







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 | |
|---|---|
| Maybe I know your friend. | Magari conosco il tuo amico. |
| Thank you, dear... For helping me to be a liar! | Grazie, caro… Per avermi aiutato a mentire! |
| I guess my only choice is coming to your house! | Suppongo che la mia unica scelta sia venire a casa tua! |
| Hope to see you later. | Spero di rivederti. |
| Hi, I don't think it's broken. | Non penso sia rotta. |
| Okay, it seems they have no aggression towards each other. | Ok, sembra che non siano aggressivi l’uno con l’altro. |
| I'd like to one day, when they invent teleportation. | Mi piacerebbe un giorno quando inventeranno il teletrasporto. |
| Last night we were open till very late, and you know her excuse. | La notte scorsa siamo rimasti aperti fino a tardi, e sai qual è la sua scusa. |
| Why is that? | Perché? |
| Bear hates being at a vet, too. | Anche Bear odia andare dal veterinario. |
| Oh, sorry, I didn't know I wasn't allowed to order what I want! | Oh, scusa, non sapevo che non mi era permesso ordinare quello che voglio! |
| Yes, they are all around 2 pounds. | Sì, costano tutti all’incirca 2 sterline. |
| No worries, I am not together with Mike. | Non preoccuparti, non sto insieme a Mike. |
| Can your mum handle the situation by herself? | Tua mamma riesce a gestire la situazione da sola? |
| Sure, our kitchen is newly refurbished... | Certo, la nostra cucina è stata rinnovata di recente… |
| It's not borrowing, it's stealing! | Non è prendere in prestito, è rubare! |
| My dad is British and my mum is Australian. | Il mio papà è inglese e mia mamma è australiana. |
| You look a bit sad, are you okay? | Sembri un po’ triste, stai bene? |
| Maybe she really is allergic to cats, we don't know that. | Magari è davvero allergica ai gatti, non lo sappiamo. |
| Yeah, it's quite a big country, more like a continent. | Già, è una nazione piuttosto grande, più tipo un continente. |