The Present Simple

V/Vs

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I work I do not work do I work?
you work you do not work do you work?
he/she/it works he/she/it does not work does he/she/it work?

we work we do not work do we work?

you work you do not work do you work?
they work they do not work do they work?
In the affirmative Present Simple has the same form as the infinitive but adds an -s
for the third person singular.

Spelling notes:
Verbs ending in -ss, -ch, -sh, -x and -o add -es, instead of -s alone, to form the
third form singular: he washes, watches, goes, does.
When -y follows a consonant we change the -y into -i and add -es: carry – carries,
try – tries, study –studies.
-y does not change if the verb ends in a vowel + y: play – plays, say – says.

Contractions:
do not = don’t does not = doesn’t

We use the Present Simple:

1) to talk about things in general. We use the present simple for the states, things
staying the same, facts and things that are true for a long time.
We live quite near. My friend lives in Berlin. She comes from Canada. Nurses look
after patients in hospital.

2) to talk about general truths and permanent facts about the world, laws of nature.
The earth goes round the sun. The sun rises in the East. Rice doesn’t grow in cold
climates.

3) to express habitual action, to say how often we do things. The present simple is
often used with adverbs such as: always, sometimes, usually, normally, often,
rarely, etc.
I get up at 6 o’clock every morning. He goes to the gym twice a week.

4) to express feelings and thoughts.

I want a breath of fresh air.

5) Sometimes we do things by saying something. For example, when you promise

to do something you can say I promise.
I promise to do it.
In the same way we say: I apologise... / I advise... / I insist... / I agree... / I
refuse.../ I demand (speech act verbs)

Time expressions:
always, never, occasionally, sometimes, usually, normally, often, rarely, seldom,
every day/ week/ month/ year/ morning, on Mondays, twice a year, three times a
week

I. Read and translate the sentences. Match each of them with a meaning
below.
1. Mark goes to the gym every Friday.
2. My friend doesn’t like hot weather.
3. I apologise for saying that.
4. The Earth orbits the Sun.
5. WWF is an international environmental organization.
6. Do you often go to the gym?
7. Oslo is the capital of Norway.

a) general information
b) general truth and permanent facts
c) habitual action
d) feelings and thoughts
e) saying = action

II. Complete the following texts using the necessary forms of the Present
Simple.
We use the Present Simple to tell about:
a) sciences
Biology is (be) the science of life and living things, and their evolution.
Living things include (include) plants, animals, fungi (such as mushrooms), and
microorganisms. Biology looks (look) at how animals and other organisms behave
(behave) and work (work), and what they are like. Biology also studies(study)
how organisms react (react) with each other and the environment. Biology has
(have) many research fields and branches. Like all sciences, biology uses (use) the
scientific method.

b) natural objects
 The Atlantic Ocean is (be) the world’s second largest ocean, after the
Pacific. It covers (cover) nearly 20 percent of the Earth. If you tasted water from
all the oceans, you’d find that the Atlantic is (be) the saltiest. And even though it is
(be) very old, it is (be) actually the youngest ocean. The Atlantic Ocean lies(lie)
between Europe and Africa on one side of the globe and North and South America
on the other. It reaches(reach) from the Arctic Ocean in the north to Antarctica in
the south. Like all oceans, the Atlantic has (have) large movements of water
circulating in it called “currents.” Atlantic water currents move (move) clockwise
in the northern half of the world, but counterclockwise in the southern half. The
Gulf Stream, a powerful and warm current in the North Atlantic, moves (move)
along the east coast of North America. There and elsewhere, the Gulf Stream
has(have) important effects on the weather.

c) animals
The koala is also often called the koala bear because it looks(look) like a
small bear. However, it is (be) not a bear. Its name is (be) just "koala". The koala
has (have) brownish-grey or silver-grey fur, and a big pink and/or black nose. It
has (have) sharp claws which help (help) them to climb. Koalas live (live) in
eastern Australia. Koalas are (be) mostly active at night. They live (live) in trees,
and they like not (not/ like) to be on the ground. They mostly eat (eat) leaves, bark
and fruit of some Eucalyptus trees. Koalas drink not (not/ drink) often, they get
(get) most of their water from the leaves they eat. Koalas live (live) alone most of
the time, but they have (have) a social hierarchy with the other koalas who lives
(live) near.

d) organizations
Greenpeace is(be) a non-governmental environmental organization. It has
(have) an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and
offices in over forty countries. Greenpeace states (state) its goal is to "ensure the
ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity" and focuses (focus) its
campaigning on worldwide issues such as global warming, deforestation,
overfishing, commercial whaling and anti-nuclear issues. Greenpeace uses (use)
direct action, lobbying and research to achieve its goals. The global organization
accept not (not/ accept) funding from governments, corporations or political
parties, relying on more than 2.8 million individual supporters and foundation
grants. Greenpeace receives (receive) its funding from individual supporters and
foundations.

III. Open the brackets to make the questions in the Present Simple.
1. Where do (tropical rain forests / grow)?
2. How does (time / differ) around the world?
3. How fast does (the Earth / move)?
4. Why do (volcanoes / erupt)?
5. Why are (rainforests / be) in danger?
6. What does (make) the Earth travel around the Sun?
7. What is (the tallest tree / be) in the world?
8. What do (birds / eat)?
9. When do (birds / migrate)?
10. Does (an ostrich / really / bury) its head in the sand?

IV. Complete the sentences using the Present Simple of the verbs in brackets.
1. Anthropology is (be) the study of the human race, especially of its origins,
development, customs and beliefs.
2. Economics is (be) the study of how a society organizes (organize) its money,
trade and industry.
3. Psychology is (be) the scientific study of the mind and how it influences
(influence) behaviour.
4. Chemistry is (be) the scientific study of the structure of substances, how they
react (react) when combined or in contact with one another, and how they behave
under different conditions (behave).
5. Seismology studies (study) earthquakes.
6. Branches of mathematics include(include) arithmetic, algebra, geometry and
trigonometry.
7. Arithmetic consists of (consist of) addition, subtraction, multiplication, and
division of numbers; it helps (help) you work out the change when you buy(buy)
something.

V. Complete the sentences using the Present Simple of the verbs in brackets.
1. A plant is (be) an organism that uses (use) light as a source of energy and to
produce the food they need in order to live and grow.
2. Plants range (range) in size from the giant Californian sequoias that reach(reach)
90m or more in height to the tiny duck weeds, only a few inches in length.
3. The shapes of leaves vary (vary) considerably.
4. Domestic animals return (return) to their homes.
5. Mammals have (have) a big brain, which enables (enable) them to learn quickly
from experience and retains (retain) memory so that they can undertake quite
complicated tasks such as finding a safe home and food.
6. Ferns have not (not/have) seeds, they (reproduce) by means of microscopic
spores.
7. Near the equator, the sun evaporates (evaporate) greater quantities of water.
8. Windmills for electricity generation rotate (rotate) rapidly and have (have) a
small number of vanes.
VI. Complete the text using the Present Simple of the verbs in brackets.
Ecology and food webs
Every living thing has (have) its place in nature, and ecology is (be) the study
of how things live (live) in relation to their surroundings. It is (be) a relatively new
science and is of great importance today. It helps (help) understand how plants and
animals depend (depend) on each other, and their surroundings in order to survive.
Ecology also helps (help) us work towards saving animals from extinction and
solving the problems caused by pollution. Plants and animals can be divided into
different groups, depending on their ecological function. Plants capture (capture)
the Sun’s light energy and use (use) it to produce new growth, so they are called
producers; animals consume (consume) plants and other animals, so they are called
consumers. All the plants and animals that live (live) in one area and feed (feed)
off each other make (make) up a community. The relationship between the plants
and animals in a community is called a food web; energy passes (pass) through the
community via these food webs.

VII. Open the brackets using the verbs in the Present Simple Tense.
Memory
Memory _______ (play) an important role in learning and thinking. People
_______ (have) different abilities to remember. Stress, fatigue, emotional
problems, and illness can decrease the ability to remember. General good health
_______ (contribute) to good memory. Practice also _______ (improve) memory.
For example, the more math facts you _______ (learn), the easier math facts
_______ (be) to learn. The same _______ (be) true with music. The more songs
you _______ (listen) to and _______ (learn), the easier it _______ (become).
People _______ (gather) and _______ (remember) information in different ways.
Some people _______ (remember) colours or smells or sounds. Other people
_______ (find) it easier to remember spoken words while others still _______
(remember) printed words easily.

VIII. Use the following verbs to complete the sentences. Sometimes you need
the negative.
believe eat flow go grow make connect rise tell translate

1. The earth _____ round the sun.
2. Rice _____ in Britain.
3. The sun _____ in the east.
4. Bees _____ honey.
5. Vegetarians _____ meat.
7. An interpreter _____ from one language
into another.
8. Liars are people who _____ the truth.
9. The River Amazon _____ into the
Atlantic Ocean.
6. An atheist _____ in God. 10. The Panama Canal _____ the Atlantic
and Pacific Oceans.
IX. Complete using the following:
I apologise I insist I promise I recommend I suggest
1. It’s a nice day. ________ we go out for a walk.
2. I won’t tell anybody what you said. _________ .
3. (in a restaurant) You must let me pay for the meal. __________.
4. ________ for what I did. It won’t happen again.
5. The new restaurant in Hill Street is very good. ________ it.

X. Put questions to the underlined parts of the sentences.

1. Tropical rain forests grow near the equator.
2. Perennial plants usually grow quite slowly.
3. Animals and plants need water to live.
4. Plants reproduce by passing their genetic information to descendants that
resemble.
5. Plants use a process called photosynthesis in order to change sunlight into food.
This process takes place mostly in the leaves of a plant.
XI. Ask questions of 4 types (general, special, alternative, disjunctive) to each
sentence.
1. Natural sciences include the life sciences and earth sciences.
2. Sociology studies the way humans behave together in groups.

XII. Translate into English.

1. Ботаника – это раздел биологии, который изучает растения.
2. Ему нравится наблюдать и описывать поведение животных.
3. Волга впадает в Каспийское море.
4. Пролив Ла-Манш разделяет Англию и Францию.
5. Теория Дарвина объясняет развитие жизни на планете.
6. Некоторые виды деревьев растут только в тропическом климате.
7. Его трудно понять, т.к. он часто меняет свое мнение.
8. Максим часто ездит в командировки за границу, потому что работает в
международной компании.
9. Иногда очень трудно принять правильное решение.
10. Мне всегда интересно узнавать что-то новое.