230 Part IV: The Grammar You Need to Know – and How to Teach It
The present simple really is as easy as it sounds. Unlike many languages, in
English regular verbs don’t have to change much for each subject pronoun (I,
you, he, she, it, we or they).
✓ 1st person singular: I like
✓ 2nd person singular/plural: You like
✓ 3rd person singular: He/she/it likes
✓ 1st person plural: We like
✓ 3rd person plural: They like
As soon as the students have learnt the verb ‘to like’ or any other regular
verb, they’re ready to get started with the present simple, as long as they
remember to use ‘s’ or ‘es’ at the end of the verb in the third person.
I list first, second and third person singular and plural so that you can identify
which is which. However, the only one you commonly need to correct in TEFL
is third person singular because students often forget to use ‘s’ at the end of a
verb in the present simple.
It’s unwise to bombard students with grammar jargon. Just use what’s neces-
sary to explain the point. So referring to he/she/it is clearer than saying third
person singular.
The tricky part for students is the negative and question forms where you
use ‘do’, ‘does’ and ‘don’t’. In the negative, you put ‘do not’ and ‘does not’
before the main verb.
I, you, we, they don’t/do not like: What do I/you/we/they like?
He, she, it doesn’t/does not like: When does he/she like to drink beer?
We teach the verb ‘to be’ separately as it behaves in a different way in the
positive, negative and question forms:
I am/’m (not) here.
You/we/they are/’re (not) here.
He/she/it is/’s (not) here.
Am I here?
Are you/we/they here?
Is she here?