PRESENT SIMPLE DO AND DOES

PRESENT SIMPLE

USE

1) repeated actions

My friend often draws nice posters.

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2) things in general

The sun rises in the East.

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3) fixed arrangements, scheduled events

The plane flies to London every Monday.

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4) sequence of actions in the present

First I get up, then I have breakfast.

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5) instructions

Open your books at page 34.

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6) with special verbs

I understand English.

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SIGNAL WORDS

every day, often, always, sometimes, never

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FORM

infinitive (3rd person singular he, she, it: infinitive + -s)

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EXAMPLES

Affirmative sentences:

I read books.	My brother reads books.
We sing pop songs.	She sings pop songs.
I play handball.	John plays handball.

Negative sentences:

You must not negate a full verb in English. Always use the auxiliary do for negations.

I		like	computers.
I	don't	like	computers at all.

My friend		likes	computers.
My mum	doesn't	like	computers at all.

Questions:

Use the auxiliary do.
Do you play football?
Does he play football?

The spelling of the third person singular form of the simple present:

All the verbs take an "s" in the simple present when conjugated in the third person singular (he, she, it) form:

Examples:

• I visit my parents every summer holiday. But my wife visits her parents every weekend.
• My brother meets his girlfriend everyday.

So the rule is:

He / she / it + Verb + S

There are however some special cases. Here are the spelling rules:

Silent e	Vowel + y	Consonant + y	Verbs ending in o	Verbs ending in s, z, sh, tch, ch
close = closes note = notes	play = plays say = says	study = studies marry = marries	go = goes do = does	miss = misses buzz = buzzes hatch = hatches finish = finishes teach = teaches

Examples:

• She drives to work every morning.
• He says he plays football on the weekends

Exception:

• The verb to have changes its forms as follows:
  I have two sisters and two brothers. But she has one sister and two brothers.
  I have = he / she / it has

PRACTICE:

http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-exercise-simple-present.php#.UzDaiVx6EWY
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/zeitformen.htm
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/tests/simple-present-1
http://a4esl.org/q/h/lb/psv.html 
http://www.agendaweb.org/verbs/present_simple-exercises.html