Simple Present
100% Original Practice Test
Discover the routines of a neighbourhood bicycle delivery team. Study the guide, practise 44 questions, then use what you know in four short speaking tasks.
Your Quick Grammar Guide
People use the simple present for regular routines and facts. First ask who does the action; then choose the verb form that matches that subject.
1. How to Form It
This unit practises positive statements. The negative and question patterns below are previews for Units 6 and 7.
I / you / we / they
Positive: subject + base verb.
I ride to the market. / They carry the bags.
Negative preview: subject + do not (don’t) + base verb.
We don’t work on Sundays.
Question preview: Do + subject + base verb?
Do you ride to work?
He / she / it / one person or thing
Positive: subject + verb with its third-person ending.
Mina rides to the market. / The shop opens at seven.
Negative preview: subject + does not (doesn’t) + base verb.
Leo doesn’t carry cash.
Question preview: Does + subject + base verb?
Does Mina ride every Friday?
Make the third-person form
Most verbs take -s: ride → rides, pack → packs.
Add -es after ch, sh, s or x: watch → watches, wash → washes, pass → passes, fix → fixes.
Learn these common forms too: go → goes and do → does.
Consonant + y: change y to i and add -es: carry → carries.
Vowel + y: keep y and add -s: play → plays.
Special forms: have → has; do → does.
In a negative or question with does, use the base verb: Does she carry? She doesn’t carry. The ending is already in does.
2. Clue Words & Patterns
Routine words point to repeated time
every dayeach morningusuallyon Mondays
every day / each morning: I take the early route every day.
usually: Mina usually starts at eight.
on Mondays / after work: We check the bicycles on Mondays.
These clues often show a habit. They help with meaning, but the subject still decides whether the verb takes an ending.
Routines and facts share this form
Habit: Leo checks each bicycle before a trip. This happens again and again.
Fact: A bicycle has two wheels. This is generally true.
Both are simple present, but the first describes a repeated action and the second gives a fact.
Read the subject before the time clue
Every morning, I deliver bread. The subject is I, so use deliver.
Every morning, Mina delivers bread. Mina is one person, so use delivers.
The time phrase tells us when. The subject tells us the verb form.
3. Watch Out & Common Mistakes
Remember the ending with one person
Wrong: He ride past the park.
Better: He rides past the park.
He is third-person singular, so add the correct ending to the positive verb.
Use the right y spelling
Wrong: She carrys two bags.
Better: She carries two bags.
Carry has consonant + y, so change y to i and add -es. With play (vowel + y), write plays.
Choose the right ending
Wrong: The rider deliveres a box.
Better: The rider delivers a box.
Deliver takes the regular ending -s. Do not add an extra e.
Keep a plural subject with the base verb
Wrong: The neighbours buys bread here.
Better: The neighbours buy bread here.
Neighbours means more than one person. Use buy without -s.
Try three quick self-checks — no points
Choose the verb: Ava (carry / carries) the small parcel every day.
carries. Ava is one person; carry changes to carries.
Correct the sentence: The two riders delivers bread.
The two riders deliver bread. The subject is plural, so use the base form deliver.
Choose the spelling: Leo (plays / plaies) cards after dinner.
plays. Play has a vowel before y. Keep y and add -s.
Before you begin: find the subject, decide if it is he, she, it, or one named person or thing, then check the verb spelling.
Speaking: make it personal
Listen to each model, repeat it, then change the details to tell your own story. Speaking practice is for self-assessment and adds no points to the 44-question test.
Practice 1
Tell a partner what you do before your first delivery.
Read the model
I check my bicycle and take a bottle of water.
Practice 2
Describe one thing a neighbour does every morning.
Read the model
Mina rides her bicycle to the bakery.
Practice 3
Say what two riders do after they deliver the bread.
Read the model
They return to the shop and wash their bicycles.
Practice 4
Describe one fact about the small bicycle shop.
Read the model
The shop opens at seven and closes at six.
Ready to check your work?
Submit to grade your whole test, OR use 👁 Show Answer per part / per question.
Learning review: what can you do now?
Can you choose the base verb or the he/she/it form? Can you spell -s, -es and -ies endings? Describe your routine and a friend’s routine using present simple verbs.