We form positive and negative statements in the simple present tense with the verb ‘to be’ (is/am/are)like this.
verb ‘to be’
Subject
Positive (+) Negative (-)
I am (‘m) am not (‘m not)
e.g. I am twelve years old. e.g. I am not twelve years old.
We
You (singular)
are (‘re) are not (aren’t)
You(plural)
They
e.g. We are very good students. e.g We are not very good students.
You are a handsome boy. You are not a handsome boy.
You are my friends. You are not my friends.
He
She is (‘s) is not (isn’t)
It
e.g. He is the class monitor. e.g. He is not the class monitor
She is my sister. She is not my sister.
It is a lovely dog. It is not a lovely dog.
Exercise 1
Fill in these sentences using the correct form of the verb ‘to be’ and the words in the brackets. Then write the
words in the blanks.
1. I_____________ happy.(not) 2. He _________ sad.
3. You _____________ Japanese.(not) 4. We __________ Chinese.
5. They ____________ busy.(not) 6. Tigers _________big cats.
7. Cheung Chau __________ in Kowloon. 8. His name ______ Billy..
(not)
9. We _______ good friends. 10. She ______ my mother.
11. You ______ the monitor. 12. I ______ thirteen years old.
13. He ______ 2 years old.(not) 14. They ______ good football players.(not)
Subject Subject
I/We/You/You/They He/She/It
I eat ice-cream. He eats ice-cream.
You eat ice-cream. She eats ice-cream.
Positive (+) We eat ice-cream. It eats ice-cream.
They eat ice-cream.
Exercise 2
Say these sentences using the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Then write the words in the
blanks.
(1) Susie ______________ shopping in Causeway Bay.(love)
(2) Causeway Bay ____________ very busy.(be)
(3) Betty _______________________ early.(not get up)
(4) I ______________________ fruit.(not like)
(5) School always _____________ at eight o’clock in the morning.(start)
(6) We usually _________________ at school at half past seven.(arrive)
(7) The dog ________________ me. (like)
(8) Henry ___________ a nice school bag.(have)
(9) She ________________ television every night. (not watch)
(10) I ____________________ that dress.(not like)
Go/ Do +es
Exercise 3
Say these sentences using the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Then write the words in the
blanks.
1. Sam __________(wash)his face every day.
2. Susie ___________(kiss)Mum every night.
3. Dad often _____________(carry)Susie’s books.
4. Nick ___________(cook) dinner for his family every evening.
5. He ____________ (brush)his hair every morning.
6. May often ____________ (read)books.
7. Kitty ____________ (wash) the dishes every night.
8. My bird __________(fly) beautifully.
9. The dog __________(like) eating bones.
10.My baby sister ___________(cry) every night.
11.Jenny always ___________(do) her homework on time.
12.Vincent _____________(love) Flora.
13.Ron_________(take) his dog for a walk every afternoon.
14.Mable usually___________(buy) vegetables at the market.
15.The lion __________(run) very fast.
I I
You You
You have a good book. You do not (don’t) have a good book.
We We
They They
He He
She has a good book. She does not(doesn’t) have a good book.
It It
Exercise 4
Say these sentences using the correct form of the verb ‘to be’ or ‘to have’ and the word in
brackets. Then write the words in the blanks.
1. He ___________(have/not) any brothers.
2. Betty _____________(have) one sister.
3. Yuki ______________(have/not) a very nice dress.
4. The cat _____________(have) a very good place to live at.
5. They ___________(have/not) a very big house.
6. We _______________(have) a very kind class teacher.
7. Peter and Jason _____________(have) a powerful computer.
8. I __________(have) 5 members in my family.
9. She __________(have/not) long hair.
10.He ___________(have) white teeth.
11.Sally ___________(have) 6 members in her family. She _____________(have) 3 sisters but
she __________(have/not) any brothers. Sally __________(have) short hair bur all her
sisters ___________(have) long and straight hair. Sally and her sisters ___________(have)
a pet cat called Dolly.
The simple present tense is used to talk about general truths. It is also used to talk about time-
tabled future events. Unlike other tense forms, the simple present tense has a special –s marking
when the subject is a singular noun or a third person pronoun. Fill in the blanks with appropriate
A goes B go C going
33. The council workers _________ the tall grass near my house every month.
34.Tim’s dog always ________ the cats which look for food behind his house.
13. People around the globe _________ the tsunami victims in Japan.
19. James __________ when the fire broke out last night.
A sleeping B is sleeping C was sleeping
23. The children __________ under the tree last night while I was doing my work.
24. My uncle ___________ with his friend at the café the whole day, yesterday.
25. The chef ___________ the food when the manager came into the kitchen.
27.Two days ago, I saw Johanes _________ the big drain in front of his house.
29.Miss Tammy ___________ with joy when she was informed of a salary increase.
31.The girls __________ when the headmaster caught them in the school toilet.
32.The boys were ___________ playing video games the whole evening.
34.Maxis Mobile ___________ away free promo pack yesterday at the Beach Mall, Penang.
A giving B were giving C was giving
35. The lamb was __________ in the field when the wolf pounced on it.
36.Jerry was __________ his father last week to fix the house fence.
43. Michelle __________ a fever, so she can’t go to the cinema with us.
46. The accident __________ a massive jam along the North-South highway.
47. We will __________ a torch light for light once we enter the cave.
48.She will __________ healthy food once she is discharged from the hospital.
49.Jenny will _________ me with the school choir practice after school.
A helping B be helping C helps
50. The Catamaran will be ____________ a round trip around the world in 80 days.
4.____________the children were scolded by their mother for breaking the flower vase.
9.The police managed to catch ___________ the snatch thief and the burglar on the same day.
10. I plan to take ______________ the car and motorbike test at the same time.
18. ________ Danny ______ Cindy got chosen into their school badminton team.
19. _________ Ally _______ the girls are going to the book fair tomorrow.
20. Maniam likes to gamble. He sold off ____________ his cars __________ his house to pay his debts.
21. ___________ David __________ his brother like to play violent video games.
22.I am not sure ___________ to take a business course ___________ an accounting course.
23. You have two choices. ___________ to go to America _________ to Australia for further studies.
25. You must finish this job ___________ by hook __________by crook.
26. Suzie and Billy are planning to have __________ their wedding _________ reception on the same day.
27.We must not ____________ eat __________ talk at the same time.
28. The children aren’t allowed ___________ to watch tv _________ play video games during school days.
A both...and B either...or C neither...nor
29. Betty’s doctor advised her _____________to eat sea food ________ to drink caffeinated beverages.
31. ______________ the school authorities __________ the PTA were grilled by government officials.
33. Mr. Lee is _____________rich ___________ has many properties. He is just an average income earner.
34.You can __________ walk _________ take a taxi to the shopping complex, it’s not that far.
35. I have eaten curry me and tomyam before. __________ are spicy __________ yummy.
36.He is upset because nobody __________ listens __________ pays any attention to him.
A is B has C have
A is B was C are
39. Both mother and child _________ reported missing in the newspaper.
40. Both of you ___________ solved the first puzzle, you can move on to the next round.
41.I am not sure if either Sam or his friends ________________ coming for the party.
44. I am not sure when to check in at the hotel. It _________ either at 12.00p.m or at 2.00p.m.
A is B are C has
A is B have C has 46.The rats ____________ scared of either the cat or the dog.
A is B are C were
48.Neither Ram nor his friends ___________ any attention in the class.
49.I forgot to take both _________ identification card and my driving license.
A mine B my C I
50. Neither my father nor my uncle ________ fit to go mountain climbing anymore.
A is B are C were
CONJUNCTIONS
A and B but C so
A and B but C so
A and B but C or
4.The children were wet ____________ dirty after playing in the rain.
A and B but C or
A and B but C so
A and B but C so
A and B but C or
9.The snatch thief tried to snatch the old lady’s necklace_______ he couldn’t.
A and B but C so
10.Chin Wen plays basketball well, ______ her favorite sport is tennis.
13. Mr. Yamaguchi lost all his material goods in the tsunami _________ his family is safe.
A and B but C so
15.The Kampong Bening villagers saw a tiger ____________ quickly alerted the authorities.
16.You can study hard for this exam _________ you can fail.
A and B but C or
17.Our class teacher asked us to sweep ___________ mop the class floor.
A and B but C so
18. __________ Jimmy _______ Salim is not going to the party tonight.
19. _________ the boys _______ the girls are going to the book fair also.
22.I am not sure ___________ to take a business course ___________ an accounting course.
24. Nathan lost ___________ his money _________his family due to his gambling habit.
25. We can still reach our destination on time ______________ we start our journey late.
26.Johnny was late ________ school __________ it was raining heavily just now.
A until B for C to
28.You can come to the meeting _______________ you don’t say anything.
A so B as long as C and
29.Doctor advised Sam to rest for a month _____________ he can fully recover.
A and B while C as if
33.____________ Mr. Lee is rich ___________ very kind and helpful to the people in need.
34.The boys are not allowed to go out __________ they have finished all their chores.
A until B and C so
35. Take the umbrella just __________, who knows it might rain later.
A so B in case C that
A so B while C that
A how B if C although
39. The policeman managed to catch the thief __________ the thief fell down.
40. _________ you have solved the first puzzle, you can move on to the next round.