







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 | |
|---|---|
| Hmm... actually, we have to boil it. | Hmm… In realtà dobbiamo farlo bollire. |
| Is it the one with the blue tongue? | È quello con la lingua blu? |
| What's your plan, Cate? | Che piani hai Cate? |
| Why? What's wrong? | Perché, che c'è che non va? |
| Thanks, but I don't have time to stay. | Grazie, ma non posso rimanere. |
| I've only got Saturday left before I have to move on Sunday. | È rimasto solo sabato prima di dover traslocare domenica. |
| How is your mum, does she have any health problems? | Come sta tua mamma, lei ha qualche problema di salute? |
| You are lucky! | Che fortuna! |
| Do you have another one? | Ne hai un altro? |
| How old are you? | Quanti anni hai? |
| It says best before 25th of February. | Dice consumarsi preferibilmente entro il 25 febbraio. |
| Do you live in this house, too? | Anche tu vivi in questa casa? |
| I am planning to sleep in a bit since it's a holiday. | Voglio dormire un po' dato che è festa. |
| No worries, it's free for you today. | Non preoccuparti, per te oggi è gratis. |
| What is it about? | Di cosa parla? |
| Yeah, I think the logo looks much better in the centre, what do you think? | Sì, credo che il logo stia molto meglio al centro, tu cosa ne pensi? |
| But maybe they are splitting up, I don't know yet. | Ma magari si stanno separando, non lo so ancora. |
| That's nice, I like the music and the lyrics. | Bello, mi piace la musica e il testo. |
| I like the seafood restaurants there. | Mi piacciono i ristoranti di frutti di mare là. |
| Normally, it's much more expensive than the other ones. | Normalmente è molto più costoso degli altri. |