Unit

2 Present simple (I do)

A Study this example situation:

Alex is a bus driver, but now he is in bed asleep.

He is not driving a bus. (He is asleep.)
but He drives a bus. He is a bus driver.
drive(s), work(s), do(es) etc. is the present simple:
I/we/you/they drive/work/do etc.
he/she/it drives/works/does etc.

B We use the present simple to talk about things in general. We use it to say that something happens all the
time or repeatedly, or that something is true in general:
Nurses look after patients in hospitals.
I usually go away at weekends.
The earth goes round the sun.
The cafe opens at 7.30 in the morning.
We say:
I work but he works you go but it goes
they teach but my sister teaches I have but he has
For spelling (-s or -es), see Appendix 6.

C We use do/does to make questions and negative sentences:

work? work
do I/we/you/they I/we/you/they don’t
drive? drive
does he/she/it he/she/it doesn’t
do? do
I come from Canada. Where do you come from?
I don’t go away very often.
What does this word mean? (not What means this word?)
Rice doesn’t grow in cold climates.
In the following examples, do is also the main verb (do you do / doesn’t do etc.):
‘What do you do?’ ‘I work in a shop.’
He’s always so lazy. He doesn’t do anything to help.

D We use the present simple to say how often we do things:

I get up at 8 o’clock every morning.
How often do you go to the dentist?
Julie doesn’t drink tea very often.
Robert usually goes away two or three times a year.

E I promise / I apologise etc.

Sometimes we do things by saying something. For example, when you promise to do something,
you can say ‘I promise … ’; when you suggest something, you can say ‘I suggest … ’:
I promise I won’t be late. (not I’m promising)
‘What do you suggest I do?’ ‘I suggest that you …’
In the same way we say: I apologise … / I advise … / I insist … / I agree … / I refuse … etc.

4 Present simple and present continuous ➜ Units 3–4 Present tenses for the future ➜ Unit 19
 Unit
Exercises 2
2.1 Complete the sentences using the following verbs:
cause(s) close(s) connect(s) go(es) live(s) speak(s) take(s)
1 Tanya speaks German very well. 5 My parents in a very small
2 Ben and Jack to the same flat.
school. 6 The Olympic Games place
3 Bad driving many accidents. every four years.
4 The museum at 4 o’clock on 7 The Panama Canal the
Sundays. Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
2.2 Put the verb into the correct form.
1 Julia doesn’t drink (not / drink) tea very often.
2 What time (the banks / close) here?
3 I have a car, but I (not / use) it much.
4 Where (Maria / come) from? Is she Spanish?
5 ‘What (you / do)?’ ‘I’m an electrician.’
6 Look at this sentence. What (this word / mean)?
7 David isn’t very fit. He (not / do) any sport.
8 It (take) me an hour to get to work in the morning. How long
(it / take) you?
2.3 Complete the sentences using these verbs. Sometimes you need the negative.
believe eat flow go grow make rise tell translate
1 The earth goes round the sun. 7 An interpreter
2 Rice doesn’t grow in cold climates. from one language into another.
3 The sun in the east. 8 Liars are people who
4 Bees honey. the truth.
5 Vegetarians meat. 9 The River Amazon
6 An atheist in God. into the Atlantic Ocean.
2.4 You ask Lisa questions about herself and her family. Write the questions.
1 You know that Lisa plays tennis. You want to know how often. Ask her.
How often do you play tennis ?
2 Perhaps Lisa’s sister plays tennis too. You want to know. Ask Lisa.
your sister ?
3 You know that Lisa goes to the cinema a lot. You want to know how often. Ask her.
?
4 You know that Lisa’s brother works. You want to know what he does. Ask Lisa.
?
5 You’re not sure whether Lisa speaks Spanish. You want to know. Ask her.
?
6 You don’t know where Lisa’s grandparents live. You want to know. Ask Lisa.
?
2.5 Complete using the following:
I agree I apologise I insist I promise I recommend I suggest

1 Mr Evans is not in the office today. I suggest you try calling him tomorrow.
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 said. I shouldn’t have said it.
5 The new restaurant in Baker Street is very good. it.
6 I think you’re absolutely right. with you.

5
Unit
72 a/an and the
A Study this example:

Joe says ‘a sandwich’, ‘an apple’ because this is

I had a sandwich and an apple
for lunch.
the first time he talks about them.
The sandwich wasn’t very good, Joe now says ‘the sandwich’, ‘the apple’
but the apple was nice. because we know which sandwich and
which apple he means – the sandwich and
the apple he had for lunch.

JOE

Compare a and the in these examples:

A man and a woman were sitting opposite me. The man was American, but I think the
woman was British.
When we were on holiday, we stayed at a hotel. Sometimes we ate at the hotel and
sometimes we went to a restaurant.

B We use the when we are thinking of a specific thing. Compare a/an and the:
Tim sat down on a chair. (maybe one of many chairs in the room)
Tim sat down on the chair nearest the door. (a specific chair)
Do you have a car? (not a specific car)
I cleaned the car yesterday. (= my car)
We use a/an when we say what kind of thing or person we mean. Compare:
We stayed at a very cheap hotel. (a type of hotel)
The hotel where we stayed was very cheap. (a specific hotel)

C We use the when it is clear which thing or person we mean. For example, in a room we talk about the
light / the floor / the ceiling / the door / the carpet etc. :
Can you turn off the light, please? (= the light in this room)
I took a taxi to the station. (= the station in that town)
(in a shop) I’d like to speak to the manager, please. (= the manager of this shop)
We also say ‘(go to) the bank / the post office’:
I have to go to the bank and then I’m going to the post office.
(The speaker is usually thinking of a specific bank or post office.)
and ‘(go to) the doctor / the dentist’:
Clare isn’t well. She’s gone to the doctor.
I don’t like going to the dentist.
Compare the and a:
I have to go to the bank today.
Is there a bank near here?
I don’t like going to the dentist.
My sister is a dentist.

D We say ‘once a week / three times a day / £1.50 a kilo’ etc. :

I go to the cinema about once a month.
‘How much are those potatoes?’ ‘£1.50 a kilo.’
Helen works eight hours a day, six days a week.

144 a/an ➜ Unit 71 the ➜ Units 73–78

 Unit
Exercises 72
72.1 Put in a/an or the.
1 This morning I bought a book and magazine. book is in my bag,
but I can’t remember where I put magazine.
2 I saw accident this morning. car crashed into tree.
driver of car wasn’t hurt, but car was badly damaged.
3 There are two cars parked outside: blue one and grey one. blue
one belongs to my neighbours. I don’t know who owner of grey one is.
4 My friends live in old house in small village. There is beautiful
garden behind house. I would like to have garden like that.

72.2 Put in a/an or the.

1 a This house is very nice. Does it have garden?
b It’s a beautiful day. Let’s sit in garden.
c I like living in this house, but it’s a shame that garden is so small.
2 a Can you recommend good restaurant?
b We had dinner in very nice restaurant.
c We had dinner in best restaurant in town.
3 a What’s name of that man we met yesterday?
b We stayed at a very nice hotel – I can’t remember name now.
c My neighbour has French name, but in fact she’s English, not French.
4 a Did Paula get job she applied for?
b It’s not easy to get job at the moment.
c Do you enjoy your work? Is it interesting job?
5 a ‘Are you going away next week?’ ‘No, week after next.’
b I’m going away for week in September.
c Gary has a part-time job. He works three mornings week.

72.3 Put in a/an or the where necessary.

1 Would you like apple? Would you like an apple?
2 How often do you go to dentist?
3 Can you close door, please?
4 I have problem. I need your help.
5 How far is it from here to station?
6 I’m going to post office. I won’t be long.
7 Paul plays tennis. He’s very good player.
8 There isn’t airport near where I live.
9 Nearest airport is 70 miles away.
10 There were no chairs, so we sat on floor.
11 Have you finished with book I lent you?
12 Chris has just got job in bank in Zurich.
13 We live in small apartment in city centre.
14 There’s shop at end of street I live in.

72.4 Answer these questions. Where possible, use once a week / three times a day etc.
1 How often do you go to the cinema? Three or four times a year.
2 How often do you go to the dentist?
3 How often do you go away on holiday?
4 How long do you usually sleep?
5 How often do you go out in the evening?
6 How many hours of TV do you watch (on average)?
7 What’s the usual speed limit in towns in your country?

➜ Additional exercise 29 (page 319) 145