Grammar- Tenses - Simple Present Tense
Simple Present Tense
Today
I’m going to introduce a new friend to you.
She is
a little girl called Kurulu. She
will join us to continue our discussions
on Grammar especially on Tenses
Let’s
begin
This is
Kurulu. She lives
in a beautiful village. This village is situated near the beach. Therefore she usually goes to this beach every weekend. She does not go there alone. She visits the beach with her family. When she is at
the beach the sun shines brightly in the
sky. They all love to enjoy at the beach on
a sunny day. Vihanga, her elder brother flies kites.
He enjoys it very much. Her little brother
Pavan rides a pony. Her father walks beside him. Pavan
enjoys the ride happily. Her friends also join
them in these visits. Her friends Smanali and Sepalika build
sand castles. Kokila and Pavan play
with a ball. Kokila throws the ball and Pavan catches.
Sandaras collects sea shells. After building
sand castles Samanali and Seplaika bathe in
the sea. What does Kurulu do when she is at the beach? Kurulu sits and watches the
rolling waves in the sea. After that she collects
seashells on the beach. They don’t idle a single
moment. Their mother sits on a rock,
watching them at play. An ice-cream seller sells ice
cream. He sells different kinds of
ice-cream. A Kadala vendor also sells Kadala.
Children run to buy ice-cream and kadala. By
the time the sun sets they all go back home. It is always an enjoyable day.
When
you read this story you find that Kurulu and others at the beach do some
actions.
They
are the action that usually happen at the beach on weekends when they visit the
beach.
When we want to talk about an action that
happens usually or repeated actions and also to talk about general
facts that are true we use Simple Present Tense
We use
Simple Present Tense
to talk
about actions that happen
usually or as a habit
She usually goes to this beach every weekend
and to
give
general information
She lives in a beautiful village
These actions may happen
daily ,everyday, every week, every month , every year,every morning, usually, often , always etc.
The
above story also tells us about
Kurulu how Kurulu, her family and her friends usually spend their
week end.
To describe
their routine during the week end we use simple present tense.
Look at
the following sentences again paying attention to the highlighted verbs
She lives in a beautiful village.
She goes to this beach every weekend.
She does not go there alone.
She visits the beach with her family.
The sun
shines brightly in the sky.
They
all love to enjoy at the beach on a sunny
day.
Vihanga,
her elder brother flies a kite.
He enjoys it very much.
Her
little brother Pavan rides a pony.
Her
father walks beside him.
Pavan enjoys the ride happily.
Her
friends also join them in these visits.
Smanali
and Sepalika build sand castles.
Kokila
and Pavan play with a ball.
Kokila throws the ball and
Pavan catches.
Sandaras collects sea shells.
Samanali
and Seplaika bathe in the sea.
Kurulu sits and watches the
rolling waves in the sea.
She collects seashells on the beach.
They don’t idle a single moment.
Their mother
sits on a rock, watching them at play.
An
ice-cream seller sells ice-cream.
A
Kadala vendor also sells Kadala.
Children
run to buy ice-cream and kadala.
The sun
sets.
They
all go back home.
All these sentences talk about
Actions happen
She goes to this beach every weekend.
The sun
shines brightly in the sky.
Actions do not happen
She does not go there alone.
They don’t idle a single
moment.
We can also ask
Questions about actions happen
What does Kurulu do when she is at the beach?
Does she go to the beach
every week end?
Do they enjoy at the beach?
What do they do at the beach?
Where does she go in the week
ends?
Remember!
Not only the actions
We can also say and ask
Something about someone or something
or
we can express
being
He is under a tree.
It is a sunny day.
Those castles are very beautiful.
That Sunday is not a dull day
It is an enjoyable day.
Where is the kadala vendor?
Where is the kadala vendor?
Do you notice any difference in the use of the
verb?
Yes,
there is a difference.
Some verbs are in their infinitive form
Kokila
and Pavan play
with a ball.
But in some others s is added at the end of the verb
Kurulu collects sea
shells.
And in some does not or do not before
the verb.
She do not go there alone.
They do not idle a single moment.
But some others used auxiliary verbs
He is under a tree.
It is an enjoyable day.
Those castles are very beautiful.
And in some is/are not before the verb.
She is not there alone.
They are not beautiful .
So we need to learn the reason for that
difference
Next we
are going to learn the reason.
For
that we need to learn how the simple present sentences are formed.
Let’s
learn that
Let’s look at how Present Continuous Tense sentences are formed.
When talking about actions happen we use
Subject + Verb + Object / Adverbial
Subject + Verb + Object / Adverbial
But
If the subject is singular, or if we talk about one person, we use
Subject Singular +
Verb + S + Object / Adverbial
She visits the
beach with her family.
More examples
 |
| Vihanga flies kites at the beach. |
 |
| Her brother plays with a ball. |
 |
| Ice cram seller sells ice cream. |
Remember!
We also add es & ies at the
end of the verb when forming the verb in
the simple present singular form
When do we as es?
We add es when the verb ends in ss, sh, ch, & tch
Examples
Words with ss at the end
guess - guess
hiss - hiss
kiss – kiss
Words with sh at the end
brush – brush
hush- hush
flush --flush
crush – crush
Words with ch at the end
teach - teach
preach - preach
search -search
reach – reach
Words with tch at the end
patch – catch
patch – patch
match- match
fetch - fetch
We add ies when the verb ends in y
y
is changed to i and es is added if there is a consonant before y
empty – empties
hurry- hurries
Fly – flies
Carry – carries
But for verbs that end in y, s
is added at the end of the verb if there is a
vowel before y
delay – delays
play – plays
employ – employs
stay - stays
If the subject is
plural, or if we talk about more
than one person we use
Subject plural + Verb + Object / Adverbial
Samanali and Seplaika bathe in the
sea.
Kokila and Pavan play
with a ball.
More examples
Activity 2
Fill the
blanks with the present simple form of the verb. Use the verb stems in the
brackets.
1. Kurulu’s mother …………………… rolling waves.(watch)
2.
The
birds …………………. in the sky.(fly)
3.
Pavan …………… the ball. (catch)
4.
Kurulu’s father ……..…...
her brother to fly the kite.( teach)
5.
Sometimes
a child ………………. for ice-cream.(cry)
6.
Kurulu usually
…….……… to collect most beautiful shells. (try)
do not & does not
Subject + do not /does not+ Verb +
Object / Adverbial
If the subject is
singular, or if we talk about one
person, we use
Subject singular + does not+ Verb + Object / Adverbial
More
examples
|
| Vihanga does not ride a pony the beach. |
Her brother does not play with a bat.
The ice cream seller does not sell cool drinks.
If the subject is
plural, or if we talk about one
person, we use
Subject Plural + do not+ Verb + Object / Adverbial
They do not idle a single moment.
More examples
The children do not fly kites.
Kurulu and her friends do not build sand castles.
It is not an enjoyable day.
More examples
Kurulu is not sad.
Kurulu and her friends are not at the park.
The children do not fly kites.
Kurulu and her friends do not build sand castles.
When talking about something about someone or something we use
Subject +is/are + not + Compliment/Adverbial
It is not an enjoyable day.
Those castles are not very beautiful.
More examples
Kurulu is not sad.
Kurulu and her friends are not at the park.
Do the following activities
Activity 3
Change
the following sentences in to negative form.
1.
The birds
fly in the sky.
2.
Kurulu’s
mother makes sand castles.
3.
Kurulu collects
sea shells.
4.
The
ice-cream seller sells cool drinks at the beach.
5.
Vihanga
buys kites.
6.
You
build the sand castles well.
7.
I come
to the beach by my car.
8.
They
enjoy the day at the beach.
When asking about actions happen (interrogative
form) we use
Do & Does
There are two types of question that we can ask
they are
‘yes, no’ questions
‘information’ questions
‘Yes, No’ Questions
they are
‘yes, no’ questions
‘information’ questions
‘Yes, No’ Questions
We form ‘yes, no’ questions in
the present simple by adding the auxiliary
Do or Does before
the subject of the verb.
What
are ‘yes, no’ questions?
They are
the questions which get either yes or no as the answer.
If the subject is
singular, or if we ask about one person,
we use
Does + Subject Singular + Verb + Object / Adverbial
(infinitive)
(infinitive)
Does she go
to the beach every week end?
Yes, she does.
Does she go
to the beach on weekdays?
No , she does not.
If the subject is
plural, or if we ask about one person,
we use
Do + Subject Plural + Verb + Object / Adverbial
(infinitive)
Do they fly
kites at the beach?
Yes, they do.
Do the children buy ice-cream?
No, they don’t.
Is Pavan happy?
Do the following activities
When talking about something about someone or something
or expressing
being
we use
Is /Are + Subject + Compliment / Adverbial
Is Pavan happy?
Yes , he is.
Are they at the beach?
Yes, they are.
More examples
More examples
|
Are they happy.
Yes, they are happy.
Is Vihanga sad. No, he is not sad. |
Do the following activities
Activity 4
Make
questions to get the following as the answers.
- Yes, the birds fly in the sky.
- No, kurulu’s mother does not make sand castles.
- Yes, Kurulu collects sea shells.
- No, the ice-cream seller does not sell cool drinks.
- Yes, Vihanga flies a kite.
- Yes, you build the sand castles well.
- No, I do not come to the beach on weekends.
- No, the children do not sun bathe.
‘Information’ Questions
We form ‘information’ questions in
the present simple by adding a question word before the
auxiliary do
or does before the subject of the verb.
What
are ‘information’ questions?
They are
the questions which get certain information as the answer.
When asking information questions we use a question word according to the information we want.
Example
if we want to know about:
someone - Who
something - What
a place - Where
When asking information questions we use a question word according to the information we want.
Example
if we want to know about:
someone - Who
something - What
a place - Where
If the subject is
singular, or if we ask about one person,
we use
Question
word + does + Subject + Verb + Adverbial?
(infinitive)
Where does mother sit at the beach?
(infinitive)
Where does mother sit at the beach?
More examples
Where does she go with her friends every
week end?
She goes to the beach with her friends every weekend.
What does she collect
at the beach?
She collects seashells
at the beach.
If the subject is plural we use do after the question word
Question word + do + Subject + Verb + Adverbial
Where do they go every week end?
They go to the beach every weekend.
(infinitive)
Where do they go every week end?
They go to the beach every weekend.
What do the children collect at the beach?
The children collect seashells at the beach.
 Do the following activities
Activity 5
Make
questions to get the highlighted word or phrase as the answers.
1.
The
birds fly in the sky.
2.
Kurulu’s mother does not make sand castles.
3.
Kurulu
collects sea shells.
4.
The
ice-cream seller sells ice-cream at the
beach.
5.
Vihanga
buys two kites.
6.
You build
the sand castles well.
7.
I come
to the beach by my car.
8.
They
enjoy a lot because it is a sunny day.
|
Important points to remember! Simple present
tense is used to express being. Examples I am 16
years old The longest
river in Sri Lanka is Mahaweli The world’s
highest peak is Mount Everest. My
mother is a teacher They are
old students of our school. She is
a kind girl.
It also
express habitual actions or repeated actions. Examples My mother
gets up at six thirty every morning. My father
usually leaves to office at 7 o'clock. We drink tea every morning. My watch keeps good time.
It is
used in the sentences with frequency adverbials like: usually ,always, every day, rarely,
frequently, often, sometimes, never, seldom. Examples My
brother usually travels to school by bus. She
comes to School every day. It often
rains a great deal in Nuwara Eliya He seldom
speaks with his neighbours. I rarely watch TV.
Simple present
is used to express eternal truths. Examples The sun
rises in the east The earth
goes round the sun. Honey is
sweet. Moisture
causes iron to rust.
It is
used to express future schedules and arrangements. Examples The match
starts at 9 o’ clock. When
does the school reopen? The exam
finishes at 2 o’clock. This is often used in travel pans when referring to movements of
buses trains …etc. because they are regarded as habitual. Examples The bus
leaves at 10.00 o’clock. Your plane
leaves here tomorrow. We leave
Colombo at eight next Sunday. We arrive in Kandy at 10.30.
Used to tell stories of films plays and in sports commentaries Examples So then
he makes his way back to the city
and becomes a trader. Beckham
passes the ball to Owen, Owen Scores! Murali runs up and bowls.
Used in
conditional sentences. Examples If I
see Ravi I’ll ask him to come to the class. Unless
you study hard you won’t pass the exam. If it rains
they will stay at home.
It is
also used with after, before, when, until, whenever. Examples We can
start the lesson after she comes. When you
ring the bell the door opens automatically. We can’t start the lesson before the bell
rings. Wait until the teacher comes. Whenever the teacher asks something he
stammers. It is
used to make suggestions. Examples Why don’t
you read the lesson again? Let’s
do some revision activities.
Used in exclamations Examples Here comes
the train! Here we
go! Sangakkara scores!
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