In English we use the present simple tense to talk about facts or things that are always true, as well as things in general. Present simple is also used to talk about a repeated action such as a habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or something that often happens.
In English we use 'do' and 'does' as auxiliary verbs in negatives and questions and we often use the present simple with adverbs of frequency such as sometimes, always, often, never, usually, rarely, and hardly ever.
Notes for use of present simple :
In the third person, ‘s’ is added to the verb form. For example;
work --> works
run --> runs
live --> lives
For verbs that end in 'o', 'sh', 'ch', 's' and 'x', we add 'es' to the verb form. For example;
go --> goes
wish --> wishes
watch --> watches
kiss --> kisses
fax --> faxes
For verbs that end in a consonant + 'y', we change the 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'. For example;
try --> tries
study --> studies
The table below shows the different forms of present simple :
Example Verb : Work | I / You / We / They | He / She / It |
Positive | ... work. | ... works. |
Negative | ... don't work. | ... doesn't work. |
Questions | Do ... work? | Does ... work? |
Short answers | Yes, ... do. / No, ... don't. | Yes, ... does. / No, ... doesn't. |
For the verb 'to be' we use 'am', 'is', 'are' in the present simple. No auxiliary verbs are used in negative sentences and questions.
Verb: Be | I | You / We / They | He / She / It |
Positive | I'm ... | ... 're ... | ... 's ... |
Negative | I'm not ... | ... aren't ... | ... isn't ... |
Questions | Am I ... ? | Are ... ...? | Is ... ...? |
Short answers | Yes, I am. / No, I'm not. | Yes, ... are. / No, ... aren't. | Yes, ... is. / No, ... isn't. |
Present Simple Example Sentences :
Positive Examples of Present Simple :
Negative Examples of Present Simple :
Question Examples of Present Simple :
Present simple example sentences | |
---|---|
You are welcome, here is the menu, madam. | Sehr gerne. Hier ist das Menü gnädige Frau. |
Do your parents live in London, too? | Leben deine Eltern auch in London? |
By the way, my name's Mike, what's yours? | Übrigens, mein Name ist Mike, wie heißt du? |
Where is my f*cking tenner? | Wo ist mein verd*mmter Zehner? |
Exactly, I hate getting woken up in the middle of the night! | Genau. Ich hasse es mitten in der Nacht aufgewckt zu werden! |
Here you can take it, be careful, it's very hot. | Hier, du kannst ihn dir nehmen, aber sei vorsichtig, er ist sehr heiß. |
Well, I'm used to getting bad news today, what's that? | Na ja, ich bin es gewohnt heute schlechte Nachrichten zu bekommen. Was ist los? |
Are there any fries or any kind of snacks? | Gibt es Pommes oder irgendeine Art von Snack? |
It goes faster, but we don't want to walk to the tube station. | Es ist schneller, aber wir wollen nicht zur U-Bahn-Haltestelle zu laufen. |
And on the ground floor we have easy access to the garden. | Und im Erdgeschoss haben wir direkten Zugang zum Garten. |
Sure, my name is Cate and my number is 077... | Klar, mein Name ist Cate und meine Nummer ist 077... |
This is my boyfriend, Mike. | Das ist mein Freund Mike. |
How much rice do you need? | Wie viel Reis brauchst du? |
What's your plan, Cate? | Was ist dein Plan, Cate? |
Well, I don't think we need to cook too many things at once. | Nun, ich denke wir müssen nicht zu viele Dinge auf einmal kochen. |
Yeah, I want to see the bathroom... | Ja, ich möchte das Badezimmer sehen... |
Mike, teriyaki is Japanese, we are at a Chinese restaurant. | Mike, Teriyaki ist japanisch. Wir sind in einem chinesischen Restaurant. |
I am planning to sleep in a bit since it's a holiday. | Ich plane ein bisschen auszuschlafen, da es ein Feiertag ist. |
Of course, she is an angel, do you want to talk to your mum? | Natürlich ist sie ein Engel. Möchtest du mit deiner Mutter sprechen? |
Yeah, I've got it! | Ja, ich habe ihn! |