PRESENT OF THE VERB TO BE

I am we are
You are you are
He, she, it is they are

Questions and Negations

Am I a good boy? I am not (I’m not) a good boy.

Is she beautiful? She is not (isn’t) beautiful.
Are you ready? You are not (aren’t) ready.

THE PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE

FORM
The Present Simple Tense is formed of the bare infinitive, but it adds an s/es to the third person
singular. (PST se tvori od infinitivne osnove (swim, go, jump); jedino se na treće lice jednine
(he/she/it) na glagol dodaje nastavak s ili es.

I work
you work
she, he, it works
we work
you work
they work

e.g. The Tuareg tribe is a tribe that lives in the Sahara Desert. They live in tents. When visitors come
they put out carpets and cushions and drink mint tea. The men wear the veil, not the women, and they
never take it off, even when they eat. No one ever sees a man without his veil. It is a society where
women are free and independent. They make their own decisions in life. Most people are Islamic, but
they don’t speak Arabic. They have their own language and alphabet.

We need auxiliary verb to DO to form questions and negations but for the 3 rd person singular we use
DOES. (Pomocni glagol DO koristimo kako bi napravili pitanja i negacije, samo za trece lice jednine
nam treba oblik DOES zato sto u trecem licu jednine dodajemo nastavak s/es na glavni glagol, a u
pitanjima i negacijama taj nastavak prelayi na pomocni glagol do i tako dobijemo does ). This rule
doesn’t apply to the verb TO BE.

e.g. I don’t live near the sea. She doesn’t like me any more.
They don’t work here, they work next door.

Do you live near the sea? Does she love you? Do they work here?
 Negative Contractions
Don't = Do not
Doesn't = Does not
I don't like meat = I do not like meat.
There is no difference in meaning though we normally use contractions in spoken English.

USAGE
The Present Simple tense in English is used to describe an action that is regular, true or normal.
We use the Present Simple tense:
1. For repeated or regular actions in the present time period. (za radnju koja se ponavlja ili se
redovno obavlja u sadasnjosti)
 I take the train to the office.
 The train to Berlin leaves every hour.
 John sleeps eight hours every night during the week.

2. For facts. (za cinjenice)

 The President of The USA lives in The White House.
 A dog has four legs.
 We come from Switzerland.

3. For habits. (za navike)

 I get up early every day.
 Carol brushes her teeth twice a day.
 They travel to their country house every weekend.

4. For things that are always / generally true.

 It rains a lot in winter.
 The Queen of England lives in Buckingham Palace.
 They speak English at work.

5. For future facts connected to time tables, conferences, brochures, etc.

 Our first lesson on Monday starts at 7.30.
 The last bus for Zagreb leaves the station at midnight.
 The concert starts at 20.00.

Adverbs of frequency ( priloske odredbe za ucestalost) are usually used in the Present Simple Tense
and they say how often an activity happens. We can use one word or a phrase.
Examples:
 always
 never
 frequently/often
 usually
 seldom/rarely
 nowadays
 every week/year
 sometimes/occasionally
 from time to time
Here are a few examples of how to use them in sentences:
 I always go to church on Sundays.
 I never eat anything after 10 p.m.
 My computer freezes from time to time.
 Seldom do I go to bed before midnight.
 Nowadays most people have a mobile phone.

Spelling
The spelling for the verb in the third person differs depending on the ending of that verb:
1. For verbs that end in -O, -CH, -SH, -SS, -X, or -Z we add -ES in the third person.
 go – goes
 catch – catches
 wash – washes
 kiss – kisses
 fix – fixes
 buzz – buzzes

2. For verbs that end in a consonant + Y, we remove the Y and add -IES.
 marry – marries
 study – studies
 carry – carries
 worry – worries

NOTE: For verbs that end in a vowel + Y, we just add -S.

 play – plays
 enjoy – enjoys
 say – says

THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE

FORM
The Present Continuous Tense is formed of the present form of the auxiliary verb TO BE (am,is,are)
and the Present Participle of the main verb (verb + ing). (PCT se tvori od prezenta pomocnog glagola
to be i Prezent participa glavnog glagola.)
I am working
you are working
she/ he/ it is working
we/you/they are working

Negations are formed by adding NOT to the auxiliary verb, while questions are formed by changing the
place of auxiliary verb and the subject (inversion).

I am not working or I’m not working NOT I amn’t …..

you are not working or you aren’t working
she/ he/ it is not working or she isn’t working
we/you/they are not working or we aren’t working

Am I working?
Are you working?
Is she/he/it working?
Are we/you/they working?

USAGE
The Present Continuous (Progressive) tense is used to describe an action that is usually temporary,
happening right now or around the time of speaking. (Present Continuous se koristi da opise radnju
koja je privremena.)

We use the Present Continuous tense:

1. When somebody is doing something at this moment. (Kada govorimo o radnji koja se desava sada
kada govorimo o njoj)
 Sarah is changing her clothes right now.
 Her boyfriend is waiting for her.
 We are learning the progressive tense in English.

2. When the action is in the progress. When the action has started but hasn't finished.
 It's getting darker.
 It is snowing at the moment.
 The economy is growing at an exponential rate.
 The children are sleeping, so please be quiet.

3. To talk about something that is happening around the time of speaking but not necessarily at that
exact moment.
 Alfredo is studying a lot for his exam.
 I'm reading a great book. (not necessary right at this moment)
 We are planning a trip to Jamaica.

4. To express future arrangement usually someone's immediate plans or arrangement between people.
 We are playing cards at Pete's tonight.
  I'm having lunch with my mother on Tuesday.
 They are leaving tomorrow.

SPELLING
To make continuous verbs add -ing to the base verb:

do becomes doing
ask becomes asking

silent 'e'
1. When the verb ends with a silent e, drop the e and add -ing:

make becomes making

take becomes taking

one-syllable verbs
2. For short, one-syllable verbs, that end with consonant + vowel + consonant (CVC), we must
double the last consonant and then add -ing:

swim becomes swimming

run becomes running

w, x and y
3. For words that end w, x and y, do not double the last consonant; just add -ing:

enjoy becomes enjoying

study becomes studying

two-syllable words
4. When words have two or more syllables ending in CVC, you must double the last consonant if
the last syllable is stressed. When the last syllable is not stressed, just add -ing.

The last syllable is stressed:

commit becomes committing

The last syllable is not stressed:

whisper becomes whispering

-ie verbs
5. For verbs that end in -ie, change the ie to y before adding -ing:

die becomes dying lie becomes lying

 Present Simple vs. Present Continuous (Progressive) Tense
A significant difference between these two tenses is we use the simple present tense for things that are
permanent or are in general and the present progressive tense for things that may change or are
temporary.
Compare:

Permanent (Stalno/Trajno) Temporary (Privremeno)

Simon is living with his friends for
Simon lives in Birmingham.
now.
James smokes. James is smoking in the kitchen.
We walk to work. We're walking in the park.
I speak English. I am speaking English right now.

Different Meanings
In questions the same verb can change the meaning depending on if it is in the present or the present
progressive tense.

Differences in meaning of verb

Statement Meaning
What do you do? What is your job?
What are you doing? What are you doing at the moment?
What do you read? What do you like to read?
What are you reading? What are you reading right now?

STATE VERBS

State verbs are the verbs that we don't usually use in the Continuous
Tenses.
They describe states that stay the same rather than actions or events that change.
The most common state verb is to be.

Other state verbs are the verbs that describe:

1. States, e.g. be, have, contain, own, possess, ….

 She has blonde hair.
 I am the king of Kongo.

2. Mental processes, e.g. believe, feel, remember, realize, suspect, …

 I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas.
 The founders of the United States of America believed that all men were created with
equal authority.

3. Emotional states e.g. love, want, prefer, doubt, hate, adore, ….

 I doubt there will be a free TV set.
 She doesn't like to admit to mistakes.
 The boys prefer dogs to cats.

4. Senses (e.g. smell, hear, see, taste, feel):

 I can smell something burning.
 She could easily see that I was sweating.

Some verbs used in the simple form can also be used in the continuous form. That's typically when
they have an active meaning or emphasize change. Very often these sentences have a completely
different meaning:

Verb
Verb Example Meaning
Form
I think you should see a
Simple to think opinion
doctor
to be I'm thinking of changing my trying to reach a
Continuous
thinking flat decision
Simple to love I love going to the cinema feeling
to be You look great in this hat. emphasis or gradual
Continuous
loving I'm loving it, man! process
Simple to smell I smell something burning sense
to be My baby was smelling a
Continuous activity
smelling flower
He's really rich — he has 3
Simple to have possession
cars
to be When you called me, I was
Continuous activity
having having a bath
 I can see you have a big
Simple to see sense
garden
to be
Continuous I'm seeing him later appointment
seeing
I could taste a lot of sugar in
Simple to taste sense
the wine
to be He was tasting the cake and
Continuous activity
tasting said it was OK
Keep in mind there is a group of verbs that can be used in both the continuous and simple forms with
no difference. These are, for example, the verbs "to hurt" and "to feel":
 How is Mary feeling after the accident?
 How does she feel after the accident?