Present Simple

Вторник, 10 Марта 2009 г. 16:32 + в цитатник

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Use

1. Facts and generalization
2. Habits and routines
3. Permanent situations
4. State verbs (e.g. be, have, think, know) more
5. Fixed / official arrangement that we can't change

Note: Apart from all the above uses, this tense is also used in:
- Zero Conditional- If it rains, I go play football.

- First Conditional - We won't get our pocket money, if we don't pass this exam.

- In sentences after "when", "before", "till", "after", "as soon as" ("Before you leave, please take the keys").

He likes chewing gum.

The PS is also used in narrations. For example, while telling a story or joke. Read the beginning of a joke below:

A man goes to visit a friend and is amazed to find him playing chess with his dog. He watches the game in astonishment for a while

Chuck Norris bites frost
or
Chuck Norris facts aren't funny anymore

Form

The tables below show you how to create a sentence in the PS. As I mentioned above it's rather simple: you just have to know the base form of the verb (for example, go) and the performer of the action.

We need to know that because it allows us to conjugate correctly.
I eat
you eat
he eats
she eats
it eats
we eat
you eat
they eat

Positive sentences:

Subject	+	Verb
I/a dog etc.	+	work/go/make

Sharks have sharp teeth

Questions (interrogative sentences):

Questions require the auxiliary verb "to do" or, in the 3rd person singular, "does". Keep in mind that when you ask a question you don't need an -s. Compare these examples:

A:Does she like going to the mountains?
B:Yes, she does

A:Does John have a dog?
B:No, he doesn't.

Speaker 1: Ronaldinho, do you like playing football?

Ronaldinho: Yes, I do.