How to Teach the Present Simple Tense

When teaching the Present Simple, the ultimate goal is to make sure your students understand that it’s used to describe routines, habits, daily activities, and general truths. It is also important is the contrast between the Present Simple and the Present Progressive.This series of steps will guide you towards teaching the Present Simple and covers function, conjugation, and form.

How To Proceed

1. Introduce an action
   Explain that it is basically using a verb to tell about things that happen in the present, like every day, every week, or every month, and is made from the present tense of the verb be and the –ing form of a verb. Pick up a newspaper and pretend to read it. Ask your students what you’re doing. They’ll say, “You’re reading a newspaper.”
   T: “What newspaper am I reading?”
   S: “You’re reading The New York Times.”
2. Introduce Present Simple – First person singular
   For example, tell your students, “I read The New York Times every day.” Make a list of the things you do every day as a routine:
   • I have breakfast at 7.I go to work at 9.I have lunch at 12.I go home at 5.I watch TV before dinner.
   Make sure your students understand that you do this on a daily or weekly basis; these are habitual actions. Go around the class and have students tell you what they do everyday or what some of their habits are. They should give more examples in the first person singular.
3. Introduce Present Simple – Second person singular
   Say: “I watch TV before dinner. Sarah, you read a book”. Go around the class giving examples like, “I go to work at 9. You go to school.” Face each of your students and state a general truth:
   T: “John, you live in Queens.”
   John (to teacher): “You live in Queens, too.”
   T: “Sally, you have a dog.”
   Sally (to teacher): “You have a cat”.
   Split your students up into pairs and have them give each other statements in the second person singular.
4. Introduce Present Simple – Third person singular
   Say: “I watch TV before finner. Sarah reads a book.” Make sure students notice that you’ve added the s for the third person singular. Give more examples with other students, and introduce the irregular verbs: John goes to work at 8. Sally has lunch at 1. Students provide more examples from the information previously shared by their classmates

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