







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 | |
|---|---|
| Are you with your friends? | Sei con i tuoi amici? |
| Of course, here you go, this is the bathroom. | Naturalmente, ecco qui, questo è il bagno. |
| Erm, I can't work it out, I guess it's more than 150 years old. | Ehm, ora non mi viene, ma suppongo sia più di 150 anni. |
| Yes, my number is 0773***0282. | Si, il mio numero è 0773***0282 |
| Everything is the same as it's advertised. | Tutto quanto è come descritto nell’annuncio. |
| I didn't know that, I hope it's not a big problem for him. | Non lo sapevo, spero non sia un grosso problema per lui. |
| What's up? Is everything okay? | Che c’è? Va tutto bene? |
| This is my boyfriend, Mike. | Questo è il mio ragazzo, Mike. |
| 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. |
| It's difficult to find all the items manually on the self-checkout. | È difficile trovare tutti gli oggetti manualmente alla cassa fai da te. |
| Sorry, madam, Friday is one of our busiest nights! | Mi spiace, signora, venerdì è una delle nostre sere più affollate! |
| You never pick Bear's poo up from the pavement. | Non raccogli mai la cacca di Bear dal marciapiede. |
| There is also some cheese, but it's a bit mouldy. | Poi c’è un po’ di formaggio ma ha un po’ di muffa. |
| Let's calculate, I pay 135 per week for one person... | Facciamo i conti, io pago 135 a settimana per una persona… |
| I mean, you don't live here with anyone from your family. | Voglio dire, non vivi qui con qualcuno della tua famiglia. |
| Well, maybe we can get a 2 bedroom flat. What do you think? | Beh, magari possiamo prendere un appartamento con 2 camere da letto. Cosa ne pensi? |
| Do you live around here? | Vivi qui vicino? |
| Why don't you answer your phone? | Perché non hai risposto al telefono? |
| But I think that's only for older women. | Ma penso valga solo per le donne più anziane. |
| Yes, it is, but yours isn't so obvious. | Sì, ma il tuo non è così ovvio. |