







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 | |
|---|---|
| Do you want me to call Diego, then? | Vuoi che chiami Diego allora? |
| And it's hard to believe, but it's clean. | E per quanto difficile da credere, è pulito. |
| That's a very interesting combination. | Una combinazione molto interessante. |
| Yes, they are all around 2 pounds. | Sì, costano tutti all’incirca 2 sterline. |
| It's a double room plus we get a cleaner once a week. | È una stanza doppia più c’è il servizio pulizia una volta a settimana. |
| Do you have another one? | Ne hai un altro? |
| Huh, it's quite good money! | Huh, Sono un sacco di soldi! |
| But their room is almost double the size of our room! | Ma la loro stanza è quasi il doppio della dimensione della nostra stanza! |
| How do you want me to chop the onions, big or small? | Come vuoi farmi sminuzzare le cipolle, grandi o piccole? |
| There is a robot in a kid's body, but he doesn't know he's a robot. | C’è un robot nel corpo di un ragazzino, ma lui non sa di essere un robot. |
| I'm so sorry, but we need to cancel our meeting today. | Mi dispiace molto, ma dobbiamo cancellare il nostro appuntamento di oggi. |
| I think I deserve a kiss... | Credo di meritarmi un bacio… |
| Yes, it seems more logical in this case. | Sì, sembra più logico in questo caso. |
| Hmm.. yes, I need mushrooms, stock, celery... | Hmm… Sì, mi servono funghi, brodo, sedano… |
| But it's my favourite restaurant... | Ma è il mio ristorante preferito… |
| Mike, teriyaki is Japanese, we are at a Chinese restaurant. | Mike, il teriyaki è giapponese, siamo in un ristorante cinese. |
| That's right, I think pressure cookers are quite dangerous, too! | Esatto, penso che anche le pentole a pressione siano molto pericolose! |
| What’s their name? | Come si chiama? |
| I think one room is empty upstairs at the moment. | Penso che una stanza sia vuota al momento al piano di sopra. |
| Unfortunately, she is a teenager, she is 19! | Sfortunatamente, è una teenager, ha 19 anni! |