PRESENT SIMPLE AFFIRMATIVE AND NEGATIVE

ESL / EFL RESOURCES

For third-person singular verb forms in the present simple, we add -s, -es or -ies at
the end of the verb.

A. Add -s, -es or -ies to the following verbs.

1. teach ____________ 9. buzz ____________

3. run ____________ 11. sit ____________

4. push ____________ 12. guess ____________

6. do ____________ 14. worry ____________

8. go ____________ 16. have ____________

What are the spelling rules for present simple third-person singular verb forms?

For most verbs, we add _____________________________________________________

For verbs ending with a consonant and -y, we ____________________________________

For verbs ending in -s, -z, -ch, -sh, -o, or -x, we add ______________________________

For the verb 'have', we ______________________________________________________

B. Underline the correct present simple verb form in each sentence

1. My family go / goes on holiday in the summer.

What do you understand
2. I often eat / eats dinner at my friend’s house. about subject-verb
3. Emma do / does her homework in the evening. agreement in the
present simple?
4. They play / plays badminton every afternoon.
5. Harry seldom listen / listens to me. _____________________

6. My brother never watch / watches television. _____________________

_____________________

9. My dog bark / barks at night. _____________________

_____________________
11. Becky and Liz go / goes to the swimming pool every week.
_____________________
12. I never feed / feeds my cat.
13. My parents live / lives in Paris. _____________________

14. We eat / eats eggs for breakfast.

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 PRESENT SIMPLE AFFIRMATIVE AND NEGATIVE

ESL / EFL RESOURCES

C.
brackets.

1. Tom _______________ (not play) football. He likes to _______________ (play) computer

games.

3. I _______________ (wash) the dishes, but I _______________ (not put) them away.

4. They _______________ (not clean) the kitchen, before they _______________ (eat)
dinner.

5. Neil _______________ (try) to be a good boy, but he ______________ (not behave) well.

6. Sarah ______________ (brush) her hair every morning, before she ______________ (go)
to school.

7. I _______________ (not catch) a cold in the summer, but I often ______________

(catch) a cold in the winter.

8. The sun _______________ (not rise) in the west. It _______________ (rise) in the east.

9. Natalie _______________ (not sit) in the sun. She rarely _______________ (go) to the
beach.

11. Sarah _______________ (not like) swimming. She _______________ (like) playing
tennis.

12. He _______________ (not be) American. He _______________ (be) Canadian.

13. They _______________ (not do) their homework together. They _______________ (do)
it alone.

14. I _______________ (be) a student. I _______________ (not be) a teacher.

15. Class _______________ (start) at 9 o'clock. It _______________ (not start) at 8' clock.

What are the rules for negative verb forms in the present simple?

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

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 PRESENT SIMPLE AFFIRMATIVE AND NEGATIVE

ESL / EFL RESOURCES

Adverbs of frequency are often used with the present simple, because they indicate
repeated or routine actions and activities.

D. Rewrite the following present simple sentences, adding the adverb of frequency or
frequency expression in the correct position.

1. We are at home on Sunday. (often)

__________________________________________________________________________

2. I’m not busy on Monday. (usually)

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

4. My parents visit me. (once a month)

__________________________________________________________________________

5. They are happy to have guests. (always)

__________________________________________________________________________

6. We have bacon for breakfast. (sometimes)

__________________________________________________________________________

7. Birds build their nests on this roof. (every summer)

__________________________________________________________________________

8. They sing very loudly. (generally)

__________________________________________________________________________

9. Sally is late for school. (rarely)

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Where do we place adverbs of frequency in a sentence?

Sentence with the verb to be: _________________________________________________

Sentences with one main verb: ________________________________________________

Negative sentences: ________________________________________________________

Frequency expressions: ______________________________________________________

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