "Do you like this song?",
00:26:08
somebody asks you, "Do you like this song?".
So your answer - they're asking you, so you
00:26:15
can't say "Yes, you", you have you say "Yes,
I". "Yes, I do", the "do" comes into play
00:26:24
again, or "No, I don't." So again, you do
see the same principle applied all the way.
00:26:34
And again, remember, in the positive form,
you cannot shorten it, but in the negative
00:26:39
form you can and you should shorten it because
that's how we normally speak, and these short
00:26:47
answers are used a lot in normal conversation,
so it would be a good idea for you to learn
00:26:51
them and it's really pretty fast and I think
you might have already learned them. So, do
00:26:56
you understand? You could say "Yes, I do!"
I hope that's what you said, okay? Alright.
00:27:05
Now, let's look at some common mistakes that
students often make when they start using
00:27:10
the present simple tense, and this way you'll
know what to be careful of so that you don't
00:27:16
make these kind of mistakes, alright? Let's
look. So usually the mistakes are of four
00:27:23
different kinds. Sometimes, the mistake is
in the tense itself. So remember we mentioned
00:27:29
at the beginning that there can be present
simple and present continuous, and that present
00:27:35
simple is for something permanent and present
continuous is for something temporary. So
00:27:42
sometimes, learners get mixed up between these
two tenses. So, let's say in this example
00:27:49
that this person lives in Tokyo, right? It's
not just for a little while, it's where that
00:27:57
person lives. So, if that person said "I am
living in Tokyo", that would be wrong. If
00:28:04
that's where the person stays permanently,
he or she should say "I live in Tokyo". They
00:28:13
could say "I am living in Tokyo" only if it's
something temporary, alright? So, that is
00:28:20
one mistake that's sometimes made with the
present simple, that confusion between it
00:28:26
and present continuous. Now, let's look at
another kind of mistake. That's when a mistake
00:28:32
is made with the verb form. You'll find it
because now you're good at this, okay? Ready,
00:28:39
let's read. These are all mistakes, okay,
so these are all wrong, we're going to correct
00:28:43
them together. The sentence right now says
"We likes to travel." So, the verb is wrong.
00:28:52
What should it be? "We like to travel". Say
it after me: We like to travel. Good. Here's
00:29:04
a mistake, the same thing in the verb form,
but in a negative sentence: "They doesn't
00:29:11
eat vegetables." That's wrong, you know that.
What should it be? "They don't eat vegetables".
00:29:24
Say it after me: "They don't eat vegetables".
Good. And here's a mistake in the question:
00:29:32
"Does you talk to him often?" That's wrong.
We can't say that. We need to say what? "Do
00:29:43
you". Say it after me: "Do you talk to him
often?" Good. Alright? So those are verb form
00:29:52
kind of mistakes. Another mistake that's possible
is in spelling. We looked at the many kinds
00:29:59
of spelling, right, and you need to make the
changes. So here, the person wrote "She trys
00:30:04
to save money", but the spelling of the verb
is incorrect, because here it's a y and before
00:30:11
that it's a consonant, remember? So what should
it be? "Tries". They had to drop that "y"
00:30:19
and add "ies". So, you'll pick up those spelling
changes, okay? Just pay attention when you're
00:30:24
reading and so on and it'll come to you unnaturally.
00:30:28
Next, sometimes an entire word is missing.
So, let's look at this one. This is a question:
00:30:36
"What time you finish work?". It almost sounds
right, but it's not. It's wrong. Grammatically
00:30:44
in English, that's wrong. Can you understand
it? Yes, you can understand it, but it's still
00:30:51
wrong. So, how do we correct it? Did you find
the mistake? So we should say "What time do
00:31:02
you finish work?". So, what was missing was
that helping word, okay, that helping verb,
00:31:08
remember, we do have to add that even if you
have a question word here like "what time",
00:31:15
alright? "What time do you finish work?".
So, these are the four main kinds of mistakes
00:31:21
that you have to be careful of. In tense,
using the wrong tense, using the wrong verb
00:31:26
form, making any kind of spelling mistakes,
or leaving out an essential verb or helping
00:31:34
verb. Alright? That's it!
00:31:37
You've been learning a lot, so now it's time
to practice. Let's get started.
00:31:42
Number 1: I take, but he ________. What would
you say in present simple? I take, he takes,
00:31:56
right? You have to add that "s" there, right?
Very good.
00:32:02
Now, let's work it the other way.
00:32:04
Number 2: She does, We _______. Do you know
it? We do. Very good.
00:32:15
Number 3: You enjoy. She ______. Yes, I can
hear you. She enjoys. Very good. Alright
00:32:31
Now, let's make some phrases negative, alright,
so we're going from positive to negative.
00:32:38
Number 4: They study. They ________________.
Use the contraction. They don't study. Right?
00:32:53
"Don't" being short for what? Do not. Right,
you've got it.
00:32:58
Number 5: The next one. He sings. Make it
negative. He ________________. Yes, He doesn't
00:33:15
sing. "Doesn't" is short for what? Does not.
Very good.
00:33:21
Now, let's make some questions. So, let's
read the sentence first.
00:33:25
Number 6: She wants to buy a new phone.
00:33:30
How would we ask the question? What's the
helping verb you have to use, helping word?
00:33:36
Do, or does, giving you a clue there. Here,
it's "She", so we have to say, "Does she want
00:33:50
to buy a new phone?" Okay, so remember, we
come back to the base form of the verb and
00:33:57
we have to use "do" or "does", but because
it's she, we're saying "does". "Does she want
00:34:03
to buy a new phone?" Okay? Good.
00:34:07
Let's do the last one.
00:34:08
Number 7: They sell books online. Ask a question
about that. Again, what are you going to start
00:34:17
with? "Do" this time, right. "Do they sell
books online?", right? Okay? Why "do"? Because
00:34:30
now we're talking about they. And why "does"
here? Because we were talking about "she",
00:34:35
alright.
00:34:36
So, if you got those right, that's great!
If you got any wrong, maybe you can go back
00:34:42
later and check those parts, but we're going
to practice some more, we're going to learn
00:34:46
a little bit more, and you'll get it for sure
by the end of this, okay. Stick with me.
00:34:52
To review: you know the present simple tense
when you know when you use it, which we talked
00:34:58
about, and how to use it. And how do you know
that you know how to use it? When you can
00:35:04
do these things: you can make a positive sentence,
a negative sentence, and a question. For example,
00:35:13
you should be able to say easily "They live
in Amsterdam." or "They don't live in Amsterdam."
00:35:21
or "Do they live in Amsterdam?". You should
be able to switch easily and comfortably and
00:35:28
quickly and correctly between these three
sentences, okay?
00:35:33
So, remember, this is the present simple tense,
but this is an entire series that we have
00:35:40
of English tenses, so from the present simple,
you can go to the next class which is on the
00:35:46
present continuous tense, and that way you
can take your English forward step by step,
00:35:53
alright? And if you'd like a little more practice
on this tense, the present simple tense, go
00:35:58
to www.engvid.com , alright? Thank you very
much for watching, I know you're a serious
00:36:04
student, and I know you're going to make good
progress.
