







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 | |
|---|---|
| Yes, that's the one. | Sì, proprio quello. |
| I don't know, maximum 33? | Non so, massimo 33? |
| Yes, I think she's great! | Sì, penso sia fantastica! |
| Isn't that funny? | Non è divertente? |
| I think so, at least there is no aggression. | Penso di sì, almeno non c’è aggressività. |
| I don't like violence in real life, I only like it in movies. | Non mi piace la violenza nella vita vera, mi piace solo nei film. |
| Is that you, Mike? | Sei tu, Mike? |
| 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. |
| What is it about? | Di cosa parla? |
| Pogo is my little cat, is there a problem with that? | Pogo è il mio gattino, c’è qualche problema con questo? |
| I see them around a lot where I work, actually. | Li vedo molto in giro dove lavoro in realtà. |
| Is it because it's too violent? | È perché è troppo violento? |
| You can just stay with me, until you find somewhere to live. | Puoi rimanere con me, finché non trovi un posto dove vivere. |
| I can't call him at the moment because his phone is unreachable. | Non posso chiamarlo al momento perché il suo telefono è irraggiungibile. |
| I am half-British and half-Australian. | Sono mezza inglese e mezza australiana. |
| Um, on this floor, it's only me and a French girl next door. | Um, su questo piano solo io ed una ragazza francese alla porta accanto. |
| All of my work is in that laptop and I don't have any backup! | C'è tutto il mio lavoro in quel laptop e non ho nessun backup! |
| I am, I have to be there at 12:30. | Sì, devo essere là alle 12:30. |
| I need to use chicken stock for the risotto! | Ho bisogno di usare il brodo di pollo per il risotto! |
| Oh, okay, is there a problem with your house? | Oh, okay, c’è un problema con casa tua? |