Simple Present Tense

Study these sentences from the lesson.

• A fight breaks out between two monkeys.

• Film songs blare out from the radios.

• I wash it down with Coca-Cola.

The italicised verbs are in the simple present tense. The writer is here describing what he saw and heard but he uses the present tense instead of the past tense. A narration or a story can be made more dramatic or immediate by using the present tense in this way.

Now look at the following sentences.

• A small shrine half protrudes from the stone platform on the riverbank.

• Small shops stand on the outer edge of the Stupa.

We use the simple present tense to speak about what is usually or generally true. The sentences above describe facts. We also use the simple present tense in sentences depicting ‘universal truths’.

For example:

• The sun rises in the east.

• The earth revolves round the sun.

We can also refer to habitual actions using the simple present tense.

• He usually takes a train instead of a bus to work.

• We often get fine drizzles in winter.

In these sentences words like everyday, often, seldom, never, every month, generally, usually, etc. may be used.

1. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb in brackets.

(i) The heart is a pump that (send) the blood circulating through our body. The pumping action (take place) when the left ventricle of the heart (contract). This (force) the blood out into the arteries, which (expand) to receive the oncoming blood.

(ii) The African lungfish can live without water for up to four years. During drought, it (dig) a pit and (enclose) itself in a capsule of slime and earth, leaving a tiny opening for air. The capsule (dry) and (harden), but when rain (come), the mud (dissolve) and the lungfish (swim) away.

(iii) Mahesh: We have to organise a class party for our teacher. (Do) anyone play an instrument?

Vipul:Rohit (play) the flute.

Mahesh: (Do) he also act?

Vipul: No, he (compose) music.

Mahesh: That’s wonderful!

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Solution

(i) The heart is a pump that sends the blood circulating through our body. The pumping action takes place when the left ventricle of the heart contracts. This forces the blood out into the arteries, which expands to receive the oncoming blood.

(ii) The African lungfish can live without water for up to four years. During drought, it digs a pit and encloses itself in a capsule of slime and earth, leaving a tiny opening for air. The capsule dries and hardens, but when rain comes, the mud dissolves and the lungfish swims away.

(iii) Mahesh: We have to organise a class party for our teacher. Does anyone play an instrument?

Vipul: Rohit plays the flute.

Mahesh: Does he also act?

Vipul: No, he composes music.

Mahesh: That’s wonderful!

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Similar questions

You mush have noticed that when we report someone’s exact words, we have to make some changes in the sentence structure. In the following sentences fill in the blanks to list the changes that have occurred in the above pairs of sentences. One has been done for you.

1. To report a question, we use the reporting verb asked (as in Sentence Set 1).

2. To report a declaration, we use the reporting verb __________.

3. The adverb of place here changes to ___________.

4. When the verb in direct speech is in the present tense, the verb in reported speech is in the ______________ tense (as in Sentence Set 3).

5. If the verb in direct speech is in the present continuous tense, the verb in reported speech changes to ______________tense. For example, ____________ changes to was getting.

6. When the sentence in direct speech contains a word denoting respect, we add the adverb _______________in the reporting clause (as in Sentence Set 1).

7. The pronouns I, me, our and mine, which are used in the first person in direct speech, change to third person pronouns such as____________, ___________, ___________ or __________in reported speech.

Q. Which of the following sentence(s) is not in the simple present tense:

Identify the simple present tense verb in the sentence.

My shoes are blue with yellow stripes and green stars on the front.

Q. When is the simple present tense used?

If Not and Unless

• Imagine that Margie’s mother told her, “You’ll feel awful if you don’t finish your history lesson.”

• She could also say: “You’ll feel awful unless you finish your history lesson.”

Unless means if not. Sentence with unless or if not are negative conditional sentences.

Notice that these sentences have two parts. The part that begins with if not or unless tells us the condition. The part has a verb in the present tense (look at the verbs don’t finish, finish in the sentences above.)

The other part of the sentence tells us about a possible result. It tells us what will happen (if something doesn’t happen). The verb in this part of the sentence is in the future tense (you'll feel/ you will feel).

Notice these two tenses in the following examples.

Future Tense	Present Tense
• There won’t be any books left	unless	we preserve them.
• You won’t learn your lessons	if	you don’t study regularly.
• Tommy will have an accident	unless	he drives more slowly.

Complete the following conditional sentences. Use the correct form of the verb.

1. If I don’t go to Anu’s party tonight, __________.

2. If you don’t telephone the hotel to order food, __________.

3. Unless you promise to write back, I __________.

4. If she doesn’t play any games, __________.

5. Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat __________.

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