Your Daily
English Toolkit
This practical course helps you confidently use present simple tense to talk about your daily habits and describe facts about the world around you. You'll learn to construct clear, grammatically correct sentences that native speakers use every day in casual conversation.
Learn how to construct simple English sentences using am, is, and are to describe people and things in the present tense.
Welcome to Your English Journey
This course will help you build a strong foundation in English grammar, focusing on the present simple tense. Throughout the course, you’ll learn to:
- Describe people and things using am/is/are
- Talk about daily habits and routines
- Express facts and ownership
We’ll start with the basics and gradually build your skills. By the end of this course, you’ll be able to create a variety of sentences to communicate effectively in everyday situations.
Let’s begin with the building blocks: using am, is, and are to describe people and things!
Choosing the Right Form: Am, Is, or Are?
The present simple tense often uses the verbs am, is, or are to describe people and things. But how do you know which one to use? It depends on the subject of your sentence.
Use ‘am’ with:
- I
Examples:
- I am happy.
- I am a teacher.
Use ‘is’ with:
- He, She, It
- Singular nouns
Examples:
- He is tall.
- She is a doctor.
- The cat is small.
- Nick is playing guitar.
Use ‘are’ with:
- You, We, They
- Plural nouns
Examples:
- You are kind.
- We are friends.
- They are students.
- The children are healthy.
Describing People and Things
One of the most common uses of am/is/are is to describe people and things using adjectives.
Structure
Subject + am/is/are + adjective
This structure helps us express facts about people and things. For example:
- He is a healthy child.
- She is tall.
- They are happy.
- I am tired.
- The book is interesting.
We can also use this structure with nouns: Subject + am/is/are + (article) + noun
- He is a doctor.
- She is my friend.
- They are students.
Practice: Subject-Verb Agreement
Let's practice choosing the correct form (am/is/are) for different subjects.
Present Simple vs. Present Continuous
It’s important to understand when to use the present simple tense versus the present continuous tense.
Present Simple with am/is/are
- Used for facts or things that are true for a long time
- Structure: Subject + am/is/are + adjective/noun
- Example: He is a healthy child.
Present Continuous
- Used for activities happening now or in the near future
- Structure: Subject + am/is/are + verb + ing
- Example: He is running to school.
Let’s test your understanding:
Which sentence describes a fact rather than a current activity?
They are walking to school.
She is a doctor.
He is playing the guitar.
They are wearing jeans today.
This is present simple with am/is/are, describing a fact about the person.
The other sentences are in the present continuous, describing an activity happening now.
Key Takeaway
Building Your Present Simple Foundation
Remember these key points about using am/is/are in the present simple:
- Choose the correct form based on the subject: am (I), is (he/she/it), or are (you/we/they)
- Use am/is/are + adjective to describe people and things: He is healthy.
- Use am/is/are + noun to state facts: She is a doctor.
- Distinguish between facts (present simple) and current activities (present continuous)
In our next lesson, we'll explore how to talk about daily habits and routines using the present simple tense without am/is/are.
Expressing General Facts
Learn how to express general truths and show possession in English using present simple structures and possessive forms.
The present simple tense is perfect for stating things that are always true or true for a long time.
We use simple sentence structures:
- Subject + base verb (for most subjects)
- Subject + verb (with -s ending for he/she/it)
Examples:
- They walk to school every day.
- Water boils at 100°C.
- The Earth orbits the Sun.
- She wears jeans to school.
These sentences express general truths that aren’t limited to the present moment—they’re facts that remain constant over time.
Asking About Possession
When we want to ask who owns something, we use whose in our questions.
Common question forms:
- Whose + noun + is/are + that/this/these/those?
- Whose phone is this?
- Whose pants are these?
Responding to “whose” questions:
- That’s my aunt’s car.
- Not mine! They must be yours!
- She’s our dog.
Watch out!
Don’t confuse “whose” (asking about possession) with “who’s” (short for “who is”):
- Whose car is that? (asking about ownership)
- Who’s that? That’s my cousin. (asking about identity)
Using Possessives Correctly
Let's compare how we use possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns in sentences. The key difference is that possessive adjectives are followed by nouns, while possessive pronouns stand alone.
Possessive Adjectives
- That’s my aunt’s car.
- He’s playing his guitar.
- She’s our dog.
- They wear their jeans to school.
- Is this your book?
Possessive Pronouns
- That car isn’t mine, it’s yours.
- The guitar is his.
- The dog is ours.
- Those jeans are theirs.
- This book must be yours.
Course Recap
Congratulations! You’ve completed the course on present simple structures. Let’s review what you’ve learned:
Building Your Present Simple Foundation
- Constructing basic sentences with am/is/are + adjectives/nouns
- Applying correct verb forms for different subjects
Talking About Daily Habits and Routines
- Describing habitual actions using present simple
- Distinguishing between regular activities and current actions
Expressing Facts and Ownership
- Creating sentences for general facts and truths
- Asking about possession with ‘whose’
- Using possessive adjectives and pronouns correctly
You now have a solid foundation in present simple tense for everyday communication!
Key Takeaway
Remember These Key Points
Use present simple for general facts and truths that are always true or true for a long time. Ask about possession with 'whose' and respond with clear ownership statements. Choose the right possessive form: adjectives (my, your, his, her, our, their) before nouns, and pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs) when standing alone. These structures will help you express facts and ownership clearly in everyday English conversations.
Hello everyone, I’m Aristotle. Today I’m hoping to learn about some fundamental aspects of English grammar, specifically around how we talk about actions and possessions. I’ve invited Darwin to help explain these concepts to me.
Darwin
I’m happy to be here, Aristotle. I’m Darwin, and I’ve been studying a comprehensive English language guide that covers present tenses and possessive forms. This material is crucial for building a strong foundation in English, and I’ll try to explain it in simple terms.
Aristotle
Great! I often get confused between things like ‘He is running’ and ‘He runs.’ What’s the core difference between the present simple and the present continuous?
Darwin
That’s a common point of confusion! The guide explains it well. Think of the present simple as describing things that are always true, or true for a long time, or happen regularly. For example, ‘They walk to school every day’ or ‘They wear jeans to school.’ It’s about habits or facts.
Aristotle
So, ‘He is a healthy child’ would be present simple because it’s a general fact about him?
Darwin
Exactly! That’s a state of being, a general truth. Now, the present continuous, on the other hand, describes an activity happening right now, at this very moment, or in the near future. So, ‘He is running to school’ means he’s doing it right now. Or, ‘They’re going to a party this evening’ refers to a planned future event.
Aristotle
Ah, I see! So, ‘She jumps on the mat’ is what she generally does, but ‘She is jumping on the mat’ means she’s doing it right now. And if Ben and Ana ‘like to paint,’ that’s a general preference, but ‘They are painting a picture’ means they’re doing it at this moment?
Darwin
You’ve got it! The guide uses the example of Nick: ‘What is Nick doing? He’s playing his guitar.’ The ‘is playing’ tells us it’s happening right now. It’s the ‘am/is/are + verb + ing’ structure.
Aristotle
That makes a lot more sense. Now, let’s switch gears to possessives. I often mix up ‘whose’ and ‘who’s,’ and ‘my’ versus ‘mine.’ Can you clarify those?
Darwin
Certainly. The guide highlights these distinctions. ‘Who’s’ is a contraction of ‘who is’ or ‘who has.’ For example, ‘Who’s that?’ means ‘Who is that?’ But ‘Whose’ indicates possession. ‘Whose car is that?’ means ‘To whom does this car belong?’
Aristotle
So, ‘Who’s’ is like ‘he’s’ for ‘he is,’ but ‘Whose’ is about ownership. Got it. What about ‘my’ versus ‘mine’ and similar pairs like ‘your’ and ‘yours’?
Darwin
Excellent question. ‘My’ is a possessive adjective; it always comes before a noun, like ‘This is my dog.’ It describes the noun. ‘Mine’ is a possessive pronoun; it stands alone and replaces the noun. So, if someone says, ‘She’s not your dog,’ you can reply, ‘She’s mine.’ It means ‘my dog’ without repeating ‘dog.’
Aristotle
So, ‘my’ needs a noun after it, but ‘mine’ doesn’t. It’s the same for ‘your’ and ‘yours,’ ‘her’ and ‘hers,’ ‘our’ and ‘ours,’ ‘their’ and ‘theirs.’ Like, ‘She’s our dog’ uses ‘our’ before ‘dog,’ but ‘She’s ours’ uses ‘ours’ to mean ‘our dog.’ Is that right?
Darwin
Precisely, Aristotle! You’ve grasped the distinction perfectly. The guide emphasizes that these small words are crucial for clear communication. You can now confidently say, ‘Whose pants are these? They’re not mine! They must be yours!’
Aristotle
I think I could explain this to someone else now! The present simple is for general truths and habits, while the present continuous is for actions happening now or in the near future. And ‘whose’ is for possession, while ‘who’s’ is ‘who is.’ Finally, words like ‘my’ are adjectives that need a noun, but ‘mine’ are pronouns that stand alone. Thank you for explaining these complex topics so clearly, Darwin.
Darwin
You’ve summarized it beautifully, Aristotle. That’s exactly what makes the Feynman technique so powerful – if you can explain a complex concept in simple terms, you truly understand it. I’m glad I could help make this grammar more accessible.
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