







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 | |
|---|---|
| So it comes to 2,800 a month! | |
| It sounds important. | |
| I mean, do you cook Asian or other kinds of cuisines? | |
| Why? What's wrong? | |
| Hello madam, are you still on the line? | |
| What kind of music do you like the most? | |
| But one of them is £2.44 and the other one is £1.22. | |
| I don't know really, what's yours? | |
| And we have to weigh everything by ourselves, etcetera. | |
| Mike, 250 degrees is the highest! | |
| I have no idea... But I hope they have a good excuse! | |
| Yes, he is one of them. | |
| You don’t look like an English teacher to me. | |
| Actually, it's quite urgent for me. | |
| Did you check carefully, don't we have any at all? | |
| Well, one of them is 2,800, but bills are not included... | |
| By the way, I like the colour of the walls... What do you think? | |
| I don't like violence in real life, I only like it in movies. | |
| It's got some water marks on it! | |
| I was just joking, how are you? | |