You already know to be and to have. Now we move to all other verbs — eat, sleep, work, study, read, go. The present simple describes things that are always true, habits, or things that happen regularly.
💡 When to use Present Simple
✅ Habits and routines: "I drink coffee every morning."
✅ Facts that are always true: "The sun rises in the east."
✅ Preferences: "She likes music."
❌ Not for things happening right now at this moment — that's a different tense (Present Continuous), which comes later.
The Basic Forms
| Subject | Verb form | Example (work) | Romanian |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | work | I work every day. | Eu lucrez în fiecare zi. |
| You | work | You work at home. | Tu lucrezi acasă. |
| He / She / It | works | She works in a school. | Ea lucrează la o școală. |
| We | work | We work together. | Noi lucrăm împreună. |
| You (plural) | work | You work hard. | Voi lucrați din greu. |
| They | work | They work in Cluj. | Ei lucrează în Cluj. |
💡 The One Rule – The -s
For He / She / It, add -s to the verb. That's the only change.
I eat → She eats · I sleep → He sleeps · I read → It reads
Special spelling: verbs ending in -ch, -sh, -x, -o, -s add -es:
go → goes · watch → watches · do → does
Verbs ending in consonant + -y change to -ies:
study → studies · carry → carries
Daily Routine Verbs
✏️ Practice – Add -s or leave unchanged
Write the correct form of the verb in brackets.
To make a negative or question in the present simple, you use the helper verbs do and does. You already saw these with "have" in Lesson 2 — the same rule applies to all verbs.
He / She / It + doesn't + verb
"I don't eat meat."
"She doesn't work on Sundays."
Does + he / she / it + verb?
"Do you drink coffee?"
"Does he work here?"
💡 The -s disappears in negatives and questions
When you use doesn't or does, the main verb goes back to its base form — no -s.
✅ "She works." → "She doesn't work." (not ~~doesn't works~~)
✅ "He watches TV." → "Does he watch TV?" (not ~~does he watches~~)
| Positive | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|
| I eat breakfast. | I don't eat breakfast. | Do I eat breakfast? |
| She reads at night. | She doesn't read at night. | Does she read at night? |
| They go to work. | They don't go to work. | Do they go to work? |
| He watches TV. | He doesn't watch TV. | Does he watch TV? |
✏️ Practice – Don't or Doesn't?
✏️ Practice – Do or Does?
✏️ Practice – Make it negative or a question
Rewrite each sentence as instructed.
2. Do they walk to school?
3. She doesn't watch TV at night.
4. Do you drink coffee in the morning?
My name is Codruț. I live in Cluj-Napoca with my wife, Raluca. Every morning I wake up at six-thirty. I have a shower and then I make coffee. Raluca wakes up later — at seven-thirty. She doesn't drink coffee. She drinks tea.
I work at a software company. I usually go to work by bike — it takes about twenty minutes. Raluca works at a hospital. She takes the tram. Her journey takes thirty minutes.
We have lunch at different times. I eat at my desk but Raluca goes to the hospital canteen. In the evening, I usually cook dinner. Raluca doesn't cook much — she doesn't enjoy it. But she washes the dishes!
After dinner we sometimes watch a film or read. We don't go to bed late — usually at ten-thirty. We like our routine. It works well for us.
Comprehension Questions – Answer in English
2. He goes to work by bike.
3. No, she doesn't. She drinks tea.
4. Codruț cooks dinner.
5. They watch a film or read.
Translation – English → Romanian
Translate each sentence. Pay attention to the -s rule and don't/doesn't.
2. He doesn't eat meat.
3. We go to work by bus.
4. She works in a hospital.
5. He / She doesn't watch TV in the evening.
6. Do you go to the gym every day?
7. He studies English.
8. We don't eat together every day.
Topic: Describe a typical day in your life
Write at least 80 words. Use at least 8 different present simple verbs, including at least 2 with -s (He/She/It) and one negative.
- What time do you wake up? What do you do in the morning?
- How do you get to work or school?
- What do you do in the evening?
- Mention one thing a family member or friend does.
- Include one thing you don't do.
Lesson Complete!
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correct answers