







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 | |
|---|---|
| Pogo still hates coming to the vet, though! | Pogo però odia ancora venire dal veterinario! |
| But Tesco is bigger, it has more variety of products. | Ma Tesco è più grande, c’è più varietà di prodotti. |
| Yes, it is, but yours isn't so obvious. | Sì, ma il tuo non è così ovvio. |
| For the risotto, I need some arborio rice. | Per il risotto ho bisogno di un po’ di riso arborio. |
| I can't call him at the moment because his phone is unreachable. | Non posso chiamarlo al momento perché il suo telefono è irraggiungibile. |
| Yes sir, you can have a seat at this table. | Sissignore, potete sedervi a questo tavolo. |
| How do you get to Brighton? | Come arrivi a Brighton? |
| Hey, we are back. | Ehi, siamo tornati. |
| It's the second one from the top. | È il secondo da sopra. |
| That's bad, do you have a cold? | Che brutto, hai il raffreddore? |
| Why did you ask, do you want me to boil it? | Perché me lo hai chiesto, vuoi che lo faccia bollire? |
| Okay, who sings it? | Ok, chi canta? |
| 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. |
| No, it doesn't look clean, do you want me to clean it? | No, non sembra pulito, vuoi che lo pulisca io? |
| No worries, I am not together with Mike. | Non preoccuparti, non sto insieme a Mike. |
| Yeah, you are right, it's more useful when you have less things. | Già, hai ragione, è più utile quando hai meno cose. |
| What kind of trick is that? | Che tipo di trucco? |
| Pogo is my little cat, is there a problem with that? | Pogo è il mio gattino, c’è qualche problema con questo? |
| So, I guess you are from Australia. | Quindi, presumo tu venga dall’Australia. |
| I'm happy to hear we have similar music taste! | Sono felice di sentire che abbiamo gusti simili in fatto di musica! |