







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 | |
|---|---|
| Hello guys, you must be Cate, I'm Joseph. | Salve ragazzi, tu devi essere Cate, io sono Joseph. |
| That one is a single room, I want a double. | Quella ha una stanza singola, io voglio una doppia. |
| I wasn't expecting anything like this to happen, so I have no plan. | Non mi aspettavo succedesse una cosa del genere, quindi non ho un piano. |
| Do we have to do that every time we need to open the door? | Dobbiamo farlo ogni volta che bisogna aprire la porta? |
| Do we have a sieve? | Abbiamo un colino? |
| She is doing well, we have 3 months left to go. | Va bene, abbiamo ancora 3 mesi. |
| Don't you think two forks are enough for us? | Non pensi che due forchette siano abbastanza per noi? |
| Sorry, the line is very bad! | Scusa, la linea è disturbata! |
| No, but that's what I feel like having... | No, ma è quello che mi va di mangiare… |
| Maybe I know your friend. | Magari conosco il tuo amico. |
| Okay, I don't like cooking, but I like tasting food. | Ok, non mi piace cucinare, ma mi piace assaggiare il cibo. |
| So it comes to 2,800 a month! | Quindi sarebbero 2800 al mese! |
| Does anyone else need anything? | Qualcun altro ha bisogno di qualcosa? |
| Bear is okay with cats, but definitely not with dogs. | Bear va d’accordo con i gatti ma decisamente non con i cani. |
| It's about a web project. | Si tratta di un progetto web. |
| Don't worry Mike, I think this one is better. | Non preoccuparti Mike, penso che questo sia meglio. |
| I don't like smoking in the kitchen. | Non mi piace fumare in cucina. |
| I only have 3 hours today. | Ho solo 3 ore oggi. |
| As far as I know, Chows are not good with other animals. | Per quanto ne so i chow non sono buoni con gli altri animali. |
| Okay, I want to have something similar then! | Ok, allora voglio qualcosa di simile! |