Unit 1: Simple Present & Present Progressive

Todd Windisch, Summer 2015

Parts of Speech

• What are the parts of speech in English: • Nouns (people, places, things)

• Pronouns (I, she, he, they, we, it, etc.)

• Verbs (actions)

• Adjectives (describe nouns)

• Adverbs (describe verbs)

• Articles (a, an, the)

• Prepositions (to, at, in, on, etc.)

What Are the Parts of Speech?

• Paris is a beautiful city.

• James always drives to school.

• The teacher drinks cold water from a bottle.

• Red pens write well.

Basic Sentence Structure

• All sentences in English have a subject and a verb!

• Sometimes, a sentence has an object after the verb • These parts of a sentence are different from the parts of speech

• A subjects and objects are usually nouns! • I eat breakfast.

• If there is a preposition, that is not an object • I ate at the restaurant.

• I ate lunch at the restaurant.

What Are the Parts of a Sentence?

• Paris is a beautiful city.

• James always drives to school.

• The teacher drinks cold water from a bottle.

• Red pens write well.

Simple Present

• Simple Present • Sub + verb(s)

• General truths & habitual actions

• EXAMPLE: Leland goes to the store.

• Are these sentences general truths or habitual actions? • People use the Internet to stay in touch with friends.

• After dinner every night, Elena gets out her laptop.

• The sky is blue.

• The class takes quizzes on Thursdays.

Forming the Simple Present

• I like base form

• You like base form

• He/She/It likes base form-s

• We like base form

• They like base form

Irregular Verbs

• What are the three forms of a verb you need to learn? • Base form, simple past, past participle

• Which one does simple present use? • Base form!

• There are some verbs that do not follow the regular rules

• These are irregular verbs!

• The most important ones to know are: be, have, do, go • How do we conjugate these?

Adverbs of Frequency

• Adverbs of frequency express how often you do something • I always watch TV after I get home from work.

• Which word is the adverb of frequency?

• These usually BEFORE the main verb of the sentence • I usually call my mom on the weekend.

• How often is this?

• I sometimes cook my lunch. • How often is this?

Usually and Sometimes

• Some adverbs of frequency can ALSO go at the beginning of a sentence (with a comma) • The most common ones are: usually and sometimes

• Usually, I call my mom on the weekend.

• Sometimes, I cook my lunch.

The List of Adverbs of Frequency

• 100%

• 0%

• Always

• Usually

• Often

• Sometimes

• Rarely/Seldom

• Hardly ever

• Never

Your Turn!

• What’s your regular schedule on a Tuesday? • I usually wake up at 6:00.

• I always brush my teeth after I wake up.

• Sometimes, I make breakfast.

• Etc.

• Share the things you do every day or every week with a partner at your table

• Be ready to share with the class!

Present Progressive

• Present Progressive • Sub + be + verb-ing

• Actions in progress at the moment (not finished)

• EXAMPLE: Leland is driving to the store right now.

• We usually do not use the progressive with non-action verbs!

Forming the Present Progressive

• I am watching am + base form-ing

• You are watching are + base form-ing

• He/She/It is watching is + base form-ing

• We are watching are + base form-ing

• They are watching are + base form-ing

Action Vs. Non-Action Verbs

• Action verbs describe actions! • Drive, write, jump, perform, etc. • Often, these are things you can see happen!

• Use the simple form of an action verb to describe the action in general or a habitual action • I write articles for a psychology magazine.

• Use the progressive form to describe part of an action, or an action in progress at a specific time • Right now, I’m writing my blog.

Action Vs. Non-Action Verbs

• Non-action verbs (also called stative verbs) describe states such as: • Emotions (love, hate, like, fear, trust)

• Mental states (know, understand, remember, believe)

• Perceptions (Hear, see, think, smell, feel, sound, look)

• Possession (own, possess, have, belong)

• Wants (need, want)

Action Vs. Non-Action Verbs

• Most of the time, we use non-action verbs in the simple form and not the progressive • I know my coworker well. • I am knowing my coworker well.

• Some non-action verbs can describe both states and actions, so you must be careful! • We have a new laptop. (possess) • We’re having trouble with it. (experience)

• I think he’s a nice guy. (perception) • I am thinking about the answer. (action)

States or Actions?

• Are the following sentences describing states or actions? • Most people hardly go anywhere without an electronic device. • At least, it seems that way. • We want to be connected 24/7. • We text people on our cell phones. • Nick appears to be in love with his cell phone. • On MySpace and Facebook, you make your own page. • Teachers feel bad about banning cell phones in class. • Elena loves her e-mail. • I call my boss every day. • We need to check our bank accounts.

Practice!

• Exercise 2, p. 7 1. ‘s talking

2. ‘re taking

3. ‘re standing

4. Do you think

5. ‘re dating

6. don’t think

7. means

8. come

9. stand

1. are you doing

2. ‘m waiting

3. seem

4. ‘m working

5. ‘s talking

6. ‘s not looking

7. seems

8. doesn’t mean

Practice!

• Exercise 3, p. 8 1. is…walking

2. starts

3. has

4. walks

5. appear

1. are…shaking

2. know

3. shake

4. meet

5. do…shake