







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 | |
|---|---|
| They also have three big windows in their room! | Hanno anche tre grosse finestre nella loro stanza! |
| I can't call him at the moment because his phone is unreachable. | Non posso chiamarlo al momento perché il suo telefono è irraggiungibile. |
| That's why I never trust quiet people... | Ecco perché non mi fido mai delle persone tranquille… |
| I'm a web designer. | Sono un Web designer. |
| How do you want me to chop the onions, big or small? | Come vuoi farmi sminuzzare le cipolle, grandi o piccole? |
| Because I'm sure they don't serve bugs in London! | Perché sono sicura che non servano insetti a Londra! |
| Thanks for warning me now, that's very helpful! | Grazie per avermi avvertito adesso, molto utile! |
| Does the kid think he is a robot or the robot think it's a kid? | Il ragazzino pensa di essere un robot o il robot pensa di essere un ragazzino? |
| Oh, I think I know them. | Oh, penso di conoscerli. |
| Do you know the pub around the corner? | Conosci il pub dietro l'angolo? |
| I hate them buzzing around my ear all night long and waking me up. | Odio quando mi ronzano intorno alle orecchie per tutta la notte e mi svegliano. |
| No, I have really bad allergies. | No, ho una brutta allergia. |
| Bear is okay with cats, but definitely not with dogs. | Bear va d’accordo con i gatti ma decisamente non con i cani. |
| Did you check carefully, don't we have any at all? | Hai guardato con attenzione, non abbiamo davvero nulla? |
| I've checked some, there is nothing I like so far. | Ne ho guardata qualcuna, non c’è nulla che mi piaccia finora. |
| It's difficult to find all the items manually on the self-checkout. | È difficile trovare tutti gli oggetti manualmente alla cassa fai da te. |
| I'm an English teacher. | Sono un'insegnante di inglese. |
| Okay, the grated one's 20% off today. | Ok, quello grattugiato ha il 20% di sconto oggi. |
| Why is that? | Perché? |
| Ah, I can't eat the breast, it's too dry for me! | Ah, non posso mangiare il petto, troppo asciutto per me! |