







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 | |
|---|---|
| There are some vending machines in the station. | Ci sono dei distributori automatici in stazione. |
| Come on in, here on the ground floor, we have two bedrooms... | Entrate, qui c’è il pianterreno, abbiamo due camere da letto… |
| What’s their name? | Come si chiama? |
| Yeah, I want to see the bathroom... | Sì, voglio vedere il bagno… |
| Hello, what kind of dog do you have, Mike? | Ciao, che razza di cane hai Mike? |
| Yeah, and the market is good, is Camden Lock in zone-2 or 3? | Sì, e il mercato è bello, Camden Lock è in zona 2 o 3? |
| Everything is the same as it's advertised. | Tutto quanto è come descritto nell’annuncio. |
| There is no table for you, then! | Allora niente tavolo per te! |
| Um.. it could be blue, I don't really remember. | Um… Potrebbe essere blu, non mi ricordo proprio. |
| Is that okay for you? | Va bene per te? |
| Do we have to do that every time we need to open the door? | Dobbiamo farlo ogni volta che bisogna aprire la porta? |
| There are plenty more, but I think gumtree.com is the best. | Ce ne sono molti altri, ma penso che gumtree.com sia il migliore. |
| What's the time, are we early? | Che ore sono, siamo in anticipo? |
| What genre do you listen to? | Che genere ascolti? |
| Hope to see you later. | Spero di rivederti. |
| Hey, before you go... | Ehi, prima che vai… |
| I'm a web designer. | Sono un Web designer. |
| As I said, it's much easier to open with two people. | Come ho detto, è molto più semplice da aprire con due persone. |
| I was just joking, how are you? | Stavo solo scherzando, come stai? |
| People take cutlery to their rooms and don't bring it back! | La gente porta le posate nella propria stanza e non le riporta indietro! |