Simple Present Tense

Simple Present Tense
Daily Grammar Sentences

Instructions:  Give the student the sentences in the second column (Sentences to be Corrected).  Students write corrected sentences and turn them in to the teacher to be checked.

Theme: Class/School Schedule	Sentences to be corrected	Corrected Sentences
Monday	We learns math at 10:00.  I no make mistakes.  Does they practice?	We learn math at 10:00. I don't make mistakes. Do they practice?
Tuesday	The class read at 9:00.  We no write at 9:00.  You like the story?	The class reads at 9:00. We don't write at 9:00. Do you like the story?
Wednesday	They no go to P.E. on Wednesday.  Does they uses computers on Wednesday?  I sings on Wednesday on 1:00.	They don't go to P.E. on Wednesday. Do they use computers on Wednesday? I sing on Wednesday at 1:00.
Thursday	I eats at 11:30.  You no do play at 12:15.  When school end?	I eat at 11:30. You don't play at 12:15. When does school end?
Friday	We go to the library on Thursday?  I checks out a book.  You no brings the book home.	Do we go to the library on Thursday? I check out a book. You don't bring the book home.

Assessment can be made on three levels in Daily Grammar Sentences:

1. Did the student recognize the mistake?
2. Can they fix it?
3. Can they produce a sentence using that grammar point in free speech?

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Activity
Summer Fun
Type of Activity:  Independent
Materials Needed:  Cassette tape and recorder, verb vocabulary cards
Directions for student:
Imagine a fun weekly schedule for this summer and make a tape.  For example:  On Mondays I go to the beach.  On Tuesdays, I talk to my friends on the phone.  On Wednesdays, I eat pizza. You can only use each verb once.

Next, make a tape of a fun weekly summer schedule for your pet kangaroo!

Assessment:   Through teacher observation, based on the quality of sentences produced.

A Teacher’s Summer?
Type of Activity:  Independent
Materials Needed:  Cassette tape and recorder, verb vocabulary cards
Directions for student:
Make some questions for your teacher about his/her summer schedule.  What do you think they do?  For example: On Mondays do you visit the classroom?

Assessment:   Through teacher observation, based on the quality of sentences produced.

(Note to Teacher:  You can give selections so that the student can guess which activities go with which days.  This can also be expanded into a partner game where each player tries to guess the other's weekly schedule.  Note that the activities must be agreed upon beforehand otherwise the students could be guessing indefinitely.)

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Grammar Explanation

Verb conjugation with the simple present is a bit less complex than the auxiliary system.   The only form that changes is third person singular. Often it is helpful to show the students a chart of the conjugations:
 

	singular	plural
first person	I swim	we swim
second person	you swim	you swim
third person	he swims she swims it swims	they swim

Start with  with familiar verbs.  Note that there is a difference between transitive and intransitive verbs.  Often there is no difference in the difficulty comprehending these two types of sentences, as long as the learner knows the words being used.  However, when working on production, it is sometimes easier to start with intransitive verbs (the sentences are simply shorter). Also note that it is sometimes difficult to present a realistic context for simple present tense without adding a time specification to the sentence:

Intransitive:

I swim on Tuesday .
He watches TV every day.

Transitive:

She eats lunch at 12 o'clock.
We study math before lunch.

Somewhat more complicated are the verbs that take arguments with argument marking prepositions :

They listen to CDs after school.
She talks to her friend on the phone on Saturday.

Note that there are irregular verbs: I go - She goes, I have - He has Another chart may be helpful for negation and questions (do changes form for third person singular):
 

	singular	plural
first person	I do	we do
second person	you do	you do
third person	he does she does it does	they do

  Negation involves the introduction of the auxiliary do:

He doesn't read the newspaper at night.
We don't make breakfast every day.

Questions
Yes/No questions
These are formed by putting the auxiliary verb do at the beginning of the sentence.

Do you go to school on Sunday?
Does she play basketball?

5Ws
Question words are placed at the beginning, before the auxiliary.  Note that, as in a yes/no question, the auxiliary is before the rest of the sentence.  The word do must be added after the subject.

What does she do after school?  She listens to the radio.