1.1 We like Saturdays
The Present Simple tense (positive)
Read what one of Paco's friends says:
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Whenever we meet we usually have a good time. On Saturdays, for example, we frequently meet at 5 p.m. to have a cup of coffee before the football match. We like football very much. After that, we often go to the burger bar to have a sandwich or a hamburger and a coke. We never drink alcohol. One of our friends, Juan, sometimes tells jokes there and we laugh a lot. Then, we go to the cinema or to a disco. On Sundays, we are always very tired and we usually stay at home. But Saturdays are fantastic!
Can you recognize the Present Simple tenses in the text?
And the adverbs of frequency?
Curiosity
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John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich By Hugh Manatee. Public Domain |
This type of food was named after the English aristocrat John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. It is said that he liked playing cards so much that to avoid stopping the game to eat, he ordered his servants to bring his food to the table. The valet would bring some cold beef between two slices of bread. Later the snack became known as sandwich.
Important
In this text, we are told about the things Paco and his friends like doing. As you can see, the main tense used is the Present Simple Tense, both in the affirmative and negative forms. Remember the word order of English sentences:
Have a look at the following examples:
| Subject | + | Verb | + |
Indirect Object |
+ |
Direct Object | + | How | + | Where |
+ |
When |
| We | + | have | + | + | a good time. | |||||||
| We | + | like | + | + | football | + | very much. | |||||
| One of our friends |
+ | tells | + | + | jokes | + | + | there. | ||||
| My friends and I |
+ | give |
+ | Paco |
+ | an apple |
+ | + | in the cinema |
+ | every Saturday. |
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| By Pete Martin. C. Commons |
Read the following sentences and say if the word order in them is correct (true) or incorrect (false):
Example exercise
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| By Camila Ulloa. C. Commons |
- likes / hot dogs / and / My father / sandwiches.
- gets up / very early / He / in the morning.
- Paco and Juan / on Saturdays / tell / often / jokes.
- excellent / Paco / an / football player / is.
- with his friends / tennis / plays /at weekends / He.
- Paco's friends / to the cinema / going / like / on Saturdays.
- always / meet / at 5 p.m. / They.
- Sofia's friends / like / football / don't / at all.
Further knowledge
- Here you can find an easy exercise to improve the word order in English sentences.
- And by clicking here you will practise with longer sentences.
As you have seen, the structure of positive/affirmative English sentences is more fixed than in Spanish. So, it makes things easier. But, how about the structure of negative English sentences in the Present Simple tense? Let's study them.