Simple Present
I. Forms
Positive: Subject + verb (present form) + …
Examples:
- You speak
English.
- I play
tennis.
- The train leaves
every morning at 8 AM.
- I am here
now.
Negative: Subject + do/ does + not + verb (base
form) +…
Examples:
- He does not want
to go home.
- The bus does not
arrive at 11 AM. It arrives
at 11 PM.
- Birds do not like
milk.
- I don’t ask you to give me your undivided attention.
Question: Do / does + subject + verb (base form) +…?
Examples:
- Do you speak
English?
- Does the Sun
circle the Earth?
- Do you have
your passport with you?
- Don’t you speak
English?
Note: ==> [Verb] + -s / -es in third person singular
Examples:
o She runs so fast.
o He cries loudly.
o My friend does her
homework.
II. Contracted forms
Do not = don’t,
Does not = doesn’t
III.
Short forms of answer of question begun with Do / Does.
Positive answer: Yes, subject + do / does.
Negative answer: No, subject + don’t / doesn’t
Examples:
-
Do you go to
school?
Yes, I do. or
No, I don’t.
-
Does she like reading your book?
Yes, she does. or
No, she doesn’t.
IV. Uses
Present Simple is used to express:
1. Three important meanings of the Present Simple
1a. A present habit:
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|
We use the Simple Present to
express the idea that an action is repeated or usual. The action can be a
habit, a hobby, a permanent action, a daily event, a scheduled event or
something that often happens. It can also be something a person often forgets
or usually does not do.
Examples:
o
She does not play tennis.
o
Does he play
tennis?
o
The train does not leave at 9
AM.
o
When does the train usually leave?
o
She always forgets her purse.
o
He never forgets his wallet.
o Every
twelve months, the Earth circles the Sun.
==> Present Simple also express:
i. Custom
Examples:
o
Khmer New Year’s day celebrates on 13 April.
o
Khmer people always dress up on New Year
day.
o
They offer food, fruit and dessert to the
monks on Pchom Ben’s day.
o
The water festival of Khmer is very
popular.
ii. Present ability
Examples:
o
She speaks English as well as her own
language.
o
He plays the guitar very beautifully.
o I
can run 30 kilometers per hour.
o That
man sings the best of all.
o Bopha
types 40 words per minutes.
1b. A present
state or the fact which is true
The Simple Present can also indicate the speaker believes that a fact
was true before, is true now, and will be true in the future. It is not
important if the speaker is correct about the fact. It is also used to make
generalizations about people or things.
Examples:
o
Cats like milk.
o
Do pigs like
milk?
o
California is
in America.
o
California is
not in the United
Kingdom.
o
New
York is a small city. It is not important that this fact is untrue.
==> A fact which
is true can be:
i. a fact which is true for a long time.
-
He lives in a house with his parents
- She works as a teacher in
university.
-
She lives in Oxford.
ii. a fact which is always true.
-
My friend, Mr. John, comes from England.
- The sun rises in the east.
-
Vegetarians don’t eat meat.
1c. Present event / action or speech.
==> We also found it in
newspaper headlines or Sport commentaries
This
meaning of the Present Simple is less common; it refers to an event that
happens at the very moment of speaking, for example, when we describe what we
are saying as ‘offering’, ‘accepting’, ‘begging’.
Examples:
o
Here comes
Mr. John.
o
I beg
you to be more careful.
o
I regret that I made a mistake.
o I
accept you kind offer.
=> Note: The ‘event’ meaning of the Present Simple is found also in
i. Newspaper headlines
o Italy wins World Cup.
o Monkeys escape from London Zoo.
ii. Sports commentaries (e.g. football).
o
Liverpool wines 4 to 1.
o Gardiner passes the ball to Jones.
iii. To introduce a quotation
o The newspaper says, “………..”
o History teaches us about splendid period.
o “Cambodia
runs Asian summit smoothly,” said the minister of foreign affair of USA.
iv. In exclamation sentence
o Ouch! She steps on my foot.
o How old you are!
v. To show an action which is happening now (Non-Continuous
verbs).
==> To instead the present continuous or verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses.
Speakers sometimes use the Simple Present to express the
idea that an action is happening or is not happening now. This can only be done
with Non-Continuous
Verbs. (See State
verbs or Non- Continuous Verbs on page 134)
Examples:
o She is not here now.
o He needs help right now.
o He does not need help now.
o He has his passport in his hand.
1d. Series of events/actions
We use the
present simple to describe a series of events or actions (e.g. to give directions
or instructions) often with impersonal you:
- From
here you cross the road, go through an iron gate and follow
the path west …
=> This is similar to the imperative, but the imperative can
sound more abrupt:
- Cross the
road, go through an iron gate and follow the path west …
We use the
present simple when we want to express the immediacy of an event, e.g. in
sports commentaries, particularly when the action being described is a quick
one and is therefore over before the description finishes:
- France kicks
off, Zidane passes to Henry, Henry cuts inside …
2.
Two special meanings of the Present Simple
These meanings are called “special” because in them the
Present Simple describes not present time, but future or past time.
2a. Referring to
future time:
The
Present Simple can refer to the future [see future tense on page 104] in the
following case:
i. In describing
fixed or planned events.
==> The future action based on
schedule or timetable
Speakers occasionally use
Simple Present to talk about scheduled events in the near future (the future
action based on schedule or timetable). This is most commonly done when talking
about public transportation, but it can be used with other scheduled events as
well.
Examples:
o
The train leaves
tonight at 6 PM.
o
When do
we board the plane?
o
The party starts
at 8 o'clock.
o
Tomorrow is
Dana’s birthday.
o When does class begin tomorrow?
ii. The future action in time clause or first conditional
(The will-condition)
Form:
If + … Present Simple…, …will / won’t…
Examples:
o When I arrive
home, I will call you.
o If I pass the
exam, I will continue University.
o If I hear any more news, I’ll let you know.
o If you drop eggs
on the stone, they will be broken.
iii. Observation
and declaration
We commonly use the simple present with state and other
verbs to make observation and declaration in the course of conversation.
==> The writers and speakers think that
those events are in the present.
o I hope / assume / suppose / promise everything will
be all right.
o I bet you were nervous just before you driving test.
o I declare this exhibition open.
o It says that the police expect more trouble in the
city.
o He lives in difficult time.____ I agree.
2b. Referring
to past time.
The Present Simple sometimes refers to events in the past. This is called
the ‘Historic Present’ and is used in the telling stories. The Present simple
make a story more exciting and like real life.
i. The historic
present.
=>To describe past event to make more dramatic.
o The devil comes, she catches me, I scream
so I then wake up.
o
So she comes through the door, and he says
‘Where were you at 9 o’clock?’ she replies ‘With Jack.’ His face goes
white with anger…
o
A burglar breaks into my house last
night. I ring to the police by telling them “there is a burglar
in my house” then the police come to my house.
o There’s
an old woman with thick glasses and a name tag. I go up to her and ask
…
=> Generally, however, we prefer the Past
Simple.
o So she came through the door, and he said…
ii.
Instead of the present perfect tense.
o We hear that the leader is dead.
o I am told that he is very ill.
V. Present Simple Active / Passive
All tense in English are divided in to
two voices, Active voice and Passive voice.
How to use Active and Passive voice are
the same, but what different are: (see page 139)
a.
Active: We are interested Subject or Doer action.
b.
Passive: We are interested Object or Receiver action, and actions.
c. Form in Present Simple Active: Subject + Verb (base
form) + Object…
d. Form in Present Simple Passive: Receiver action + am/ is/ are + Past
participle (by)…
Examples:
o Once a week, Tom cleans
the car. Active
o Once a week, the car is
cleaned by Tom. Passive
o Do
police kill two steals? ACTIVE
o Are two steals killed by police? PASSIVE
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