Beginner English Grammar (A2) Lesson 2 of 25

Third Person Singular - Present Simple

Read and listen to four conversations using the grammar.

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Script
Grammar
Quiz
Puzzle

Conversation 1

Man: What does your dad do?
Woman: He works in construction.
Man: Oh, what does he do?
Woman: He builds houses.
Man: Nice, what about your mother?
Woman: She works for the city.
Man: What does she do?
Woman: She is a clerk. She helps people at City Hall.

Conversation 2

Man: Where does your sister live?
Woman: She lives in the countryside.
Man: Oh? What does she do?
Woman: She has a farm and she raises animals.
Man: What animals does she have on her farm?
Woman: She has horses, cows and sheep.
Man: Wow, that’s so cool!
Woman: Yeah, she also grows her own food.
Man: What food does she grow?
Woman: She grows corn, beans, tomatoes and potatoes.

Conversation 3

Man: How does your mother stay so fit?
Woman: She works out alot.
Man: It shows. She looks great!
Woman: She also watches what she eats.
Man: Does she follow a special diet?
Woman: Yes. She doesn’t eat sweets and she doesn’t drink soda.
Man: What about your dad?
Woman: Oh, he never works out. He also does yoga.
Man: Does he follow a healthy diet too?
Woman: Not really. He eats sweets, and he loves ice cream.

Conversation 4

Man: How do you study language?
Woman: I use an app on my phone.
Man: What does the app do?
Woman: It teaches vocabulary. It has over 20 languages.
Man: Really? What languages does it teach?
Woman: It teaches many languages. French, Spanish, Japanese, and lots more.
Man: How does it work?
Woman: Just type in a word in English, and it shows the translation.
Man: That sounds pretty cool.
Woman: It is. It also pronounces the words, and gives example sentences.
Man: Nice! I want to try it.

Present Simple - Third Person Singular

Point 1: The third person singular refers to a person or thing you are talking about. Because it is singular, it refers to just one person or thing.

Bob is my boss. He helps me a lot.
Suzy has a nice car, but she never drives it to work.
My phone does not take pictures. It does not have a camera.
This pizza tastes great. It has a lot of calories, though.

Point 2: In the present tense, we add an /-s/ to verbs if the subject is the third person singular.

Larry loves videos games. He plays them every night.
Sue walks to work. She listens to podcasts as she walks.
My phone needs a new charger. It costs 40 dollars.

Point 3: In negative statements, change do not to does not. In spoken English, we often say the contraction doesn't.

She does not work nights.
She doesn't work nights.
He does not travel much.
He doesn't travel much.
It does not snow much in my town.
It doesn't snow much in my town.

Point 4: In questions, change the auxiliary do to does in WH questions if the question is about the object.

When does the train leave?
It leaves at six.
What does your mom want for her birthday?
She wants a cat.
How does your wife get to work?
She takes the bus.
Why does he always look angry?
He has a lot of stress.

Point 5: Add /-s/ to the verb, and do not use does if the question is about the subject. The question word will be either what or who.