The Concept of Simple Present Tense

For example: 1 I am not a student. Noun 2 You are not a teacher. Noun 3 He is not diligent. Adjective 4 She is not clever. Adjective 5 They are not at the second floor. Adverb of place 6 We are not in the kitchen. Adverb of place c. Interrogative Statement Interrogative statement in simple present tense is formed by adding do or does at the first place in a sentence. The formula is: Firstsecond singularplural person Third singular person For example: 1 Do you read a novel everyday? 2 Do we read a novel everyday? 3 Do they read a novel everyday? 4 Does he read a novel everyday? 5 Does she read a novel everyday? In the interrogative sentence of simple present tense of to be is formed by adding to be at the first place in a sentence. The formula is: For example: 1 Are you a teacher? Noun 2 Are they at the second floor? Adverb of place 3 Are we in the kitchen? Adverb of place S + to be + not + Complement      Do + Subject + Verb1 + ....? Does + Subject + Verb1 + ....? To be + S + Complement      d. Adverb of Frequency Adverbs of frequency modify verbs or adjectives. Adverbs of frequency tell us how often the activities happen. The adverbs of frequency are always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, and never. Those adverbs are used in simple present tense to indicate frequency. Here are the examples and the percentage of time of adverbs of frequency: 6 1 I always walk in the morning. 100 2 Julia usually walks in the morning. 3 We often walk in the morning. 4 You sometimes walk in the morning. 5 Mel and Sue rarely walk in the morning. 6 Satoshi never walks in the morning. Commonly, adverbs of frequency are put after to be or before all other verbs. For example: 1 Ted is always late. 2 Susan always comes late. e. The Rules of Spelling There are additional of –s and –es for singular pronouns’ verbs. Here are the rules of the final –s and –es: 1 For verbs end in voiceless f, k, p, t, add –s to the simple form. Its pronunciation becomes s. For example: - He likes coffee. - He works. - It sleeps. 2 For verbs end in voiced b, d, g, l, m, n, r, v or vowels, add –s to the simple form. Its pronunciation becomes z. 6 Milada Broukal, Grammar Form and Function 1A, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007, p. 65.