#Ep. 16 Unlocking Present Tense Mastery (Part 3): Forming Questions with Confidence

Can mastering the present tense transform your English communication skills? Join me, Natalie, on this exciting exploration into the world of present tense questions. This third episode in our series promises to equip you with the essential tools for perfecting the simple present tense, ideal for discussing habits and routines. By the end, you'll effortlessly form questions like "Do you play tennis?" and "Does she live nearby?" as we break down the use of 'do' and 'does' with practical guidelines and examples. Whether you're tackling English for the first time or you're a seasoned learner aiming to polish your skills, this episode is packed with insights designed to boost your confidence and fluency.

As we journey further, we dive into the present continuous tense, a must-have for expressing actions occurring right now. You'll discover how to skillfully use 'am,' 'is,' and 'are' in constructing questions such as "Are they coming to the meeting?" and "Is he studying for the test?". With easy-to-understand tips and engaging practice questions, we're here to help you apply these rules seamlessly. From interactive exercises to relatable examples, this episode is your guide to speaking English with greater clarity and assurance. Join me in this engaging session, and let's take your English to the next level together.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

If you are struggling to understand how to use the different tenses in English, then I am so glad you have found me. Welcome to Learn English with Natalie. Today we're going to be talking about using the present tense in English. Now, this is part three on my course of present tense, so make sure you visit the past two episodes where I dive into the present tense even further, where I dive into the present tense even further. The present tense is essential for discussing facts, habits, routines and ongoing actions. So you're always going to be using this in your English language. Mastering the present tense will help you to communicate clearly and confidently. So today we're going to focus on farming questions in the present tense. We're going to focus on farming questions in the present tense Now, building on what we learned last week and the week before. We're going to talk about the simple present, which helps us to describe habits and routines. So, if you remember, we use the word do or does, depending on who we're talking about plus the subject. So who it is we're talking about and then the base verb. Here are some example questions do you play tennis? Do you play tennis? The word do and then the subject you do you play tennis. Next sentence Does she live nearby? Does she live nearby? So instead of using do, this time I use the word does. This is very similar to the work that we did last week, so you might find this easier this week. Does she live nearby? Now here's a top tip for learning English. If you were using the word do, then you were talking about I, so I do or do I. If you were talking about you, you use the word do. Again, you do or do you. If you're asking a question. And again, if you're talking about they, you also use the word do they do or do they? If you were talking about he or she, you use the word does. Does she or she does and he does? Or if you're asking a question, does he? You just flip them around. Don't worry if you don't understand just yet. We're going to have a look at some example sentences, so I'm going to use the word do first of all, because I'm talking about you. Do you speak English? I'm going to say that one more time and then you can repeat after me Do you speak English? Your turn, wonderful, my turn me. Do you speak English? Your turn, wonderful, my turn. Does she like ice cream? Your turn, fantastic. Do they play tennis after school? Your turn wonderful, my turn. Does he work on? Your turn Wonderful, my turn. Does he work on weekends? Your turn, fantastic. Do we need more sugar? Your turn, excellent. Now I'm just going to go over that rule one more time to help your understanding. If I'm talking about you, I or they, I use the word do. So. Do you, do they, do we? So do you, do they, do we? If I'm talking about he or she, which is a third person singular subject, I use does, does she, does he? Now we're going to have a look at a different way of forming questions in the present tense and we're going to use the present continuous. Again, this is building on what we did last week, so the present continuous helps us to describe actions that are happening right now.

Speaker 1: 4:04

We use the words am, is or are to start our sentences, followed by the subject, and, depending on the subject, that will determine if you use am, is or are We'll go into that in a second and then we follow that with the verb, and the verb is followed by ing. Now, this will become a bit clearer in a moment. So I'm going to use the word are because I'm talking about they, are they? And then my verb plus ing Are they coming to the meeting? Are they coming to the meeting? And now for this next sentence, I'm talking about he. So instead of using are, I'm going to use the word is Is he studying for the test? Now here's a top tip to remember when learning English. If you are talking about I, you say am I am coming. If you are talking about he, she or it, you use is he is studying or is he studying. If you are talking about you, we or they, you say are. Are they coming? Are you getting a taxi? We're going to have a look at some example sentences now to make this a bit clearer for you.

Speaker 1: 5:32

My turn, am I doing this correctly? So this is a question. Now we're forming questions this week. This if I was to swap the I and am around, it would become a statement. So it will become. I am doing this correctly, but as a question am I doing this correctly? Your turn, fantastic. My turn. Is she working on the project? Now? Your turn, wonderful. Are they playing football outside? Your turn, excellent. Is he coming to the meeting today? Your turn, brilliant. Are we studying together this evening? Your turn, excellent. Now it's activity time.

Speaker 1: 6:34

This week, I want you to write a list of five questions in the present tense and practice using these questions with your friends this week. I would love to see what you come up with, so please make sure you reach out to me on TikTok or YouTube at Learn English with Natalie, and I'm also available on Patreon at Learn English with Natalie. At Learn English with Natalie. Now, if you're a bit of a reading fanatic, like I am, and you're interested in learning English through books, then you may want to consider joining my Patreon. On Patreon, I will be delivering exclusive content where I will help you further your English by exploring English novels, both classic and modern novels. So if you are interested in reading stories and you want to improve your English even further, then please check that out. All of my information is available in the show notes. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss next week's episode, where I'll be covering more information about the tenses to further your understanding. See you next week. To further your understanding. See you next week.