Present Tense for Class 5: Examples, Exercises and Worksheets

The form of the verb in the Simple Present Tense depends on the subject:

• For subjects I, You, We, They, and other plural subjects: We use the base form of the verb (e.g., go, eat, play, sing).
  • Example: I play football. They like ice cream.
• For subjects He, She, It, and other singular subjects (like a person's name, a single animal/thing): We usually add -s or -es to the base form of the verb.
  • Example: She plays football. He likes ice cream. The sun rises.

Rules for adding -s or -es to verbs with singular subjects (He, She, It):

• Most verbs: Add -s (e.g., walk -> walks, eat -> eats, sing -> sings)
• Verbs ending in -o, -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -z: Add -es (e.g., go -> goes, pass -> passes, wash -> washes, watch -> watches, fix -> fixes, buzz -> buzzes)
• Verbs ending in a consonant + y: Change -y to -ies (e.g., study -> studies, cry -> cries, fly -> flies)
• Verbs ending in a vowel + y: Add -s (e.g., play -> plays, enjoy -> enjoys)

Negative Sentences: Use do not (don't) or does not (doesn't) + base form of the verb.

• I/You/We/They do not like coffee.
• He/She/It does not like coffee.

Questions: Use Do or Does + subject + base form of the verb.

• Do you like apples?
• Does he play cricket?

• Habits or Regular Actions:
  • She drinks milk every morning.
  • They go to school by bus.
• General Truths or Facts:
  • The Sun rises in the East.
  • Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
• Permanent Situations:
  • He lives in Delhi.
  • My uncle works in a bank.
• Scheduled Future Events (like timetables):
  • The train leaves at 7 AM tomorrow.
  • The movie starts in ten minutes.
• Proverbs and Sayings:
  • Honesty is the best policy.

We form the Present Continuous Tense using:

Subject + am/is/are + base verb + -ing

• Use am with I (e.g., I am playing.)
• Use is with He, She, It, and other singular subjects (e.g., He is reading. The dog is barking.)
• Use are with You, We, They, and other plural subjects (e.g., You are singing. The children are laughing.)

Rules for adding -ing to verbs:

• Most verbs: Add -ing (e.g., talk -> talking, play -> playing)
• Verbs ending in -e: Drop the -e and add -ing (e.g., come -> coming, write -> writing) (Exception: see -> seeing)
• Verbs ending in a consonant + vowel + consonant (CVC) and the last syllable is stressed: Double the last consonant and add -ing (e.g., run -> running, sit -> sitting, stop -> stopping) (Do not double if the last syllable is not stressed, e.g., open -> opening)
• Verbs ending in -ie: Change -ie to -y and add -ing (e.g., lie -> lying, die -> dying)

Negative Sentences: Subject + am/is/are + not + base verb + -ing.

• I am not sleeping.
• She is not (isn't) watching TV.

Questions: Am/Is/Are + subject + base verb + -ing?

• Are you listening?
• Is he playing outside?

• Actions happening at the moment of speaking:
  • I am teaching English grammar now.
  • The children are playing in the garden. (right now)
• Temporary actions happening around the present time (but not necessarily at the exact moment of speaking):
  • She is learning to play the guitar these days.
  • We are reading an interesting book this week.
• Planned future actions (often with a time expression):
  • I am meeting my friend tomorrow.
  • They are going on a holiday next month.
• Changing or developing situations:
  • The weather is getting colder.
  • Your English is improving.

Words often used with Present Continuous Tense: now, right now, at the moment, currently, these days, look!, listen!

We form the Present Perfect Tense using:

Subject + has/have + past participle (3rd form) of the verb

• Use have with I, You, We, They, and other plural subjects (e.g., I have finished. They have eaten.)
• Use has with He, She, It, and other singular subjects (e.g., He has gone. The cat has drunk milk.)

The past participle is the third form of the verb (e.g., go - went - gone; eat - ate - eaten; play - played - played).

Negative Sentences: Subject + has/have + not + past participle.

• I have not (haven't) seen that movie.
• She has not (hasn't) completed her work.

Questions: Has/Have + subject + past participle?

• Have you visited the Taj Mahal?
• Has he finished his lunch?

• Actions completed in the recent past with results in the present:
  • I have lost my keys. (Result: I can't open the door now.)
  • She has broken her leg. (Result: She can't walk now.)
• Actions that happened at an unspecified time in the past (experience):
  • I have visited Paris. (Sometime in my life)
  • Have you ever eaten sushi?
• Actions that started in the past and are still continuing in the present (often with 'for' or 'since'):
  • They have lived in this house for ten years. (They still live here.)
  • She has known him since childhood. (She still knows him.)
• Actions that have just finished (often with 'just'):
  • We have just finished our dinner.

Words often used with Present Perfect Tense: ever, never, already, yet, just, recently, so far, for, since.