Present simple (I do)

Study this example situation:

Alex is a bus driver, but now he is in bed asleep.He is not driving a bus. (He is asleep.)

but He drives a bus. He is a bus driver.

drive(s), work(s), do(es) etc. is the present simple:

I/we/you/they	drive/work/do etc.
he/she/it	drives/works/does etc.

We use the present simple to talk about things in general. We use it to say that something happens all the time or repeatedly, or that something is true in general:

• Nurses look aft er patients in hospitals.
• I usually go away at weekends.
• The earth goes round the sun.
• The cafe opens at 7.30 in the morning.

We use do/does to make questions and negative sentences:

for question sentences

do	I/we/you/they	work? drive? do?
does	he/she/it	work? drive? do?

For example:-

• I come from Canada. Where do you come from?
• What does this word mean? (not What means this word?)

For negative sentences

I/we/you/they	don’t(do not)	work? drive? do?
he/she/it	doesn’t(does not)	work? drive? do?

For example:-

• I don’t go away very oft en.
• Rice doesn’t grow in cold climates.

In the following examples, do is also the main verb (do you do / doesn’t do etc.):

• ‘What do you do?’ ‘I work in a shop.’
• He’s always so lazy. He doesn’t do anything to help.

We use the present simple to say how oft en we do things:

• I get up at 8 o’clock every morning.
• How often do you go to the dentist?
• Julie doesn’t drink tea very oft en.
• Robert usually goes away two or three times a year.

I promise / I apologise etc

Sometimes we do things by saying something. For example, when you promise to do something,
you can say ‘I promise … ’; when you suggest something, you can say ‘I suggest … ’:

• I promise I won’t be late. (not I’m promising)
• ‘What do you suggest I do?’ ‘I suggest that you …’

In the same way we say: I apologise … / I advise … / I insist … / I agree … / I refuse … etc.