







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 | |
|---|---|
| Look, you can watch the sunset best from this point. | Guarda, si può vedere un tramonto bellissimo da questo punto. |
| It's hard to believe, but we have a pressure cooker in the house. | Difficile a credersi ma abbiamo una pentola a pressione in casa. |
| He just moved from Brighton and lives around here. | Si è appena trasferito da Brighton e vive qui vicino. |
| Umm, oh yes, I can see it now, the ad number is 9845... | Umm, oh sì, ora lo vedo, il numero dell’annuncio è 9845… |
| I don't like their chardonnay. | Non mi piace il loro Chardonnay. |
| I don't think it's possible to find anymore variations. | Non penso sia possibile trovare delle altre variazioni. |
| You look much younger than that. | Sembri molto più giovane. |
| What do you expect English teachers to look like? | Come ti immagini un insegnante di inglese? |
| Oh look at this big boy, he gets bigger everytime I see him! | Oh guarda questo ragazzone, diventa più grande ogni volta che lo vedo! |
| But that's true, some Chows are a bit aggressive. | Ma è vero, alcuni Chow sono un po’ aggressivi. |
| It's impossible for me to commute from zone-9 to 1 everyday. | È impossibile per me fare la pendolare dalla zona 9 alla 1 tutti i giorni. |
| Plus the bathroom and the kitchen are clean. | In più il bagno e la cucina sono puliti. |
| Yeah, I want to see the bathroom... | Sì, voglio vedere il bagno… |
| My husband and I really appreciate it. | Mio marito ed io lo apprezziamo molto. |
| Do you like train rides, too? | Ti piace anche andare in treno? |
| That's right, I think pressure cookers are quite dangerous, too! | Esatto, penso che anche le pentole a pressione siano molto pericolose! |
| Erm, she's the marketing manager at the company. | Ehm, era la manager del marketing dell’azienda. |
| Thanks for offering me that, dear. | Grazie per l’offerta, caro. |
| You need to change planes at some point on the way. | Bisogna cambiare aereo ad un certo punto del viaggio. |
| It definitely costs a lot, but that's not the only problem. | Decisamente costa molto, ma non è il solo problema. |