







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 | |
|---|---|
| Erm... While your hands are already dirty... | Ehm… Già che hai le mani sporche… |
| 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. |
| They are both okay for me. | Entrambi vanno bene per me. |
| You don't know the story behind it. | Non conosci la storia che ci sta dietro. |
| I can't call him at the moment because his phone is unreachable. | Non posso chiamarlo al momento perché il suo telefono è irraggiungibile. |
| Hello, I'm sorry, but there is no chardonnay left, Cate. | Ciao, mi spiace ma non c'è rimasto Chardonnay, Cate. |
| You can just stay with me, until you find somewhere to live. | Puoi rimanere con me, finché non trovi un posto dove vivere. |
| As I said, it's much easier to open with two people. | Come ho detto, è molto più semplice da aprire con due persone. |
| Look at the shelf, the price tag says £2.20 a kilo. | Guarda lo scaffale, l’etichetta dice £ 2,20 chilo. |
| It's not a nice thing to say to a woman... | Non è una cosa bella da dire a una donna… |
| I mostly cook meat, fish and chicken dishes. | Cucino per la maggior parte piatti a base di carne, pesce e pollo. |
| I guess you need to change your cooking plan now! | A quanto pare dovrai cambiare i tuoi piani di cucina adesso! |
| I see them around a lot where I work, actually. | Li vedo molto in giro dove lavoro in realtà. |
| Then I want to roast it, though. | Poi però voglio farlo arrosto. |
| What’s their name? | Come si chiama? |
| How often do you have free time, then? | E quanto spesso hai del tempo libero allora? |
| But one of them is £2.44 and the other one is £1.22. | Ma una costa £ 2,44 e l’altra £ 1,22. |
| Let's calculate, I pay 135 per week for one person... | Facciamo i conti, io pago 135 a settimana per una persona… |
| When you stop believing we can get a house in Mayfair for 2,400! | Quando la smetterai di credere che possiamo prendere una casa a Mayfair a 2400! |
| We call it a sixth sense! | Chiamiamolo sesto senso! |