Simple present tense and adverbs of frequency 2

Simple present tense and

2 adverbs of frequency The simple present tense is also known
as the ‘present (simple) tense’.

2.1 We use the simple present tense when we talk about something that:
• is always true • is true at the time we say it

Faster!

O
Rabbits run faster than tortoises. My dog is two years old.

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• happens again and again (such as habits)

I S
A R MON WED

SUN TUE

THU SAT

FRI

Eric plays tennis every day.

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 2.2 We form sentences in the simple present tense this way:
• Verb to be (am, are, is) • Other verbs (go, come, like, etc.)

I am/I’m I
You
You are/You’re like
We
We are/We’re
They
They are/They’re happy. fish.

He is/He’s He
She is/She’s She likes
It is/It’s It

* See
Appendix 1.
For most verbs, when the subject is in the third person singular (she, John, my brother,
our school, her dog, etc.), the verb takes -s or -es.*

O
My brother goes to school on foot.

T
Compare: My friends and I go to school together every morning.

I S
2.3 We often use the simple present tense with adverbs of frequency such as always,
usually, often, sometimes, seldom and never. Normally, generally, usually, frequently and occasionally

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can also go at the beginning or at the end of the sentence.
My father always checks his email in the morning. Normally I get up at six.

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I get up at six normally.
Cindy often asks questions in class.
Often and rarely can go at the end of a sentence, especially
with very or quite.
The adverbs listed above are usually placed: My family eat out quite often.

• after the verb to be A lot (= often) goes at the end of a sentence.

My cat sleeps a lot.
Miss Wong is never angry. Some students tend to use the bare infinitive after sometimes
and always.
• before other verbs  He sometimes go jogging in the morning.

We usually watch TV at night. Therefore it might be necessary to point out that sometimes
and always are adverbs. They do not affect the rule that the
verbs take -s/-es with third person singular subjects.
Sometimes can go at the beginning or at the end of a sentence. I sometimes go shopping with May.
She sometimes goes shopping with May.
Sometimes my sister comes home after six.
Compare: He does not often go shopping
My sister comes home after six sometimes. with May.

We can also use the simple present tense with phrases such as every day, once a week,
each month and three times a year. These phrases are usually placed at the beginning
or at the end of a sentence.
Iris goes to Macau every month.
We have Sports Day each year.
Once a week, the choir practises after school.
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 Simple present tense and adverbs of frequency 2
We add ‘do/does’ before the
2.4 We form questions in the simple present tense this way:
subject and the main verb.
• Verb to be • Other verbs
subject verb
Am I late for class?
Do you play Chinese chess?
Are you in the school basketball team? subject verb

Is he your brother? Does your sister speak Japanese?

2.5 We form negative sentences in the simple present tense this way:
• Verb to be
I am not/I’m not hungry.
You are not/You’re not/You aren’t alone.

O
We are not/We’re not/We aren’t best friends.
They are not/They’re not/They aren’t in Form 1.

T
He is not/He’s not/He isn’t good at sports.

S
She is not/She’s not/She isn’t Korean.

I
It is not/It’s not/It isn’t tidy.

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• Other verbs
To form negative sentences, do not/does not is placed before the verb.

A
Amy and Sam do not/don’t like loud music.
My father does not/doesn’t often go on business trips.

Note
1 We use the base form of the main verb after do/does.
 My mother does not work at weekends.
 My mother does not works at weekends.

2 Pay attention to the position of often, always, etc. in negative sentences. They go
between do not/does not and the main verb.
 They do not always have lunch together.
 They always do not have lunch together.

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 A The pictures below show facts (i.e. things that are true). Complete the sentences about them using
the correct forms of the words provided.

1 a nurse/dress

A nurse dresses the boy’s wound.

2 the Earth/be

The Earth is round.

O
3 this bird/have

T
This bird has

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white feathers.

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cows/give

I Cows give us milk.

A some animals/sleep

Some animals sleep

through the winter.

6 a fisherman/catch

A fisherman catches fish.

7 a pilot/fly

A pilot flies a plane.

8 the twins/clean

The twins clean their teeth with

toothbrushes.
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 Simple present tense and adverbs of frequency 2

B Indicate using ’^’ where the given word or phrase on the right should be placed in sentences (1-11) below.
Sometimes there is more than one possible answer. The first one has been done for you as an example.

1 It rains when we go on holiday. (other possible answers) always

^
2 My father is^absent from work. never
Usually, the train is on time. (A comma
3 The train is^on time. is often added after usually in this case.) usually

4 Joe’s sister does yoga.^ ^

Joe’s sister does yoga. every evening

5 Anita donates blood.^ ^

Anita donates blood. twice a year

6 I^go out alone at night. seldom

7 Brian and Tim exercise at the gym.^ ^

Brian and Tim exercise at the gym. on Saturdays

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8 My mother gives me pocket money.^ ^
My mother gives me pocket money. every month

T
9 The cinema is usually full.^ ^
The cinema is usually full. at weekends

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10 Betty^plays games on her mobile phone. Betty plays games on her mobile phone. OR sometimes

I
^
Betty plays games on her mobile phone .
^
11 My dog does not^bark at people. often

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Complete the following sentences using the negative form of the verbs given in brackets.

1 Josie does not eat/doesn‛t eat (eat) beef.

2 I am not (be) interested in Maths.

3 The shop does not open/doesn’t open (open) on Tuesdays.

4 I do not enjoy/don’t enjoy (enjoy) outdoor sports.

5 They do not see/don’t see (see) each other very often.

6 My cat does not like/doesn’t like (like) milk.

7 My cousin does not live/doesn’t live (live) in Hong Kong. He lives in Shanghai.

8 What’s wrong with Oscar? He does not look/doesn’t look (look) well.

9 My sister does not play/doesn’t play (play) the guitar very well, so she is not/isn’t (be)
in the school band.

10 Jessy and Nicole are not/aren’t (be) schoolmates. They do not/don’t go (go)
to the same school.
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 D Look at the sentences on the left and write the follow-up questions using the words provided. Follow the
example.

Mrs White is our new

(1) Is she (she/be) British?
English teacher.

I don’t have a pet. (2) Are you (you/be) afraid of animals?

My sister likes taking selfies. Does she have

(3)
(she/have) a selfie stick?

I enjoy listening to music.

(4)

T O Do you like (you/like) singing, too?

I live in Tsuen Wan.

I S
R
(5) Is your home (your home/be) near the
MTR station?

My father has a car.

My cat always follows

A (6) Does he drive (he/drive) you to school?

Does it sleep
me around. That’s cute. (7) (it/sleep)
on your bed?

My grandparents are
(8) Do they exercise often? (they/exercise/often)
very healthy.

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 Simple present tense and adverbs of frequency 2

E Complete the descriptions about Ann’s daily routine with the correct forms of the words provided.

Ann (1) is my sister (be/my sister).

She (2) usually gets up (usually/get up) at
six. After breakfast she (3) takes a bus

(take/a bus) to school.

She (4) has classes (have/classes) every

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morning and afternoon, Monday to Friday. After school, she

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(5) sometimes plays basketball (sometimes/

S
play/basketball). Every Thursday evening, she

I
(6) goes swimming (go/swimming).

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She (7) often helps (often/help) our

A
mother in the kitchen. For example, she (8) usually

washes (usually/wash) the dishes after dinner.

sometimes watches TV
Later, she (9) (sometimes/
watch/TV) for a while before she starts doing her
homework. She (10) usually goes to bed

(usually/go to bed) before 10.30, but she

(11) sometimes goes to bed (sometimes/go to bed)
later than usual when she has a lot of homework to do.

At weekends, Ann (12) usually watches films

(usually/watch/films). She (13) sometimes goes

(sometimes/go) to the cinema with

her friends.

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 F Complete the following conversation using the correct forms of the words provided.

Freddy: (1) Do you go (you/go) home right after school?

Sally: No, I usually (2) stay (stay) in the library to study for an hour
or two. Then I (3) walk (walk) home.

Freddy: Then you have dinner at home?

Sally: Yes. My dad (4) makes (make) dinner and my mum

cleans share
(5)
(clean) the dishes. They (6) (share)
family duties, and I often (7) help (help) them.

O
Freddy: I see. What do you all do after dinner?

T
Sally: We sometimes (8) watch (watch) TV together. My parents

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are don’t go

I
(9)
(be) early sleepers, but I (10) (not/go)
to bed until late. I stay up chatting with friends online.

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Now complete the following paragraph about Sally using the correct forms of the words provided.

Sally (11) is (be) a hard-working student. She

(12) does (do) her homework at the library right
after school. She (13) is (be) also a good daughter,
and she (14) helps (help) her parents at home. She
(15) is (be) busy with housework and studies every
day, but she still (16) finds (find) time to socialize
with her friends. They (17) see (see) each other at
school in they day, and they (18) chat (chat) online
at night.

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 Simple present tense and adverbs of frequency 2

USING THE LANGUAGE

We often use the simple present tense to talk about something that is always true or that happens
repeatedly. We can also use it with adverbs of frequency in, for example, an article when talking
about a general situation, or a report to describe how often a group of people do something. Look
at the examples below. Note the uses of the simple present tense and adverbs of frequency in bold.

Article (excerpt)

Summer is always hot and wet in Hong Kong. It usually rains in the afternoons. Sometimes
the rain is heavy. Typhoons often visit Hong Kong in summer. They sometimes cause
flooding and landslides.

Report (excerpt)

T O
I S
According to the survey, students at our school often use their phones to surf the Internet and
check for updates on their social networks. They sometimes spend time listening to music or

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playing games too. However, they seldom make phone calls.

A
Your teacher wants you to complete the following short article about teenage pastimes to practise
using the simple present tense and adverbs of frequency. Rearrange the words given in brackets to
complete the sentences. Write the rest of the article in your own words. Do not write more than 40 words.

Free time fun

teenagers usually surf the Internet
In their free time, (teenagers/surf/usually/the Internet),

play games or chat on social media. They usually like to listen to music (they/like to/

music/usually/listen to) or watch TV series on their phones. Sometimes they go to different interest classes/

They sometimes go to different interest classes (different/they/go to/sometimes/interest classes) after school.

At weekends, they often go shopping (they/go shopping/often) or watch films with friends

or family. When the weather is good, some of them like going to the beach, while others like going hiking or camping.

They are always ready for fun but they never feel tired.

(accept all reasonable answers) 15

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