Shadowing Practice: Learn English Tenses: PRESENT SIMPLE - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hi, I'm Rebecca.
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Welcome to this series on English tenses.
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In this class, we will look at the present simple tense.
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I'll show you exactly when to use it, how to use it, and also what mistakes to be careful of when you're using this tense.
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We'll also go through lots of practice exercises together, so you will learn exactly how to use this tense correctly and confidently.
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Are you ready?
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Let's get started.
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This series is about English tenses, but what are tenses anyway?
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Tenses are simply the way we talk about time in English.
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What do we mean by time?
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We mean the past, the present, the future, right?
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These are all different times and we have different tenses to express or talk about those times.
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So, in this lesson, we're going to look at the two basic ways that we can speak about the present in English,
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and they are the present simple and the present continuous, or present progressive, as it's also called.
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Now, although we are focusing on the present simple,
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I want to give you a little overview you so that you understand the basic differences between these two simple tenses, alright?
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So, let me give you an example.
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In present simple, we would say, I work.
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And in present continuous, we would say, I am working. So, what's the difference?
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What's the difference between these two sentences?
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What's the difference?
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Is there a difference?
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I don't know.
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What do you think?
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Well, I do know.
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And there is a difference.
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Perhaps in your language, there isn't any difference,
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because in many languages, there is no difference between the way that these two ideas are expressed.
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But in English, there is a difference in the idea and the way that we say it.
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So, let me explain what that difference is.
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When we say, I am working, which is that other tense, present continuous, which you can learn later,
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that is talking about something that's happening now or something temporary.
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What do I mean by now?
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For example, I am teaching.
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You are listening, right?
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All these things are happening right now.
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So, when we are saying that, when I'm saying that, I'm using present continuous.
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But when I say, I work, that is in general.
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For example, I may not be working at this moment, but I work somewhere, I have a job.
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So when we talk about something that's true in general, that's present simple.
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Also, present simple is for something that's more or less permanent.
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For example, if you have a job, of course, no job or nothing in life is necessarily permanent.
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What does permanent mean?
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That it lasts all the time.
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But let's say you're not changing jobs every day.
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So more or less, this is the job you always have.
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This is your permanent job.
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So, then, for those kind of activities, we use present simple and we say, I work at the bank, I work in the store,
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etc. But, I am working would just be right now or it could also be for something temporary.
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Temporary means only for a short period of time.
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This is for always, this is for a short period of time time.
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This is true in general, and this one is true for something happening now.
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So, those are some basic differences between these two tenses.
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Now, let's focus on the tense that we're working on today, which is present simple.
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So, how does it sound?
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How does it actually work?
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It's like this.
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So, these are the different subjects, and this is the verb and the way we use it.
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So, just repeat it after me.
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I work.
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You work.
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We work.
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They work.
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He works.
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She works. and it works.
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It meaning maybe the air conditioner or the computer.
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It is for something, which is not a person, but it's for a thing.
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And we saw some differences there.
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Don't worry about those changes now.
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We're going to learn all about that in a later part of this lesson.
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Okay?
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So, that's what it sounds like.
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This is a basic description of these two differences, which you can keep in mind as we now move forward with the present simple tense.
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Now, let's look at when we use the present simple tense.
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Okay?
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So, we have five different situations in which we can use this tense.
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Let's go through them one by one.
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First of all, we can use the present simple tense to talk about things which are permanent, which are more or less always true.
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Okay?
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For example, we live in New York.
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So, let's suppose that this is where you live, right?
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Not just for a short time, but for a long time.
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And more or less, it's a permanent situation.
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It's always true for you.
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It doesn't mean it's completely true always, but most of the time, this is where you live.
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So, that's what we consider permanent.
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So, we could say, we live in New York, he works at a bank.
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So, when we say he works at a bank, that means that's his permanent, regular job.
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Okay?
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It's not a temporary job, it's not a job that he has just for a little while, that's where he works most of the time.
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Okay?
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So, we use this for permanent situations.
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Think about yourself, okay?
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Whenever you're trying to learn a tense, one of the great things you can do is to think of an example
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that applies to your life or to people that you know.
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What is permanent for you?
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So, you could say a sentence right now, such as, I live in whichever city you live in.
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Or if you're working somewhere, and then you could say, I work, okay?
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So, you You, by making these sentences, are already using the present simple tense.
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It's that simple.
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Okay.
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So, let's look at another situation in which you can use the present simple tense. For routines.
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So, what's a routine?
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A routine is something you do regularly, okay?
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For example, I wake up at six o 'clock every day, okay?
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I go to sleep at 11.
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So wake, go, these verbs are in the present simple tense because they're talking about a regular activity, a routine.
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We can also use this tense to talk about facts.
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For example, the sun rises in the east.
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It's just a fact.
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It's something that's a scientific truth.
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It's not something that I decided or you decided.
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It's just true.
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We could also say the sun sets in the west.
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Okay?
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Next, we can use this tense to talk about schedules, because think about it.
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What is a schedule?
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A schedule tells us when something is going to happen, and that's kind of connected to this point, right?
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It's a regularly scheduled event.
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So, for example, we could say, our class starts at nine o 'clock.
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Why are we using present simple?
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Because our class always starts at nine o 'clock.
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All right?
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It's kind of permanent, it's kind of a routine, it's a schedule.
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Or the flight leaves at noon.
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Not just this time, but the flight always leaves at noon.
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It has a schedule and therefore we're using the present simple tense with the words starts and leaves.
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Okay?
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Got that?
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Now, let's look at one other situation.
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There are some words in English and they're called adverbs of frequency to describe how How often something is happening.
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And these words are shown down here, but let's look at this sentence first.
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She always takes the bus.
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So always is a word that tells us how often something happens.
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And all of these words down here are just like that.
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So, if always is like a hundred percent of the time, we have other words.
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We have the word never.
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Which is zero percent.
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It never happens.
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It doesn't happen at all.
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So we could say here, she never takes the bus, right?
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We could also say, let's say 50 % of the time, okay, she takes the bus.
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So we could say, she sometimes takes the bus, or once in a while, okay?
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She rarely takes the bus.
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Or, she often takes the bus.
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So when you see one of these words, which are called adverbs of frequency,
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that also tells you that you should be using the present simple tense along with these other situations.
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So if you want to learn it really well, as I said, apply it to yourself.
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Say something about your routine.
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Say something about what you always do or what you never do, and that way you are already using the present simple tense.
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Now, let's look at how to form the present simple tense.
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So, I've divided the board into three sections for positive sentences,
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negative sentences, and for questions, and we'll go through each one step by step, okay?
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Okay?
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So, for these subjects, I, you, we, and they, we just say work.
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For example, I work.
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You can say it after me.
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That way you will remember the grammar, you'll also get the pronunciation, and it'll help you to learn and remember.
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So, repeat after me.
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I work, you work, we work, they work.
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Good.
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Now, look what happens here.
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When it comes to he, she, and it, we need to add an S, okay?
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That's all.
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We need to add an S for he, she, and it.
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Not because it's plural, it's not plural, but from a grammar point of view, in the present simple we need to add an S here.
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So, say it after me,
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he works, she works, and it works, okay?
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Very good it.
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So, that's for a positive or affirmative sentence.
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Now, let's look at a negative sentence.
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So, what we would say is, I don't work, if we're shortening it,
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or we would say, I do not work.
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So, what happened here?
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How did we make it negative?
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First, we have to add this word do, and down here we need to add the word does.
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So, this is a helping verb that we have to use in this negative form, alright?
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So, just learn it the way it is and you'll understand it and you'll get used to it.
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So, we say, I do not work,
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but do not, but when we shorten it, becomes don't.
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And how does that happen?
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We take out the O here, and then we squeeze these words together, we join them together, and it becomes don't.
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So, first let's say it with the contraction, with the short form, because that's how we usually speak.
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It is correct to say, I do not work, but usually we'll say, I don't work.
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Alright?
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But the most important thing to remember is here we say, I do not work, but here it becomes, he does not work.
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And does not, when we shorten it, when we contract it, It becomes doesn't.
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So what happened here?
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We cancelled the O, and again, we joined these two words, does and not, and it became doesn't.
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And you can always know how to spell this contraction or this short form because of where we put the apostrophe.
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We put the apostrophe, this little comma that's in the air, in the place where we take out a letter.
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So, we put it here instead of the O, and we put it here instead of the O.
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So, let's go through these.
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I don't work.
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You don't work, we don't work, they don't work.
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Now let's go to he, she, and it.
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Remember, he, she, and it is always going to be a little bit different.
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Let's hear it and say it.
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He doesn't work, she doesn't work, it doesn't work.
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Let's say the phone, the computer, it doesn't work, okay?
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Now let's go to the questions.
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So what happens in the questions?
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In the question we also have to use that helping verb, do, okay?
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Do here and does down here.
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And we have to change the order, so instead of saying I do, we say do I, all right?
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So repeat it after me.
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Do I work?
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I don't know.
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I don't remember. Do you work? Do we work? Do they work?
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Down here you would say with he, she, and it. Does he work? Does she work?
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work?
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Does it work?
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All right?
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Now, usually, of course, you're not just going to say, do you work?
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You might say something more than that.
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Do you work on Fridays?
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Do you work Monday to Friday?
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Do you work at the bank?
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All right?
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So, usually there's something more, but I've just put the basic form here so that you understand the structure of how to use this tense.
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Now, another important point is that sometimes when we ask questions, we don't just start with do or does,
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but we need to add a question word, right?
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So maybe you want to say where.
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What are the question words, first of all?
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Who, what, when, where, why, how, how much, how many, how often, okay?
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These are all what are called question words, but if you have one of these question words, all you have to do,
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it's really easy, the only thing you have to do is to put that question word right before this structure.
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So, where do you work, right?
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When do you work?
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Why do you work?
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How much do you work?
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How often do you work? work, but we're keeping the same structure, and we still need to have that helping verb do.
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The same down here.
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Where does he work?
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When does she work?
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Okay?
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So, keep that structure, and even if you have a question word, don't worry, just put it at the beginning.
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So, here we have some examples.
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Where do you live?
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What do you do?
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Okay?
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But the most important thing to remember is this part, okay?
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He works, she works, it works.
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This is the only place in the entire board where we're adding an S to the verb itself.
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Everywhere else, we're just using the base form of the verb, right?
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So let's say our verb is to work, so here it's work, I work, I don't work, do you work,
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work, he works, here it's different, but after that it goes back to the base form of the verb, right?
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He doesn't work.
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Does he work?
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So even though with he, she, and it in the positive sentence we add the S, but here in the negative, no, just go back to the base form,
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and in the question go back to the base form of the word work work, but you do need to remember that in that positive sentence, add the s.
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Okay?
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So, that's the structure of the present simple tense.
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It's really pretty straightforward, you just need to practice it and you will get it.
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Now let's look at some of the spelling changes we need to make in the present simple tense.
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We only need to make those changes, as I mentioned earlier, when we're using he, she, or it.
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Because, for example, we say, I work, but he works, right?
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So what was the spelling change we needed there?
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We had to add an S.
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And most of the time, with most verbs, all you need to do is add that S.
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For example, dance becomes dances.
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You can say it after me as well, okay? cook cooks, sleep, sleeps, alright?
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So, there, all we did, we just added the S for, with the he, she or it, alright?
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Next, if the verb ends with an S or an SH or a CH or an X,
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then Then we need to add "-es", and we can almost hear it, okay?
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Just listen.
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For example, kiss, kisses.
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You see that we're hearing kisses, is a little bit, it's a little bit longer, right?
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So that tells us that we need to add an "-es".
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The next one, wash, becomes washes.
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teaches, teaches, fixes, fixes.
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Okay?
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So, that's another change.
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Another one is verbs ending in a consonant and Y.
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What do I mean by that?
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If we look at this verb, study, it ends with a Y, right?
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And just before the Y, we have a consonant.
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What's a consonant?
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Anything that's not a vowel is a consonant.
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So, what's a vowel?
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A vowel in English is A, E, I, O, or U.
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Everything else, B, D, G, X, etc., these are all consonants.
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So, D is a consonant, Or here, in the word try, we have a Y, and before that, we have a consonant, right?
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So what happens in those cases?
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We have to drop that last Y, and we have to add I, E, S.
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You've probably seen this lots of times, okay?
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But this is actually what's happening.
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So, study becomes studies, try becomes tries, okay?
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You'll get it.
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You'll see.
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Fry, fries, right?
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Like French fries, okay.
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All right.
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So, then, last of all, there are some other verbs.
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They're usually irregular verbs, okay?
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Okay, these are the most common patterns,
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but there are a few verbs where the ending might be different in one way or another, okay?
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Sometimes the verb really changes and you have to pay attention to that.
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You may be familiar with many of these already, but here are a few examples.
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Go becomes like I go, he goes.
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I do, she does.
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I have, it has.
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So, you see that in some cases, the verb changed completely.
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Okay?
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So, these are the most common patterns for spelling changes in the present simple tense.
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Now, let's look at how to give short answers in English.
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See, in real conversation, when someone asks you a question, we don't usually repeat the whole question in our answer.
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We just give what's called like a short answer.
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Let me give you an example.
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So, if someone says, do they need help, then you could just say,
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in short, either, yes, they do, or no, they don't.
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So we do not have to say, yes, they need help, right?
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You don't have to repeat that whole question.
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You just give what's called the short answer.
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And how do you know how to shorten it? it?
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It's really easy.
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So, if the question starts with do, like this, right?
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Then your answer will include some form of do or don't,
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depending on if it's a positive sentence or a negative one.
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So, we see here, do they need help?
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Yes, they do, right?
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Or, no, they don't.
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Alright?
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So, the do, the way the question starts is the way you will be able to answer it.
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Alright?
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It's really pretty simple.
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It really is.
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The important thing to remember is that in the affirmative or positive answer, we cannot shorten it.
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Okay?
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There is no way to shorten that correctly, so here we have to say,
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yes, they do, but here you can use the short form or that contraction that we learned, and you can say, no, they don't.
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Alright?
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Let's look at another example.
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This time I think you'll be able to apply the principle yourself.
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So the question is, does he speak French?
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So, how did it start?
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It does us.
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So, what are our options?
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Yes, he does, right?
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Or no, he doesn't.
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Okay?
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Again, the does is used in the short answer.
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Yes, he does.
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No, he doesn't.
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Got it?
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Alright.
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So, So, based on that, you can see that you could answer any question
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that someone's asking you in Present Simple by just listening carefully to the question, but you do have to pay attention also to the subject here.
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So, for example, in this last one, do you like this song?
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Somebody asks you, do you like this song?
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So your answer, they're asking you, so you can't say, yes, you, you have to say, yes, I, alright?
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Yes, I do, right?
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The do comes into play again.
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Or, no, I don't.
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So, again, you do see the same principle applied all the way.
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And again, remember, in the positive form, you cannot shorten it, but in the negative form,
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you can and you should shorten it because that's how we normally speak.
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And these short answers are used a lot in normal conversation, so it would be a good idea for you to learn them, and it's really pretty fast, and I think you might have already learned them.
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So, do you understand?
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You could say, yes, I do.
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I hope that's what you said.
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Okay?
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All right.
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Now let's look at some common mistakes that students often make mistake when they start using the present simple tense.
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And this way, you will know what to be careful of so that you don't make these kind of mistakes.
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Alright?
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Let's look.
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So usually the mistakes are of four different kinds.
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Sometimes the mistake is in the tense itself.
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So remember we mentioned at the beginning that there can be present simple and present continuous, and that present simple is for something permanent,
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and present continuous is for something temporary.
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So sometimes learners get mixed up between these two tenses.
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So let's say in this example that this person lives in Tokyo, right?
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It's not just for a little while, it's where that person lives.
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So, if that person said, I'm living in Tokyo, that would be wrong.
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If that's where the person stays permanently, he or she should say, I live in Tokyo.
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They could say, I'm living in Tokyo, only if it's something temporary, alright?
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So, that is one mistake that's sometimes made with the present simple, that confusion between between it and present continuous.
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Now, let's look at another kind of mistake.
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That's when a mistake is made with the verb form.
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You'll find it, because now you're good at this, okay?
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Ready?
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Let's read...
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These are all mistakes, okay?
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So, these are all wrong.
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We're going to correct them together.
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The sentence right now says, we likes to travel.
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So the verb is wrong.
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What should it be?
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See?
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We like to travel.
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Say it after me.
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We like to travel.
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Good.
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Here's a mistake, the same thing in the verb form, but in a negative sentence.
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They doesn't eat vegetables.
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That's wrong.
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You know that.
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What should it be?
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They don't eat vegetables.
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Say it after me.
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They don't eat vegetables.
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Good.
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And here's a mistake in the question.
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Does you talk to him often?
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That's wrong.
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We can't say that.
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We need to say what? Do you?
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Say it after me.
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Do you talk to him often?
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Good, alright?
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So those are verb form kind of mistakes.
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Another mistake that's possible is in spelling.
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We looked at the many kinds of spelling, right?
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And you need to make the changes.
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So here, the person wrote, she tries to save money, but the spelling of the verb is incorrect,
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because here it's a Y and before that is a consonant, remember?
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So what should it be?
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T -R -I -E -S.
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We had to drop that Y and add I -E -S, so you'll pick up those spelling changes, okay?
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Just pay attention when you're reading and so on, and it'll come to you naturally.
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Next, sometimes an entire word is missing.
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So, let's look at this one.
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This is a question.
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What time you finish work?
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It almost sounds right, but it's not.
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It's wrong.
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Grammatically, in English, that's wrong.
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Can you understand it?
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Yes, you can understand it, but it's still wrong.
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So how do we correct it?
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Did you find the mistake?
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So we should say, what time do you finish work?
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So what was missing was that helping word, okay?
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The helping verb.
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Remember, we do have to add that even if you have a question word here, like what time, all right?
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What time do you finish work?
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So these are the four main kinds of mistakes that you have to be careful of in tense, using the wrong tense, using the wrong verb form,
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making any kind of spelling mistakes, or leaving out an essential verb or helping verb, all right?
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That's it.
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You've been learning a lot, so now it's time to practice.
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Let's get started.
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Number one, I take, but he...
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What would you say in present simple?
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I take, he takes, right?
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We have to add that S there.
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Right, very good.
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Now let's work it the other way.
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Okay, she does, we, do you know it?
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We do.
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Very good.
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You enjoy, she, yes, I can hear you, she enjoys.
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Very good.
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All right, now let's make some phrases negative, all right?
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So we're going from positive to negative.
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They study, they use the contraction, they don't study, right?
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Don't being short for what? Do not.
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Right, you got it.
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The next one, he sings, make it negative, he, yes,
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he doesn't sing, doesn't is short for what? Does not.
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Very good.
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Now, let's make some questions, so let's read the sentence first.
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She wants to buy a new phone.
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How would we ask the question?
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What's the helping verb you have to use, helping word?
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Do or does, giving you a clue there.
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Here it's she, so we have to say, does she want to buy a new phone, okay?
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Okay?
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So, remember, we come back to the base form of the verb, and we have to use do or does, but because it's she, we're saying does.
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Does she want to buy a new phone?
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Okay?
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Good.
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Let's do the last one.
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They sell books online.
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Ask a question about that.
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Again, what are you going to start with? Do this time.
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Right.
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Alright, do they sell books online, right, okay?
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Why do?
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Because now we're talking about they, and why does here?
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Because we were talking about she, alright?
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So if you got those right, that's great.
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If you got any wrong, maybe you can go back later and check those parts, but we're going to practice some more, we're going to learn a little bit more,
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and you'll get it for sure by the end of this, okay?
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Stick with me.
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To review, you know the present simple tense when you know when to use it, which we talked about, and how to use it.
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And how do you know that you know how to use it when you can do these things?
488
You can make a positive sentence, a negative sentence, and a question.
489
For example, you should be able to say easily, they live in Amsterdam, or they don't live in Amsterdam",
490
or, do they live in Amsterdam?
491
You should be able to switch easily and comfortably and quickly and correctly between these three sentences.
492
Okay?
493
So, remember, this is the present simple tense, but this is an entire series that we have of English tenses.
494
So from the present simple, you can go to the next class, which is on the present continuous tense,
495
and that way you can take your English forward step -by -step, alright?
496
And if you'd like a little more practice on this tense, the present simple tense, go to engVid.
497
Alright?
498
Thank you very much for watching, I know you're a serious student, and I know you're going to make good progress.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 498 sentences and 4589 words to shadow. The speech runs for 36:08. The speaker talks at a steady 127 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 90% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| tense noun | /tɛns/ | The property of indicating the point in time at which an action or state of being occurs or exists. |
| verb noun | /vɝb/ | A word that indicates an action, event, or state of being. |
| continuous adjective | /kənˈtɪn.juː.əs/ | Without stopping; without a break, cessation, or interruption. |
| spelling noun | /ˈspɛl.ɪŋ/ | The act, practice, ability, or subject of forming words with letters, or of reading the letters of words; orthography. |
| temporary adjective | /ˈtɛmp(əˌɹ)ɛɹi/ | Not permanent; existing only for a period or periods of time. |
| routine noun | /ɹuˈtin/ | A course of action to be followed regularly; a standard procedure. |
| clock noun | /klɑk/ | A chronometer, an instrument that measures time, particularly the time of day. |
| leaf noun | /lif/ | The usually green and flat organ that represents the most prominent feature of most vegetative plants. |
| correctly adverb | /kəˈɹɛk(t).li/ | In a correct manner. |
| vegetable noun | /ˈvɛd͡ʒ.tə.bəl/ | A plant raised for some edible part of it, such as the leaves, roots, fruit or flowers, but excluding any plant considered to be a fruit, grain, herb, or spice… |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| frequency noun | /ˈfɹiːkwənsi/ | The rate of occurrence of anything; the relationship between incidence and time period. |
| principle noun | /ˈpɹɪn.sɪ.pəl/ | A fundamental assumption, fundamental law or guiding belief. |
| grammar noun | /ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/ | A system of rules and principles for the structure of a language, or of languages in general. |
| noon noun | /nun/ | The time of day when the Sun seems to reach its highest point in the sky; solar noon. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
| take out verb | To remove. |
| do down verb | To belittle or intimidate. |
| go back verb | To return to a place or state after having been there at a previous time. |
| leave out verb | To omit, to not include, to neglect to mention. |
| mix up verb | To mix or blend thoroughly and completely. |
| pick up verb | To lift; to grasp and raise. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | working, which is · today, which is · something, which is |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are expressed · are shown · are called |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've divided · I've just put · You've probably seen |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | should be · should shorten · should say |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 99 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, we're, doesn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: wash /wɑʃ/, confusion /kənˈfjuːʒən/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, shorten /ˈʃɔɹtn̩/, contraction /kənˈtɹækʃ(ə)n/
- Long words — get the stress right: continuous /kənˈtɪn.juː.əs/, temporary /ˈtɛmp(əˌɹ)ɛɹi/, affirmative /əˈfɝməɾɪv/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like tense, verb, continuous.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.