







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 | |
|---|---|
| How long does it usually take? | Quanto ci vuole di solito? |
| What do you do? | Che cosa fai? |
| Okay, if you say so, I trust you! | Ok, se lo dici tu, mi fido! |
| How are things going, is everything ok? | Come vanno le cose, tutto bene? |
| Oh my god! It’s almost 12 o’clock. | Oh mio Dio! È quasi mezzogiorno in punto. |
| It's not a nice thing to do. | Non è una cosa bella da fare. |
| It seems there is no one in the house! | Sembra che non ci sia nessuno in casa! |
| I think 4000 quid is big enough. | Credo che £ 4000 siano abbastanza. |
| Don't you think two forks are enough for us? | Non pensi che due forchette siano abbastanza per noi? |
| And these days, I go to that pub quite often. | In questi giorni vado molto spesso in quel pub. |
| So does that mean you don't want to stay with me? | Quindi ciò significa che non vuoi stare con me? |
| Unfortunately, she is a teenager, she is 19! | Sfortunatamente, è una teenager, ha 19 anni! |
| I didn't say it's your fault, but it's your turn now... | Non ho detto che è colpa tua, ma ora è il tuo turno… |
| 360 degrees should be good. | 360 gradi dovrebbero essere abbastanza. |
| Do you expect me to make the room bigger by pushing the walls out? | Ti aspetti che faccia diventare la stanza più grande spingendo i muri? |
| I am alone till my friend comes. | Io sono solo fino a quando non arriverà il mio amico. |
| By the way, I like the colour of the walls... What do you think? | A proposito, mi piace il colore delle pareti… Cosa ne pensi? |
| Don't you think it's too far away from the tube station? | Non pensi sia troppo distante dalla stazione della metro? |
| So Pogo gets on very well with dogs. | Quindi Pogo va molto d’accordo con i cani. |
| Oh yeah, it's our girls' night out tonight. | Oh sì, è la nostra serata fuori fra ragazze stasera. |