THE PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE WITH TO DO

THE PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE WITH TO DO

With all other verbs (verb to do), we make the present simple in the same way.

The positive is really easy. It's just the verb with an extra “s” if the subject is “he”, “she”, or “it”. 

SUB + V­­­­1 + (OBJ) (V1 = Present Simple Verb)

POSITIVE OF STUDY

I study English.

You study Chinese.

He studies Vietnamese.

She studies Thai.

It studies body language.

We study Japanese.

They study Korean.

Note: Don’t forget to add “-s” with the pronouns (he, she, it).

There are also few verbs which are irregular in the present simple:

“Have” becomes “Has”

“Do” becomes “Does”

“Go” becomes “Goes”

To make the negative form, you need to use “do not” (don't) or “does not” (doesn't). 

SUB + DO / DOES + NOT + BASE FORM + (OBJ)

NEGATIVE OF STUDY
I do not study English.	I don't study English.
You do not study Chinese.	You don't study Chinese.
He does not study Vietnamese.	He doesn't study Vietnamese.
She does not study Thai.	She doesn't study Thai.
It does not study body language.	It doesn't study body language.
We do not study Japanese.	We don't study Japanese.
They do not study Korean.	They don't study Korean.

How about the question form of the present simple tense?

We use “do” or “does” before the subject to make the “yes / no” question:

DO / DOES + SUB + BASE FORM + (OBJ)?

YES / NO QUESTIONS

Do I study English?

Do you study Chinese?

Does he study Vietnamese?

Does she study Thai?

Does it study body language?

Do we study Japanese?

Do they study Korean?

Just like with “be”, if you'd like to make a “wh” question, you just put the question word at the front: 

WH-WORD + DO / DOES + SUB + BASE FORM + (OBJ)?

Wh Questions
Where	do I study English?
What	do you study?
Why	does he study Vietnamese?
Who	does she study with?
When	do we study Thai?
How	do they study Korean?

THE SPELLING RULES OF HE, SHE, IT

The spelling for the verb in the third person differs depending on the ending of that verb:

1. For verbs that end in -O, -CH, -SH, -SS, -X, or -Z we add -ES in the third person.

For example:

go – goes

do – does

catch – catches

wash – washes

kiss – kisses

fix – fixes

buzz – buzzes

2. For verbs that end in a consonant + Y, we remove the Y and add -IES.

For example:

marry – marries

study – studies

carry – carries

worry – worries

3. For verbs that end in a vowel + Y, we just add -S.

For example:

play – plays

enjoy – enjoys

say – says

4. For other verbs except the above rules, we just add -S.

work – works

walk – walks

use – uses

paint – paints

start –starts

stop – stops

read – reads

write – writes

order – orders

look – looks

take – takes

come – comes

speak – speaks

type – types

drive – drives

ride – rides

become – becomes

begin – begins

break -- breaks

THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE “S” AT THE END OF WORDS IN ENGLISH

The pronunciation of the final S in plural words and verbs in the third person depend on the final consonant sound before that S.

The ending is pronounced /s/ after a voiceless sound, it is pronounced /z/ after a voiced sound and is pronounced /ɪz / or /əz/ after a sibilant sound:

Voiceless: helps /ps/ -- sits /ts/ -- looks /ks/

Voiced: crabs /bz/ -- words /dz/ -- gloves /vz/,

Sibilant: buses /sɪz / or /səz /, bridges /dʒɪz / or /dʒəz /, wishes /shɪz / or /shəz /

1. The /ɪz/ sound (or /əz/ sound):

Sometimes this sound is written as /əz/ and uses the symbol "schwa" or "upside down e" before the z. For ease we will write this sound as /ɪz/ or /iz/

If the last consonant sound of the word is a sibilant sound (a hissing or buzzing sound), the final S is pronounced as /ɪz/. This /ɪz/ sound is pronounced like an extra syllable. (e.g. the word buses has two syllables)

If the sound has a J sound (/dʒ/ like the letter J at the beginning of the word jacket or /ʒ/ like the S in pleasure), then the final S is also pronounced as /ɪz/.

Examples of words ending in the /ɪz/ sound:

C: races (sounds like "race-iz")

S: pauses, nurses, buses, rises

X: fixes, boxes, hoaxes

Z: amazes, freezes, prizes, quizzes

SS: kisses, misses, passes, bosses

CH: churches, sandwiches, witches, teaches

SH: dishes, wishes, pushes, crashes

GE: garages, changes, ages, judges

Remember: after verbs ending in -sh, -ch, -ss and -x, we add the -es to the end of the verb (in third person) and the pronunciation is /iz/ as an extra syllable.

2. The /s/ sound:

If the last consonant of the word is voiceless, then the S is pronounced as /s/. Be careful not to create an extra syllable.

NOTE: The consonants c, s, sh, ch and x are voiceless though they use the sibilants ending seen above.

Examples of words ending in the /s/ sound:

P: cups stops, sleeps

T: hats, students, hits, writes

K: cooks, books, drinks, walks

F: cliffs, sniffs, beliefs, laughs, graphs (the -gh and -ph here are pronounced like a F)

TH: myths, tablecloths, months (voiceless th)

3. The /z/ sound:

If the last letter of the words ends in a voiced consonant (or sound), then the S is pronounced like a Z /z/(without creating another syllable). This Z sound is similar to the sound a bee makes zzzz.

We also use this ending when the word ends in a vowel sound (e.g. bees, flies etc.)

Examples of words ending in the /z/ sound:

B: crabs, rubs

D: cards, words, rides, ends

G: rugs, bags, begs

L: deals calls, falls, hills

M: plums, dreams

N: fans, drains, runs, pens

NG: kings, belongs, sings

R: wears, cures

V: gloves, wives, shelves, drives

Y: plays, boys, says,

THE: clothes, bathes, breathes

VOWEL SOUNDS: sees, fleas

 Click here to get full lesson explanation and to do the exercises