Grammar: The Simple Present Tense

Topic: The Simple Present Tense

Lead in task: What do you do every morning?

-I brush my teeth.

-I say my prayer

-I do some chores.

Objectives: By the end of the lesson, students will effectively use the simple present tense to talk about the activities they carry out always.

Introduction: We use the simple present tense to talk about habitual actions ( what we do frequently). Or what is happening at the moment (now). It could be undoubted facts for example “the sun rises in the East”.,or simply activities we carry out daily. For example, “ everyday I go to school”.

 

Rules Governing the Simple Present Tense

Rule1: When a verb ends with sh, ch, ss, s, o or x we add -es to the third person singular. When this is done, the syllable of the word increases by one.

Examples:

I crush

You crush

He/she/it crushes

We crush

You crush

They crush

 

I fetch

You fetch

He/she/it fetches

We fetch

You fetch

They

 

Rule 2: when a verb ends with y preceded by a consonant, we delete the y and add -ies to the third person singular.

Examples:

I rely

You rely

He/she/it relies

We rely

You rely

They rely

 

I carry

You carry

He/she/it carries

We carry

You carry

They carry

 

Rule 3: When a verb ends with y preceded by a vowel, we simply add -s to the third person singular.

Examples:

I buy

You buy

He/she buys

We buy

You buy

They buy

 

I pay

You pay

He/she pays

We pay

You pay

They pay

 

Rule 4: Apart from the rules above, if a verb ends with any other letter, add -s to the third person singular.

Examples:

I laugh

You laugh

He/she laughs

We laugh

You laugh

They laugh

 

I see

You see

He/she/ it sees

We see

You see

They see

 

Exercise: Change the verbs in brackets into their appropriate forms.

1)    John (to do) his assignments on time.

2)    You (to watch) the game with so much bias.

3)    She (to play) with her friends in the field.

4)    We ( to cook) rice every Sunday.

5)    The dog (to pass) by my door often.

6)    I (to be) an extrovert.

• 7)    They ( to take) good care of us whenever we visit.