How are you doing today?

In this section of my blog, I want to help you with grammar! Yep! I want to teach you English grammar! What better way to start than with Simple Present? Don’t worry, I’m sure you will be able to learn it! But remember, a little dedication and a little patient are a “must-have”

Many beginners have problems to “make sentences”. They don’t know how to organize their ideas correctly and consequently, their “phrases” are a little, well, messy! (messy =  disorganized). The most common problems are to organize the position of:

Pronouns – Names – Objects, animals(sometimes we think only “pronouns” are used in phrases. NOPE! Not really!) You can use objects, for example: the table,  the clock, and many other things!

Verbs – 2 mistakes: incorrect conjugation AND nouns as verbs. Many people use NOUNS for actions, as verbs. That is incorrect. What is a noun?

Noun: according to Oxford dictionary: “a word that refers to a person (such as Ann or doctor), a place (such as Paris or city), or a thing, a quality, or an activity”

So, let’s see some nouns that are used as verbs

INVITATION – this is a noun. It is NOT an action. The verb is INVITE. Invite is an ACTION

INFORMATION – this is a noun. It is not an action. The verb is INFORM. Inform is an ACTION

BACK – NOT a noun, it is a preposition! It is not an action. The verb is GO BACK or RETURN

Complements – the most common problem for beginners is vocabulary! They don’t know vocabulary, consequently they don’t have any ideas on what they can use as complements. The complement will depend on the VERB you use, on the IDEA of the phrase. This takes a little bit of time, you need to read more about the words you need.

Ok, now that you understand some problems English speakers usually have, let’s divide this post into two parts. Affirmative and negative sentences. By the time you finish this post, you will be a “pro” at Simple Present basic sentences! Now, on a future post I will talk about how to make questions in the simple present, ok?

 

AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES

We need to start with affirmative sentences. I will give you a simple “abbreviation” to help you remember a “basic sequence” when making phrases in English

P                V                C

What is that??? What does P V C mean?

P – Pronoun/Person

V –  VERB

C – Complement

This is the sequence (a basic one, ok?) you need to follow in order to make sentences in English in the Simple Present. Let’s see some examples:

I   work downtown

I  – P

Work – V

Downtown – complement

Another example:

You  like  Jazz

P            V            C

The Kids LOVE popcorn

The Kids – P

Love – V

Popcorn – complement

Now, On my next post I will talk about “he, she, it” phrases, ok? We are not going to talk about this here.

 

NEGATIVE SENTENCES

Now, that you know how to make affirmative sentences, it is time to learn how to make negative ones. I will also give you a secret way to memorize a basic sequence.

P                n               V                C

In affirmative sentences, there was no N, now as you can see, for my negative sentences, you have this “n” after the P. what is that? This “n” is the “don’t”. Don’t is like an “assistant”. It is going to help you make this phrase “negative”. In English, we can NOT only use the word “NOT”  with verbs (there are exceptions, for example, modal verbs, verb to be…) . This assistant has two important jobs: A. indicate it is simple present. B. indicate it is negative sentence in the simple present.  This is assistant is called auxiliary verb.

You will use “don’t” for negative sentences for the pronouns I, you, we, they and plural objects and animals, names of people, etc. ok?

I DON’T

YOU DON’T

WE DON’T

THEY DON’T

JACK AND MARY DON’T

THE DOGS (PLURAL) DON’T

Let’s see some examples:

I don’t study English

I = P

DON’T = N

STUDY = V

ENGLISH – C

Homework – I want you to give me your examples! Write down 5 examples of affirmative sentences and 5 examples of negative sentences. Leave your answer in the comment section

What do you think of this post? Let me know and share it with your friends!

Teacher Prix