Present simple is usually the first real "grammar point" A1 students meet beyond basic verb-to-be sentences, and it comes with a trap most teachers know well: students can recite the rule (add -s in third person) but still say "she go to school" three sentences after the drill. The fix isn't more explanation — it's the right sequence of practice.
1. Start with routine, not rules
Present simple is the tense of habits and routines, so the fastest way into it is a real routine, not a grammar box. Ask students what time they wake up, what they eat for breakfast, how they get to school. Write the answers on the board in first person ("I wake up at 7"), then ask about a classmate ("What time does he wake up?") — this is where the third-person -s naturally becomes necessary instead of arbitrary.
2. Isolate the third-person -s before mixing persons
Most present simple errors are really just third-person-singular errors. Before combining all persons in one exercise, spend five minutes on transformation drills: give students a list of base verbs (work, watch, go, study, have) and have them produce only the "he/she/it" form. This catches the spelling patterns early — consonant+y → ies (study → studies), -sh/-ch/-ss/-x → es (watch → watches) — without the extra cognitive load of choosing the right pronoun at the same time.
3. Drill negatives and questions as chunks, not rules
"Don't/doesn't + base verb" and "Do/Does + subject + base verb" are best taught as fixed chunks students can slot a verb into, rather than a rule about auxiliary verbs (which most A1 students don't have the metalanguage for yet). A simple, high-repetition drill works better here than explanation: hold up a routine picture, students answer "Does she wake up early?" — "Yes, she does" / "No, she doesn't."
Common mistakes and how to catch them
- Missing third-person -s: "She like coffee." — the single most common A1/A2 error. Fix with the transformation drill above before moving to freer practice.
- Double marking with do/does: "Does she likes coffee?" — students add -s in both the auxiliary and the main verb. Point out that only ONE part of the sentence carries the "signal" — either does, or -s, never both.
- Present simple for actions happening now: "Look, she cooks now!" instead of "she's cooking." This usually clears up once students meet present continuous — the two tenses are best contrasted directly, not taught in isolation.
A 45-minute lesson shape that works
- 5 min — Warm-up: elicit routines orally, no writing yet.
- 10 min — Isolate and drill the third-person -s spelling rules.
- 15 min — Controlled practice: complete-the-sentence and choose-the-correct-form exercises.
- 10 min — Freer practice: students interview a partner about their routine and report back in third person.
- 5 min — Quick error-correction round using mistakes you overheard during the interview stage.
Free worksheets for this lesson
These printable PDFs follow the same progression above — spelling focus, controlled practice, then freer production:
- Third Person Singular – Present Simple (A1) — isolates the -s spelling rules.
- Third Person Singular – Grammar (A1) — more controlled practice.
- Present Simple – Grammar (A2) — full reference and practice: affirmative, negative, questions, and a daily-routine text, with a complete Teacher Edition.
- Present Simple Tense – Practice (A2) — 10 mixed exercises for extra practice, from controlled to freer production.
- Present Simple vs. Present Continuous (A2) — for contrasting the two tenses once present simple is solid.
- My Daily Routine – Present Simple Writing (A2) — freer production to close the lesson.
Browse the full set of grammar worksheets or filter by A1 and A2 level.