Le présent simple
Le présent simple prend la forme du verbe à l’infinitif précédé d’un pronom à toutes les
personnes, sauf la troisième personne du singulier qui prend un –s :
to work
I work
You work
He works
We work
You work
They work
to work
C’est cet « s » que les Français oublient surtout à l’écrit.
Après –s, -sh, -ch, et –x, on ajoute –es : she kisses, it washes, she mixes, he watches.
l’auxiliare do est nécessaire pour poser des questions et faire lune négation:
Do I work?
I don't work, I do not work.
Do you work?
You don't work, you do not work.
Does she work? She doesn't work. She does not work.
Do we work?
We don't work, we do not work.
Do you work?
You don't work, you do not work.
Do they work?
They don't work, they do not work.
Le présent simple s’utilise lorsque ce qui est dit est toujours valable :
Water boils at 100°C at sea level => vérité générale.
He plays tennis every Monday => habitude.
He works as a nurse in a hospital => occupation principale.
Le présent simple est le temps le plus souvent utilisé avec les verbes de perception (avec can
le plus souvent) et le temps des sentiments :
Can you hear the thunder and see the lightening?
We love swimming in the sea but we loathe swimming in the lake.
I cherish those memories of summer spent on an island.
Exercices:
A) Complétez avec des formes interrogatives :
1. How often ... running (you/go)?
2. What ... (she / like) to do at the weekend?
3. ... (be / you) happy enough living in the States?
4. What temperature ... (water / freeze) at?
5. Where ... (go : you) on Sundays?
B) Traduire
1. Je fais souvent une promenade en autonne.
2. Est-ce que vous aimez le vin français ?
3. On se sent mieux en été.
4. Elle ne parle pas souvent.
5. Elle évite les foules.
C) Put the verbs into the right tense
After our travels (Let the Ship sail to the shores lined with cypresses), we ...(to be) interviewed by cognitive psychiatrists who ... (to )manage the project: debriefing, the relationship with the psychologist.
That night I travelled again. I ...(to) perceive the experience as a journey beyond reality, a walk in a parallel universe. We ...(to be) administered a drug before we ...(to go) off to the takeoff room, it ...(to be) the soul that ...(to take off), I ... (to find) that expression poetical. Lying on a couch, lit up by a bluish light, you ...(to slide) into a deep and sweet sleep. ...(to be) natural? ...(to be)denatured by this potion that ...(to open) the doors of ivory for us, which ...(to send) us into this artificial paradise, this paradise once lost for ever!
(Robert Sendrey, Onironet)
Utilisez la forme abrégée I'don't pour la conversation, I do not pour l'écrit.
Exception : le verbe être, qui est auxiliaire : Is she a teacher? Is he too hot outside?
Emploi du présent simple