Simple Present form (Level A1)

Verb to be

100

Contractions or short forms

We use ‘m, ‘s and ‘re with personal pronouns (I, you, he, etc.).  we can also use ‘s with names.

200

Contractions in short answers, yes or not? 

We can only use contractions in negative short answers. Not in positive short answers. 

• Yes, I am. (NOT Yes, I’m.)
• Yes, she is. (NOT Yes, she’s.)
• Yes, they are. (NOT Yes, they’re.)

300

present simple form of verb to ve

He/she/It : is (We use he for a man, she for a woman, and it for a thing). 

I: am (First person)

They, we, you: are (We use they for people and for things)

400

Questions with am/is/are

When the verb in the sentence is be, we use am/is/are as the auxiliary verb before the subject. Then the word order is QWAS: (Question Word) + Auxiliary (am/is/are) + Subject

500

We use the verb be to talk about:

• Who we are: I‘m Steven, and this is Isabella. And this is my daughter, Alicia.
• Age: I‘m 24 years old, and my father is 50. 
• Job: I‘m a teacher, and my wife is a doctor. 
• Nationality: Alex is from Ireland, and Sonia is from Spain.
• Feelings: I‘m scared. She is very tired. 
• Colour: Our dog is black. His eyes are blue.
• Prices: It‘s seven pounds. This T-shirt is twenty dollars.  
• The weather: It‘s sunny today. It is very cold this morning. 
• The time: What time is it? It‘s ten past four. 
• Descriptions in general: He is very short and thin. The cars are old and cheap. 

Simple present form

100

When do we use the auxiliary verb "Do"?

For the present simple we need to use the verb do/does in questions and don’t/doesn’t in negatives.

The form is the same for all the other persons except he/she/it. The spelling for he/she/it is different.
   

200

When do we use the simple present form ?

We use present simple for habits or actions that we repeat regularly, 

Permanent situations or things that are always or often true

300

Spelling rules

We use the base form of the verb, and add -s for the third person.

400

Word order in present simple questions

The order of words in an English question in present simple is: QWASI: 

(Question Word) + Auxiliary + Subject + Infinitive.

500

Questions with do/does

When we have a verb that is not be, we use do/does as the auxiliary verb.
 
We use does with he/she/it and do with I/you/we/they. Remember that the main verb after the subject is in the infinitive form (NO -s or -es).

Modal Can

100

can, can’t – Infinitive form

We use can + infinitive without to.

200

Can form

Can is an auxiliary verb and has a negative and interrogative form. We don’t use do/don’t to make questions and negatives.

300

can, can’t – use for Ability

We use can/can’t to talk about ability in the present (=things that we know how to do).

400

can, can’t – use for Possibility

We use can/can’t to ask for permission or to say if something is possible or not.

500

can, can’t – Ask for something

We use can/can’t to ask for something and to order in bars, restaurants, shops, etc. or permission

Demostratives

100

this, these

We use this and these for things that are here (near). This is singular and these is plural.

200

that, those

We use that and those for things that are there (not near). That is singular and those is plural.

300

there is, there are – use

We use there is, there are to say that something exists or We often use there is, there are to say where something is. 

there is + singular / there are + plural

400

Short forms

The short form of there is is there’s, but we don’t use a short form of there are. There’s is not used in short answers.

In negative sentences, we often use the short forms there isn’t/there aren’t

500

Countable nouns

a/an + singular countable noun

 
We CANNOT use a singular countable noun without a determiner like a/an or the.

some/any

 
We use some and any before countable plural nouns or singular uncountable nouns.

Basic word order

100

1st(First)

Subjetc

We always need a subject before the verb. In English, we normally need to include the subject in a sentence. The subject goes before the verb.

The subject goes before the verb.

200

2nd(Second)

verb

The subject goes before the verb.  We can put an adverb of frequency between the subject and the verb. BUT adverbs of frequency go after the verb when the verb is be.

300

3rd(Third)

object

When there is an object in the sentence, we need to put it after the verb. Verb and object are together.

400

4th(Fourth)

place (where)

We normally say ‘where’ and ‘when’ something happens in this order.

500

5th(Fifth)

Time (when)