







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 | |
|---|---|
| I mean, you look too young to be a teacher. | Voglio dire, sembri troppo giovane per essere un insegnante. |
| Where are you? | Dove sei? |
| Erm, we don't have any, but there is someone else's bread. | Ehm, non ne abbiamo, ma c’è il pane di qualcun altro. |
| Hm, it's comes to roughly £150 a week, it's about the same. | Hm, fanno circa £ 150 a settimana, più o meno lo stesso. |
| Then people come and complain to me! | Poi la gente arriva e si lamenta con me! |
| I'm unleashing him now, is that okay for you? | Ora lo libero, va bene per te? |
| I hate them buzzing around my ear all night long and waking me up. | Odio quando mi ronzano intorno alle orecchie per tutta la notte e mi svegliano. |
| It's the second one from the top. | È il secondo da sopra. |
| No, it's not mine, I think it belongs to the house. | No, non è mia, penso appartenga alla casa. |
| My meeting starts at one o'clock. | La mia riunione Inizia all'1:00. |
| Do you want me to call them? | Vuoi che li chiami io? |
| But one of them is £2.44 and the other one is £1.22. | Ma una costa £ 2,44 e l’altra £ 1,22. |
| I'm hungry, but it's better to have something when we meet the guys. | Ho fame, ma è meglio prendere qualcosa quando incontriamo i ragazzi. |
| I think one room is empty upstairs at the moment. | Penso che una stanza sia vuota al momento al piano di sopra. |
| He is a Chow Chow. | È un Chow Chow. |
| Thanks for being thoughtful, dear. | Grazie per la considerazione, caro. |
| Those kind of irresponsible people make me angry! | Questo tipo di persone irresponsabili mi fanno arrabbiare! |
| So I don't snore everyday... | Quindi non russo tutti i giorni… |
| Yeah, do you mean tricycles? | Sì, vuoi dire con i velocipedi? |
| I'd like to one day, when they invent teleportation. | Mi piacerebbe un giorno quando inventeranno il teletrasporto. |