Present simple: she works, they work – present simple exercises for routines and jobs
About this lesson
This A1 drill lesson gives present simple exercises in the positive: the -s after he, she and it, how to spell it, and where a time phrase goes.
- Grammar
- I work, she works, my mom and dad work; -s, -es or -ies (plays, watches, studies), goes, does, has; no am or is before the verb; time phrases last.
- Topic
- Sunny Tacos, an invented food truck in Los Angeles: an article on its owner, customer reviews, his daughter's post, the menu note and her texts.
- Activities
- Sorting, spelling choices, anagrams, a memory game, tables, gap-fills, drag-and-drop, matching, word-order quizzes, a chat and a final test.
What's inside
Chapter 1The rule
Chapter 2-s, -es or -ies?
- Sort the verbs: -s, -es or -ies?Sort into columnsUnlock
- Choose the right spellingChoose the optionTry it
- Write the he / she / it form of the verbFill in the gapsUnlock
- Unscramble the he / she / it formsAnagramUnlock
- Find the matching pairs: verb and -s formMemory gameUnlock
- Fill in the table: I / they or he / sheFill in the tableUnlock
Chapter 3Work or works?
- Choose the right form: one person or more?Choose the optionUnlock
- Drag the verbs into the gaps: one person or more?Drag and dropTry it
- Write the verb for the new subjectFill in the gapsUnlock
- Match the beginnings and the endingsMatchUnlock
- Correct the mistake: write the right verbFill in the gapsUnlock
- Find the mistake and choose the right wordsQuizUnlock
- Choose the right form: facts about the worldChoose the optionUnlock
Chapter 4Sentences about routines
- Fill in the gaps: present simpleFill in the gapsTry it
- Choose the sentence with the right word orderQuizUnlock
- Put the words in the right orderUnjumbleUnlock
- Read about the jobs and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read about a family and choose the right formChoose the optionUnlock
- Read the text and drag the words into the gaps: my busy weekDrag and dropUnlock
- Read about a day in the life of a nurse and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
Chapter 5Real life: A day on a food truck
- Read the article about a food truckReal-life documentUnlock
- Read the article again: true or false?True or falseUnlock
- Read the reviews and choose the right formChoose the optionUnlock
- Read the post from Isabel and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read the note on the menu and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Choose the right replies: Isabel texts youChatTry it
- Test yourself: choose the right answerQuizUnlock
Chapter 6Homework
- Choose the right form: at workChoose the optionUnlock
- Write the he / she / it form: at homeFill in the gapsUnlock
- Sort the new verbs by their he / she / it formSort into columnsUnlock
- Unscramble the words: he / she / it formsAnagramUnlock
- Fill in the table: the -s form and a sentenceFill in the tableUnlock
- Drag the verbs into the gaps: at homeDrag and dropUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: weekendsUnjumbleUnlock
- Match the beginnings and the endings: animalsMatchUnlock
- Correct or not? Mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: choose the right form and write itFill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the correct sentenceQuizUnlock
- Choose the right word orderChoose the optionUnlock
- Read the email and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read the ad and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Read the note for the babysitter and choose the right formChoose the optionUnlock
Grammar: the present simple: I work, she works
The present simple talks about routines, habits, facts, jobs and likes: Dad gets up at 6. A week has seven days. Only he, she and it add an ending: I work, but she works. The verb stands alone, with no am, is or are before it.
Present simple: she works, they work
Talk about routines, habits, facts, jobs and likes: I work, she works.
I work, she works, they work
I, you, we and they take the base verb; he, she and it add -s. A noun counts too: my mom is she, so My mom works at night; my mom and dad are they, so they work.
I / you / we / they + verb · he / she / it + verb-s
subjectverb (he / she / it: + -s)the rest
I work in a café.
She works in a bank.
They live in Los Angeles.
Every person
| Who | Verb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | work | I work in a school. |
| you | work | You play the piano. |
| he | works | He drives a taxi. |
| she | works | She teaches math. |
| it | works | It rains a lot in the fall. |
| we | work | We walk to the park. |
| they | work | They live near the beach. |
| my mom (= she) | works | My mom works at night. |
| my mom and dad (= they) | work | My mom and dad work at night. |
Spelling: -s, -es or -ies
Most verbs add -s, and so does a vowel + y: plays, buys. After s, sh, ch, x and o, add -es: washes, fixes, goes, does. A consonant + y becomes -ies (studies), and have becomes has.
| The verb ends in | he / she / it | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| most verbs | + s | work → works, live → lives, eat → eats |
| a vowel + y (ay, uy, oy) | + s | play → plays, buy → buys, say → says |
| s, sh, ch, x, o | + es | miss → misses, wash → washes, watch → watches, fix → fixes, go → goes, do → does |
| a consonant + y | y → ies | study → studies, try → tries, fly → flies |
| have | has | have → has (not: haves) |
Routines, facts, jobs, likes
We eat dinner at 7. My uncle drives a bus. My aunt sells cars. Tom likes pizza. Time phrases go at the end: every morning, on Mondays, after school.
When do we use it?
- Routines and habits: Dad gets up at 6. We eat dinner at 7.
- Facts: Water freezes at 32 °F. A week has seven days.
- Jobs: My uncle drives a bus. My aunt sells cars.
- Likes: Tom likes pizza. My sister loves cats.
Time phrases go at the end
- every day
- every morning
- on Mondays
- on the weekend
- in the morning
- at night
- after school
Common mistakes
Watch for Dad work in an office, My friends lives in Dallas, I am speak English and She gos to bed late, and for a time phrase in the middle: She every day works.
Common mistakes
Dad work in an office.
Dad works in an office.
he, she, it: verb + -s
My friends lives in Dallas.
My friends live in Dallas.
I, you, we, they: no -s
I am speak English.
I speak English.
no am / is / are before the verb
She gos to bed late.
She goes to bed late.
go → goes, do → does
Two people, spelling and word order
Two people = they: My mom and dad work. (Not: My mom and dad works.) Spelling: goes, does, watches, studies, has. (Not: gos, dos, watchs, studys, haves.) Word order: time phrases go at the end, not between the subject and the verb: She works every day. (Not: She every day works.)
Examples
- I get up at 6:30 every morning.a routine
- Grandpa watches TV at night.he: + es
- My sister studies English after school.y → ies
- Our dog has a big bed.have → has
- My mom and dad love old movies.two people = they: no -s
- Ben goes to the gym on Mondays.go → goes
More lessons on this grammar: Present simple lessons and exercises
Try the present simple exercises
Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.
What's in the lesson
- 40 auto-checked exercises
- 5 games
- 1 real-life document
- 1 grammar scheme
- 1 picture
The main objectives of this lesson are to:
- add -s after he, she, it or one noun: My dad cooks dinner every evening. This store sells fresh fruit.
- spell the -s form: Dad fixes our car. Lily studies French. My mom goes to work by bus, not gos or studys
- keep the base verb after two people or a plural: My mom and dad work at the same hospital. Bees make honey.
- use the verb on its own: I love pizza, not I am love pizza; He lives near the park, not He is lives
- put the time phrase at the end: She drinks coffee every morning, not She every morning drinks coffee
- Grammar:
- present simple · he / she / it + -s · -s / -es / -ies spelling · time phrases
- Topic:
- grammar practice · daily routines · jobs · food truck
Teaching tips
- Report a partner's routine: students tell a partner three things they do every day (I get up at 7. I walk to school.), then tell the class with the -s: Ana gets up at 7.
- Sort verbs on the board first: write wash, play, study, go, buy and fly, and students place each under -s, -es or -ies before writing the he form.
- Retell Tomás's day: after the food truck article, students close it and retell his day in order from memory (He gets up at 5 a.m. He goes to the market.), with every -s in place.
Liked it?
Teach the whole lesson in edio
45 exercises in 6 chapters, ready to teach. edio is an online platform for language schools and teachers: ready-made interactive lessons, live classes, homework and student progress in one place.
Start a free trial
7 days, no credit card.
Open the lesson
Find it in the library of 621 ready lessons. Teach it as it is, or copy any chapter into your own lessons.
Teach it live or as homework
Students work in their own accounts, in sync with you during the lesson, and the practice exercises check themselves.
The whole course: English Grammar Practice · A1
English Grammar Practice · A1 has 24 drill lessons for adult beginners, one grammar point each, from the verb to be and the present simple to can, was and were and telling the time. Each has the rule as a scheme, 43 to 47 exercises that check themselves, 15 of them for homework, and no new words, so it works next to any course.See the course
- 1To be: I am, you are, she is
- 2To be negatives and questions: is it your bag?
- 3Subject pronouns and possessive adjectives: I, my, she, her
- 4This, that, these, those: what's this?
- 5Plural nouns: one box, two boxes
- 6A, an, the: a new apartment
- 7There is, there are: what's in the hotel?
- 8Have and has: she has a dog
- 9Present simple: she works, they work
- 10Present simple: don't, doesn't, do you…?
- 11Adverbs of frequency: always, usually, never
- 12In, on, at: times, days and months
- 13Prepositions of place: in, on, under, next to
- 14Can and can't: I can swim
- 15Imperatives: open, don't run, let's go
- 16Object pronouns: me, him, her, them
- 17Possessive 's: whose bag is this?
- 18Present continuous: what's happening now?
- 19Present simple or present continuous: every day or now?
- 20Like, love, hate + -ing: I love dancing
- 21Wh- questions: what, where, when, why?
- 22Countable and uncountable nouns: some, any, how much?
- 23Was and were: where were you yesterday?
- 24Telling the time and dates: what time is it?