Present & core tenses
Practice Flashcards
work → I / he
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All Flashcards in Topic 3.1
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3.1.114 cards
work → I / he
I work · he works (add -s for he/she/it)
live → you / she
you live · she lives
play → we / they / he
we play · they play · he plays (vowel + y keeps -s)
study → he / she
he studies · she studies (consonant + y → -ies)
go → he / it
he goes · it goes (-o takes -es)
watch → she
she watches (-ch takes -es)
have → he / she / it
he has · she has · it has (irregular)
Make it a question: 'She works here.'
Does she work here? — use 'does' + the base form (no -s on the verb).
Make it negative: 'He likes tea.'
He doesn't like tea. — 'doesn't' + the base form 'like'.
When do you use the present simple?
For habits, routines, general facts, permanent situations and timetables.
When do you add -s to a present-simple verb?
Only for the third person singular: he, she, it (and singular nouns).
Why is 'Does she works?' wrong?
'Does' already carries the -s, so the main verb stays in the base form: 'Does she work?'
Where does an adverb of frequency go?
Before the main verb (I always read) but after the verb 'to be' (I am always late).
Present simple vs present continuous?
Present simple = habits/facts (I work every day); present continuous = action now (I am working now).
3.1.214 cards
How do you form the present continuous?
am / is / are + the main verb with -ing (She is working).
Which form of 'to be' goes with each subject?
I am · he/she/it is · you/we/they are.
study → present continuous (I / she / they)
I am studying · she is studying · they are studying.
make → -ing form
making — drop the silent final -e before -ing.
run → -ing form
running — double the final consonant after a single stressed short vowel.
lie → -ing form
lying — a final -ie becomes -y before -ing.
How do you make the present continuous negative?
Put 'not' after the auxiliary: she is not (isn't) working.
How do you ask a present-continuous question?
Put the auxiliary first: Are you studying? · Is she working?
Name three uses of the present continuous.
An action in progress now, a temporary situation around now, and a fixed future arrangement.
What are stative verbs and what tense do they take?
Verbs of state (know, want, like, need, believe) — they stay in the present simple, not the continuous.
Present continuous or present simple: 'I ___ to school every day.'
Present simple — 'I go to school every day' (a permanent habit, not an action in progress).
Which time words signal the present continuous?
now, at the moment, currently, these days, this week — actions around now.
Spot the error: 'She cooking dinner now.'
The auxiliary is missing: 'She is cooking dinner now.'
Spot the error: 'I am wanting a coffee.'
'want' is stative — use the simple: 'I want a coffee.'
3.1.314 cards
How do you form the past simple of a regular verb?
Add -ed to the base verb — the same for every subject: I/you/she/they worked.
work / play / open → past simple
worked · played · opened (regular: base + -ed).
live / decide / arrive → past simple
lived · decided · arrived (verb ends in -e, so just add -d).
study / try / carry → past simple
studied · tried · carried (consonant + y → -ied).
stop / plan / travel → past simple
stopped · planned · travelled (double the final consonant).
go / see / eat / have → past simple
went · saw · ate · had (irregular — no -ed; learn the form).
be → past simple
was (I/he/she/it) · were (you/we/they).
How do you make a past-simple QUESTION?
Did + subject + BASE verb …? — "Did you go?" (not "Did you went?").
How do you make a past-simple NEGATIVE?
subject + didn't + BASE verb — "I didn't see it" (not "I didn't saw it").
What verb form follows did / didn't?
The BASE form, with no -ed and no irregular change: did + go, didn't + have.
Name three time markers for the past simple.
yesterday, last week, two days ago — also: in 2019, when I was young, last night.
Past simple or present perfect with "yesterday"?
Past simple — a finished-time word needs the past simple: "I saw it yesterday", not "I have seen it yesterday".
Common error: "I goed home." — fix it.
"I went home." — "go" is irregular and never takes -ed.
Common error: "Did you went?" — fix it.
"Did you go?" — after "did" the verb returns to its base form.
3.1.414 cards
How do you form the present perfect?
have/has + the past participle: I have finished, she has gone.
Which auxiliary goes with he/she/it?
'has' (he/she/it has). 'have' goes with I/you/we/they.
go → past participle?
gone (I have gone). NOT 'went' — 'went' is the past simple.
see / do / eat → past participles?
seen / done / eaten (I have seen, I have done, I have eaten).
write / take / give → past participles?
written / taken / given (I have written, I have taken, I have given).
When do you use the present perfect (not the past simple)?
When the time is NOT stated (an experience) or the time period isn't over (today, this week) — the past still connects to now.
When do you use the past simple instead?
When you state exactly when: yesterday, last week, in 2019, when I was ten.
for vs since?
for + a duration (for three years); since + a point in time (since 2020, since Monday).
What does 'already' show, and where does it go?
Something done sooner than expected, in positive sentences: 'I have already finished.'
What does 'yet' show, and where does it go?
Something expected but not done, in questions/negatives, at the end: 'Have you finished yet?' / 'Not yet.'
ever / never — what are they for?
Talking about experience: 'Have you ever flown?' / 'I have never flown.'
Fix: 'I have seen her yesterday.'
'I saw her yesterday.' — a stated, finished time needs the past simple.
Fix: 'I have lived here since three years.'
'… for three years.' — a duration takes 'for', not 'since'.
Make a present-perfect question: you / ever / be / to Italy
'Have you ever been to Italy?' — auxiliary + subject + participle.
Topic 3.1 study notes
Full notes & explanations for Present & core tenses
English B exam skills
Paper structures, command terms & tips
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