







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 | |
|---|---|
| Hmm... Tomorrow is a bank holiday. | Hmmm... Domani è Un giorno di ferie bancaria. |
| Oh no! Are you sure you don't have anything available? | Oh no! Sicuri di non avere nulla disponibile? |
| Alright, I think I know who he is... | Giusto, penso di sapere chi è… |
| 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 hope it's not the right address! It looks awful. | Spero che non sia l’indirizzo giusto! Sembra terribile. |
| And it's hard to believe, but it's clean. | E per quanto difficile da credere, è pulito. |
| I'm really amazed by the structure of this station. | Sono davvero strabiliata dalla struttura di questa stazione. |
| Do we have any paper towels? | Abbiamo della carta assorbente? |
| I think so, he can look around while Bear is not here. | Credo di sì, così può dare un’occhiata in giro mentre Bear non c’è. |
| Yeah, it's not common, but that's what it says in the recipe. | Sì, non è normale ma è quello che dice nella ricetta. |
| Hi, I don't think it's broken. | Non penso sia rotta. |
| But everybody calls him Rocco. | Ma tutti quanti lo chiamano Rocco. |
| Upstairs, there is Diego and a British couple next to him. | Di sopra, c’è Diego e una coppia inglese vicino a lui. |
| Thank you, I'm 26. | Grazie, ne ho 26. |
| I'd like to one day, when they invent teleportation. | Mi piacerebbe un giorno quando inventeranno il teletrasporto. |
| 360 degrees should be good. | 360 gradi dovrebbero essere abbastanza. |
| Are they older or younger? | Sono più grandi o più piccole? |
| Can your mum handle the situation by herself? | Tua mamma riesce a gestire la situazione da sola? |
| It's on the Northern line, the same one we use here. | È sulla linea Northern, la stessa che usiamo qui. |
| My meeting starts at one o'clock. | La mia riunione Inizia all'1:00. |