Worksheets and lesson plans on this page
The worksheets are the quick way to fix the form. Each one has a short rule card, practice that gets harder step by step, and a present simple worksheet with answers in the Teacher's Version:
- Am, Is, Are: statements, negatives and questions with the verb to be
- Present Simple Third Person: he works, she watches, it rains
- Have Got: all its forms, next to have
- Present Simple vs Present Continuous: every day or right now
The lesson plans take longer and give the tense a reason to exist. In A Day In The Life, students describe routines with natural verb and noun pairs. Miracle Morning asks what successful people do before 8 a.m. Life As A Googler follows schedules and changes of plans, and The Art of Interview builds questions from WIRED autocomplete interviews.
Where adults get stuck with the present simple
Adults learn the rule on day one and still make the same three mistakes a year later. The present simple exercises with answers on this page target exactly these:
| Mistake | What you hear | Where to practice |
| The missing -s | She work in a bank. | Present Simple Third Person |
| Do or does in questions and negatives | Does she works here? He don't like coffee. | Present Simple Third Person, Who, What, Where? |
| Adverbs of frequency in the wrong place | I go always to the gym. | Adverbs of Frequency |
The missing -s lasts longest because it changes nothing in meaning, so learners stop hearing it. A worksheet that makes students choose between work and works ten times in a row does more than a correction in the middle of a conversation.
Each worksheet starts with the affirmative, negative and questions on one rule card, then mixes them, because adults rarely struggle with one form on its own. They struggle when they have to switch between she works, she doesn't work and does she work in the same conversation.
Present simple for beginners and false beginners
Most of the material here is A1-A2, which is where present simple worksheets for beginners are most needed. A complete beginner can start with Am, Is, Are and the free Total Beginner lesson. False beginners, adults who studied English years ago and remember the rules but not the habits, often do better starting with Present Simple Third Person and moving quickly to the topic lessons.
If you are not sure where a new student fits, the placement test gives you a level band, and every card on this page is labeled with its band.
Present simple worksheets for beginners also help adults who are nervous about speaking. A page they can finish alone, at their own speed, builds the confidence they need before the first conversation in English.
From the worksheet to real conversation
Controlled practice gets the form right, but students need to use it before it sticks. Ask about real routines: what time they start work, what they never do on Sundays, how often they call their parents. Short interviews in pairs work well because every question needs do or does and every answer needs the right verb ending. For more ideas, see our no-prep speaking activities for the present simple.
Keep the follow-up short and personal. Five questions about a real week tell you more about a student's control of the present simple than a whole page of gap-fills, and they show you which mistake to work on next.
Present simple worksheets FAQ
Do the worksheets have answer keys?
Yes. Every worksheet has a Student Version and a Teacher's Version with all the answers in red, so you can check work in class or send the key with homework.
Can I use a worksheet as homework?
Yes. Every exercise can be done by one student alone, with no partner or teacher script, so the worksheets work as homework or self-study.
Where should I start with a complete beginner?
Start with Am, Is, Are, then Present Simple Third Person. Once students can make a question with do and does, move to a lesson plan such as A Day In The Life.
How is this different from the present continuous?
The present simple is for routines and facts, the present continuous for what is happening now. The Present Simple vs Present Continuous worksheet practices both side by side, and the present continuous page has the rest of the material.
All present simple worksheets and lesson plans come with a teacher subscription, together with the rest of the library.