Present Simple in English (revision exercise).

Choose one of the options in brackets as your answer and write or paste them into the spaces. (You can also listen to the English example sentences for intonation and pronunciation practice.)

Present simple tense is generally used to talk about 1) (temporary / habitual) actions.

I work on Saturday mornings. ...
All the shops close over the weekend. ...

Present simple also talks about situations that are 2) (temporary / permanent).

The moon goes round the Earth. ...
Water freezes at 0º centigrade. ...

Present simple is often used to talk about 3) . (itineraries / journeys) This use of the tense is expressing something that will happen in a future time:

My plane leaves at 6.00 am. (tomorrow) ...
The London train arrives at 10.00 pm. (this evening) ...
On Tuesday the Queen visits the White House. (next week) ...

4) Frequency (adjectives / adverbs) (always, never etc.) are placed 5) (in front of / behind) the main verb in present simple:

I never go there. ...
They hardly ever do any exercise. ...
Dave rarely gets to work late. ...
Maria occasionally leaves early. ...

But the frequency adverb is placed immediately 6) (after / behind) the verb "to be" and auxiliary verbs.

He is always hungry. ...
He can never be quiet. ...

"Sometimes" and "occasionally" can also be placed 7) (in the middle / at the beginning) of the sentence with no change in meaning.

Sometimes spring arrives earlier. ...
Occasionally there are showers. ...

There are some verbs that almost always take the present simple form even when we talk about actions happening now. These verbs are not usually used in the present 8)  (continuous / simple) form.

I love pizza. ...
I like you. ...
I have a new car. ...
I don't understand a thing. ...
I really like this pizza ... (you're eating it now).

We usually, however, if the verb type allows it, use present 9) (continuous / simple) to talk about an action which is happening now and not present 10) . (continuous / simple)

Hey, you! What are you doing? ...
I'm not doing anything at the moment. ...