Lesson 4 - Work
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This page: Learn the affirmative, negative, and interrogative forms of the present tense in English.

She works in a restaurant.
 

The Present Tense in English
Grammar

Complete Guide

Affirmative and Negative	Interrogative
I          work. You    don't work They We	Do you work?     Yes, I do.     No, I don't.
He     works She   doesn't work It	Does he work?     Yes, he does.     No, he doesn't.

(Negative in red)

 

Video - Present Tense

Watch a video from "The English Minute" that teaches how to form the present tense in English. The English Minute (www.theenglishminute.com) is a website with short lessons that you can study on your mobile phone.

 

 

Rules for forming the present tense

Third person singular (he, she, it)

1. Add -s
   Add -s to the end of the verb to form the present tense when the subject is he, she, it or an equivalent singular noun:
       work → works
   examples:
   She works in an office.
   The book belongs to Tom.
    
2. Verbs that end in -s, -ch, -sh, -o or -x
   Add -es to form the present tense of the third person singular with verbs that end in -s, -ch, -sh, -o or -x:
       watch → watches
       go → goes
   examples:
   She watches TV in the evening.
   He goes to school every day.
    
3. Verbs that end in a consonant and then -y
   Change the -y to -i and add -es:
       study - studies
   Example:
   He studies math.

First and second person (singular and plural) and third person plural (I, you, we, they)

For I, you, we, they or equivalent nouns, the verb remains in its basic form:
    examples:
    I work every day.
    You study English.
    We play soccer on Sundays.
    They read books.

 

Exercise - Present Tense

Select the correct form of the verb.

Example
She  flowers.

1. They   walk walks to school.  
     

2. He   cook cooks well.  
     

3. They   play plays basketball in the afternoon.  
     

4. She   wash washes the dishes.  
     

5. You   work works hard.  
     

6. They   dance dances at the night club.  
     

7. The birds   fly flies in the sky.  
     

8. The children   play plays in the yard.  
     

9. Fred   play plays baseball.  
     

10. Bill and I   teach teaches classes at the university.  
     

 

Exercise

Write the verb in parentheses in the correct form.

example
She baseball. (play)

1. They  flowers in the garden. (plant) 
     

2. My wife  dinner. (cook) 
     

3. Sally  an English class. (teach) 
     

4. She  television in the evening. (watch) 
     

5. Fred  in an office. (work) 
     

6. He  to school every day. (go) 
     

7. The pilot  airplanes. (fly) 
     

8. They  every afternoon. (walk) 
     

9. He  the dishes. (wash) 
     

10. My brother  football. (play) 
     

 

Interrogative

Do you work?         I         we         they

Does he work?           she           it

 

Exercise - Interrogative

Change the sentence to a question. Make sure you have correctly capitalized the letters and added the question mark at the end.

example
He plays soccer. 

1. They walk to school.

 

2. He cooks well.

 

3. They play basketball.

 

4. She washes the dishes.

 

5. You work hard.

 

6. They dance at the night club.

 

7. The birds fly in the sky.

 

8. The children play in the park.

 

9. Mike plays baseball.

 

10. Ken and Helen teach classes.

 

 

Exercise - Sentences in the present tense

Write a sentence using the information in the table below to describe each person. Make sure to use correct capitalization and include a period at the end of each sentence.

example
taxi driver 

serve food	fix cars
take pictures	teach classes
sell things	go to court
design houses	type letters
drive a taxi	clean teeth
help patients

1.  photographer 

 

2.  mechanic 

 

3.  teacher 

 

4.  salesperson 

 

5.  waiter

 

6.  secretary 

 

7.  lawyer 

 

8.  dentist 

 

9. architect 

 

10.  nurse 

 

 

Instructions Identify the error in the following sentences and write the corrected version.     example     She are a student. → She is a student.  1. He watchs TV at night.     2. She don't speak English.     3. Does he cooks?     4. The pilot flys the airplane.     5. He dosen't play soccer.

 

Writing

Write one affirmative sentence, one negative sentence, and one question in the present tense.

Example: 
I drive to work in the morning.
I don't speak Chinese.
Do you live in Mexico?

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Listening Exercise

 

Beginning English - Lesson 4 - Work
Vocabulary - Grammar - Listening - Dialogue - Reading - Pronunciation - Dictation - Game

 

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