







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're right, but he is not only here to fix things... | Du hast Recht, aber er ist nicht nur hier um Dinge zu reparieren... |
| Yeah, it is very important for me, actually. | Ja, es ist tatsächlich sehr wichtig für mich. |
| I hope it's not related to me! | Ich hoffe es geht nicht um mich! |
| No, it's the owner, she is an old lady and very strict about that. | Nein, es liegt an der Hausbesitzerin. Sie ist eine alte Dame und sie ist sehr strikt in diesem Punkt. |
| Hmm, I guess it's a bit old, but it's still my favourite. | Hmm, ich denke er ist etwas alt, aber trotzdem mein Lieblingsfilm. |
| Hello madam, are you still on the line? | Hallo gnädige Frau, sind Sie immer noch da? |
| It's difficult to find all the items manually on the self-checkout. | Es ist schwierig alle Sachen manuell an der Selbstbedienungskasse zu finden. |
| But Tesco is bigger, it has more variety of products. | Aber Tesco ist größer und hat eine größere Auswahl an Produkten. |
| Here you can take it, be careful, it's very hot. | Hier, du kannst ihn dir nehmen, aber sei vorsichtig, er ist sehr heiß. |
| Oh no! Are you sure you don't have anything available? | Oh nein! Sind Sie sicher, dass nichts verfügbar ist? |
| See you Mike, hope to see you again. | Tschüss Mike, ich hoffe man sieht sich wieder. |
| It's the second one from the top. | Es ist der Zweite von oben. |
| Thank you again for giving me your turn. | Danke nochmals, dass du mich vorgelassen hast. |
| Is that what you want me to do? | Willst du, dass ich das mache? |
| Yeah, it's not common, but that's what it says in the recipe. | Ja, das ist ungewöhnlich, aber es steht so im Rezept. |
| It's got some water marks on it! | Es hat Wasserflecken! |
| I think we should wait for a while till all that smoke disappears. | Ich denke wir sollten warten, bis der ganze Rauch verschwunden ist. |
| Hey, we are back. | Hey, wir sind zurück. |
| I'm not really in the mood to join them. | Ich habe nicht wirklich Lust, mich ihnen anzuschließen. |
| That's not nice, Mike! | Das ist nicht nett Mike! |