Lesson 3: Every day

What do you do every day? To answer, we use the present simple. A tense is the form of a verb that tells us when something happens. The present simple is for habits, facts and things that stay true.

How to make it

For I, you, we and they, use the base verb. The base verb is the verb with nothing added: “I work”, “they live”.

For he, she and it, add -s. Think of the -s as a little tail that only he, she and it wear: “She works”. “He lives”.

Some verbs need -es: “go, goes”, “watch, watches”, “wash, washes”. When a verb ends in a consonant and y, change y to -ies: “study, studies”.

Questions and negatives

To ask a question, start with do or does: “Do you like tea?” “Does she work here?”

To say no, use do not or does not. We say “don’t” and “doesn’t”: “I don’t like coffee.” “He doesn’t play football.”

Be careful. After “does” or “doesn’t”, the tail goes away. Say “She doesn’t work”, not “She doesn’t works”.

How often?

Some words tell us how often. Learn these five: always, usually, often, sometimes, never.

They go before the main verb: “I often drink tea.” “We never eat late.”

With “be”, they go after it: “She is always on time.”

Try it

Choose the right form:

1. She (work / works) in Paris.
2. He (don’t / doesn’t) like fish.
3. We (often go / go often) to the cinema.

The answers are: works, doesn’t, often go.

Next time, we will talk about what is happening right now.