The present simple — review

🔊 La maîtresse lit pour toi

« A recent study shows that a large number of people who cannot manage to keep their energy balance are those who spend too much time in front of their TV sets. » Most of the text on energy balance is written in the present simple. You already know this tense; this lesson makes sure you can use it to describe a present state, a habit and a general truth — and that you never confuse it with the gerund. Why is a text about our eating habits written in the present simple?

🎓في نهاية هذا الدرس ستكون قادرا على:

استعمال المضارع البسيط لوصف حالة قائمة، وعادة متكرّرة، وحقيقة عامّة، وبعد ⁦if⁩ في شرط يخصّ المستقبل
تصريف المضارع البسيط مع ضمير الغائب المفرد ⁦(-s · -es)⁩، ونفيه وسؤاله بـ ⁦do · does⁩
تجنّب صيغة الاستمرار مع أفعال الحالة ⁦(know · like · want · belong)⁩
التمييز بين المضارع البسيط والمصدر بصيغة ⁦-ing⁩ ⁦(the gerund)⁩

🔑يفترض هذا الدرس أنّك تتقن:

ضمائر الفاعل ⁦(I · you · he · she · it · we · they)⁩
المضارع المستمرّ ⁦(present progressive)⁩
المصدر بصيغة ⁦-ing⁩ فاعلا أو بعد حرف جرّ ⁦(gerund)⁩

1. Why the present simple?

المضارع البسيط يصف ما هو قائم الآن وما هو صحيح عموما: الحالة، والعادة، والحقيقة العامّة، والشرط بعد ⁦if⁩.

The present simple describes what is true now and in general: • a present state or a general truth: « When we eat enough food for the exercise we take, we call this energy balance. » • a habit, often with an adverb of frequency: « I always listen to music. » · « People eat a lot of fast food and don't take enough exercise. » • a condition about the future, after if: « If they eat too much food, they will put on weight. » A reminder of the form: I, you, we, they eat — he, she, it eats (a study shows, the world population counts). Negative: don't or doesn't + infinitive. Question: do or does + subject + infinitive.

How is Your Energy Balance?

It is important for people to eat as much food as they need to make sure they have the right amount of energy. If they eat too little food or the wrong kind of food they won't have enough energy. If they eat too much food, they will put on weight. When we eat enough food for the exercise we take, we call this energy balance. In many parts of the modern world today, people eat a lot of fast food and don't take enough exercise. They also eat a lot of sweets between meals. Although most people know that fatty and sugary foods can cause a loss of their energy balance, they find it difficult to refrain from eating them.

One tense, several uses

Sentence of the text	Use of the present simple
When we eat enough food for the exercise we take, we call this energy balance.	a general truth
People eat a lot of fast food and don't take enough exercise.	a habit, a present state of things
If they eat too much food, they will put on weight.	a condition about the future, after if
Most people know that fatty and sugary foods can cause a loss of their energy balance.	a state: know is a stative verb

Present simple = the base form, with -s after he, she, it.

Task 1 — The tense which is mostly used in the text is the present simple. Why?

لماذا يغلب المضارع البسيط على النصّ؟

Because the text describes a present state of things — our eating habits today and their consequences — and it states general truths: what energy balance is, and what happens when people eat too much or too little. What is true now and in general is said in the present simple.

Task 2 — In what other situations do we use this tense? Give sentences of your own to illustrate your answers.

في أيّ حالات أخرى نستعمل المضارع البسيط؟ مثّل لكلّ حالة بجملة.

A habit: My brother drinks a soda every day. · I always read the labels.
A general truth: The sun rises in the east.
A state, with a stative verb: I know English. · This bag belongs to me.
A condition about the future, after if: If you eat rotten food, you will have serious indigestion.

2. Stative verbs: no progressive form

أفعال الحالة لا تأتي عادة في صيغة الاستمرار: نقول ⁦I know English⁩ لا ⁦I am knowing English⁩.

Action verbs describe events which happen in a limited period of time, with a beginning and an end. They have both simple and progressive forms: « I always listen to music. » (present simple) · « I am listening to a record. » (present progressive) Stative verbs describe states which continue over a period of time. They cannot usually have a progressive form: « I know English », never ✗ « I am knowing English ». Some of them can be progressive when they describe an action: « I see (= understand) what you mean », but « I am seeing (= meeting) the headmaster tomorrow ». And verbs of perception are often preceded by can: « On a clear day, we can see Algiers from here. »

Stative verbs — five groups

Verbs referring to …	Examples
feelings	like · love · hate · detest
thinking and believing	think · understand · remember · know
perception	see · hear · smell · touch · taste
wants	want · prefer
being and having	seem · own · belong · appear · possess

Task 3 — Correct the verbs that should not be in the progressive. A. I am knowing English. B. Many children are preferring junk food. C. Look! My sister is eating an apple. D. This bag is belonging to me. E. I am seeing what you mean.

صحّح الأفعال التي لا تصلح لها صيغة الاستمرار.

A. I know English. — know: thinking.
B. Many children prefer junk food. — prefer: wants.
C. Correct: eat is an action verb, and it is happening now.
D. This bag belongs to me. — belong: being and having.
E. I see what you mean. — see means understand here: no progressive.

3. Present simple or gerund?

إذا استُعمل الفعل اسما (فاعلا أو بعد حرف جرّ) أخذ ⁦-ing⁩؛ وإذا كان له فاعل يخبر عمّا يحدث جاء في المضارع البسيط.

A verb can also work as a noun: then it takes -ing — it is the gerund. It is the subject of the sentence (« Smoking is bad for you »), or it follows a preposition (« the art of cooking »). When the verb has its own subject and tells what happens, it is in the present simple: « Cooking requires garlic » — cooking is the subject (a gerund), requires is the verb (present simple, -s).

Task 4 — Decide whether the gerund or the present simple must be used with the verbs in brackets.

The art of (cook) (require) the use of garlic. Of course, the (eat) or consumption of garlic (be) generally not approved of. (Work) beside someone who has eaten garlic is as bad as (sit) beside someone who (smoke). But while (smoke) is definitely bad for you, there is no doubt that (eat) garlic (be) good for your health and particularly your blood pressure. We are likely to see more 'No (smoke)' signs than we have so far; yet we won't see any 'No (breathe)' signs for garlic eaters. (Cultivate) and (export) garlic has become big business now that so many people use it for (flavour) meat and for (make) medicine that reduces cholesterol. People often buy it when they do their (shop). (Be) a garlic eater is something to be proud of; and this (show) that you enjoy healthy (live).

Task 4 — the text, corrected

النصّ مصحّحا : المصدر بصيغة ⁦-ing⁩ والمضارع البسيط بالخطّ الغليظ.

The art of cooking requires the use of garlic. Of course, the eating or consumption of garlic is generally not approved of. Working beside someone who has eaten garlic is as bad as sitting beside someone who smokes. But while smoking is definitely bad for you, there is no doubt that eating garlic is good for your health and particularly your blood pressure. We are likely to see more 'No smoking' signs than we have so far; yet we won't see any 'No breathing' signs for garlic eaters. Cultivating and exporting garlic has become big business now that so many people use it for flavouring meat and for making medicine that reduces cholesterol. People often buy it when they do their shopping. Being a garlic eater is something to be proud of; and this shows that you enjoy healthy living.

Two questions each time. Is the verb used as a noun — a subject, after a preposition (of, for), after No? Then it is a gerund: cooking, eating, smoking, being. Does it have its own subject and tell what happens? Then it is a present simple, with -s after he, she, it: requires, smokes, shows — and is for be.

Do this alone, in writing. Imagine you are a Civil Protection officer. Think of three or four types of home accident — fires, explosions, falls, burns, electric shock, poisoning — and prescribe rules that can avert them, in the present simple, with modals and conditionals where they help. Start like this: « Rule one: Fire is a useful servant; it may also become a ferocious enemy. »

اكتب وحدك، بصفتك عون حماية مدنيّة، ثلاث قواعد أو أربعا تقي من حوادث المنزل، في المضارع البسيط.

A model answer

How to prevent home accident fatalities Rule one: Fire is a useful servant; it may also become a ferocious enemy. Explosions are often caused by gas leaks. So you check the gas cooker before you leave the kitchen. Rule two: Medicines look like sweets to young children. If you keep them in a high cupboard, children cannot reach them. Rule three: Water and electricity never go together: you dry your hands before you touch a plug. Rule four: A wet floor causes falls, so everybody wipes it at once.

In the exam, the present simple is tested in the text exploration: you put the verbs in brackets in the right tense or form — present simple or gerund — as in Task 4. Have three things ready: ① -s after he, she, it — the study shows; ② no progressive with stative verbs — I know, it belongs; ③ the gerund when the verb works as a noun — Smoking is bad for you. The frequent mistake: forgetting the -s — ✗ « this show that » → ✓ « this shows that ».

What I keep — The present simple describes a present state, a habit and a general truth, and it follows if in a condition about the future. It takes -s after he, she, it; its negative uses don't or doesn't, its question do or does. Stative verbs — know, like, want, belong, seem — do not take the progressive. And a verb used as a noun takes -ing: « Eating garlic is good for your health. »

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