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Saturday, August 17, 2013

Simple Present Tense

1.     Simple Present


Basic Patterns:
Verbal Sentence:           Subject + Verb1
Nominal Sentence:       Subject + to be1 + Complement
-          The simple present says that something was true in the past, is true in the present, and will be true in the future. It is used for general statements of fact.
Examples:
a)      Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen.
b)      Most animals kill only for food.
c)      The world is round.
d)      She doesn’t come to the party. (Negative Verbal)
e)      I am not a student. (Negative Nominal)
f)       Do they know about this? (Interrogative Verbal)
g)      Are you ready to face the truth? (Interrogative Nominal)

-          The simple present is used to express habitual or everyday activity.
Examples:
h)      I study for two hours every night.
i)        My classes begin at nine.
j)        He always eats a sandwich for lunch.

-          She do or she does?
In the simple present tense, if the object of a sentence is the singular third person pronouns, then the verb must be added with –s/-es (in present perfect tenses, have becomes has). The singular third person can be defined as someone who is being talked in a sentence. They are: She, He, It, One, proper name and any singular countable and non-countable noun, e.g. John, Peter, salt (NC), sugar (NC), sun, etc. (read appendix 2 to learn how to convert an infinitive into present singular form)
Examples:
k)      Salt consists of sodium and chloride.
l)        John usually comes to my house every weekend.
m)   Peter resembles his father.

-          Certain verbs are not used in the continuous / progressive tenses. With these verbs, the simple present may indicate a situation that exists right now, at the moment of speaking.
Examples:
n)      I have only a dollar right now.
Not: I am having only a dollar right now.
o)      I don’t recognize that man.
Not: I am not recognizing that man.
p)      He needs a pen right now.

Not: He is needing a pen right now.

continue to Present Perfect Tense

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