A1 · Grammar
The present simple
After this page you can talk about habits, routines and facts and use the -s form with he, she and it (-es, -ies, has).
Rules
1.
When do you use the present simple?
- I get up at seven every day.
- Tom works in a bank in Cardiff.
- The shop opens at nine.
- We live in a small flat.
Use the present simple for habits and routines: things you do again and again. Use it also for facts: things that are true for a long time.
Time words
- every day · every morning · every week · every year
- on Mondays · at the weekend · in the evening
- once a week · twice a month · three times a day
Time words usually go at the end: I call my mother every Sunday.
Habits, routines and facts → present simple.
every day, on Mondays, at the weekend → present simple.
2.
he, she, it: verb + -s
- I drink tea. Anna drinks coffee.
- You live in Leeds. Ben lives in York.
- The bus leaves at 8:15.
- My parents work in a hotel.
With he, she and it, add -s to the verb. With I, you, we and they, the verb has no -s.
work
- I work · you work · he, she, it works
- we work · you work · they work
One person or one thing (Anna, my brother, the shop) is he, she or it: -s. Two or more (Anna and Tom, my parents) is they: no -s.
he, she, it → verb + s: she works
they → no -s: my parents work
3.
Spelling: -s, -es or -ies
- Sofia watches the news every evening.
- Marek goes to the gym on Fridays.
- The baby cries at night.
- Ahmed plays football at the weekend.
Most verbs add -s. After s, sh, ch, x and o, add -es. After a consonant + y, change the y to -ies.
he, she, it
- most verbs + s: work → works · live → lives
- s, sh, ch, x, o + es: miss → misses · wash → washes · watch → watches · fix → fixes · go → goes · do → does
- consonant + y → ies: study → studies · carry → carries
- vowel + y → s: play → plays · buy → buys
watch → watches · go → goes · study → studies
play → plays: a vowel before the y, so only -s.
4.
have → has
- I have two children.
- Lucy has a new job.
- Our flat has a big kitchen.
- Tom has a shower every morning.
The verb have is irregular. With he, she and it, it is has, not haves.
have
- I, you, we, they have
- he, she, it has
Routines often use have: have breakfast, have lunch, have a shower. The verb to be (am, is, are) has its own forms: you know them from another lesson.
he, she, it has (not: haves)
She has lunch at one. · They have lunch at one.
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