







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 | |
|---|---|
| I don't think we need to pay for it. | Non penso che dovremo pagarlo. |
| Hello, is that Cate? | Pronto, Cate? |
| You look a bit sad, are you okay? | Sembri un po’ triste, stai bene? |
| Do you want me to put the chicken into the cooker first? | Prima vuoi che metta il pollo nella pentola a pressione? |
| Why? I never put a question mark when I search something! | Perché? Non metto mai il punto interrogativo Quando cerco qualcosa! |
| Look, there is a shop assistant. | Guarda, lì c’è un commesso. |
| I don't know, probably put it in the bin. | Non so, probabilmente la metterei nel cestino. |
| I don't think it's possible to find anymore variations. | Non penso sia possibile trovare delle altre variazioni. |
| I'm happy to hear we have similar music taste! | Sono felice di sentire che abbiamo gusti simili in fatto di musica! |
| 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. |
| It's not a nice thing to do. | Non è una cosa bella da fare. |
| When I have free time. | Quando ho del tempo libero. |
| But that's true, some Chows are a bit aggressive. | Ma è vero, alcuni Chow sono un po’ aggressivi. |
| The rice section is over there. | La sezione riso è laggiù. |
| I haven't seen her, either, and I don't really want to... | Nemmeno io l’ho vista, e non voglio proprio farlo… |
| He just moved from Brighton and lives around here. | Si è appena trasferito da Brighton e vive qui vicino. |
| Do you know her well? | La conosci bene? |
| So it's definitely not a divorce situation. | Quindi decisamente non si tratta di divorzio. |
| This is the last one and, unfortunately, it has a hole in it. | Questo è l’ultimo e sfortunatamente c’è un buco. |
| I've found 2, too, there aren't many options in Camden Lock. | Anch’io ne ho trovate 2, non ci sono molte opzioni a Camden Lock. |