







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 | |
|---|---|
| Don't worry, we don't do it everyday. | Kein Sorge. Wir machen das nicht jeden Tag. |
| Don't worry Mike, I think this one is better. | Keine Sorge Mike, ich denke dieser hier ist besser. |
| Well, it's about a kid, I mean a robot. | Nun, es geht um ein Kind, ähm, ich meinte einen Roboter. |
| And the buses always arrive on time. | Und die Busse sind immer pünktlich. |
| I hope it's not the right address! It looks awful. | Ich hoffe das ist die falsche Adresse! Es sieht grauenvoll aus. |
| Does that help you to believe me? | Hilft dir das, mir zu glauben? |
| No she is a very cute, easygoing and friendly girl. | Nein, sie ist ein sehr süßes, lockeres und freundliches Mädchen. |
| When I have free time. | Wenn ich Zeit habe. |
| But Tesco is bigger, it has more variety of products. | Aber Tesco ist größer und hat eine größere Auswahl an Produkten. |
| Do you think electric stoves are better? | Denkst du elektrische Herde sind besser? |
| You were explaining why you are here at 07:30 in the morning. | Du warst am erklären weshalb du um 7:30 Uhr morgens hier bist. |
| Oh, sorry! You don't like cleaning things, I can do it. | Oh, sorry! Du machst Dinge nicht gerne sauber. Ich kann es machen. |
| No, but I definitely don't want to live in that house anymore! | Nein, aber ich möchte definitiv nicht weiter in diesem Haus leben! |
| It's not a nice thing to say to a woman... | Es ist nicht nett so etwas zu einer Frau zu sagen... |
| We call it a sixth sense! | Wir nennen es den sechsten Sinn! |
| Okay, the grated one's 20% off today. | Okay, der Geriebene ist heute 20% günstiger. |
| Why? It looks pretty clean to me! | Warum? Sieht für mich ziemlich sauber aus! |
| Hello, what kind of dog do you have, Mike? | Hallo, was für einen Hund hast du, Mike? |
| Hang on, there is another web site that says... | Warte, es gibt eine andere Webseite da steht... |
| And Pogo gets very scared of the crowd and the noise. | Und die Menschenmenge und die Geräusche erschrecken Pogo sehr. |