







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 slice the mushrooms for you? | Tu veux que je coupe les champignons pour toi? |
| Bear's sitting here with me, his willy is out. | Bear est assis avec moi, son zizi est dehors. |
| As I'm a smoker, I prefer sitting outside. | Comme je suis fumeur, je préférerais m'asseoir à l'extérieur. |
| Don't worry, I don't like having a very heavy breakfast. | Ne t'inquiête pas, je n'aime pas prendre de lourds petits déjeuners. |
| A one year course? What kind of course is it? | Un cursus d'un an ? Quel genre de cursus est-ce ? |
| Diego, do you want me to get you anything to eat? | Diego, tu veux que je te rapporte quelque chose à manger ? |
| That would be great! Do you think it's possible? | Ça serait bien ! Penses-tu que ça sera possible ? |
| Is it hay fever? I've got some pills for it! | C'est le rhume des foins? J'ai quelques pilules pour soigner ça! |
| What genre do you listen to? | Quel genre de musique écoutes-tu ? |
| He is 70 and my mum is 64. | Il a 70 ans, et ma mère en a 64. |
| Isn't that funny? | C'est drôle, n'est-ce pas ? |
| Why? It looks pretty clean to me! | Pourquoi? Il a l'air plutôt propre! |
| My housemates don't clean anything in the kitchen. | Mes colocataires ne nettoient rien dans cette cuisine. |
| Of course, 2 tomatoes are enough, I think. | Bien sûr, 2 tomates sont suffisantes je crois. |
| Well, I don't think we need to cook too many things at once. | Eh bien, je ne pense pas qu'on a besoin de préparer plein de choses à la fois. |
| Yeah, I think the logo looks much better in the centre, what do you think? | Ouais, je pense que le logo paraît bien mieux au centre, qu'en penses-tu ? |
| Congratulations, I wish you luck. | Félicitations, je vous souhaite bonne chance. |
| That's why the rent is much lower than average. | C'est pour ça que le loyer est bien plus bas que la moyenne. |
| Nope, as I said before, they live in Australia. | Non, comme je l'ai déjà dit, ils habitent en Australie. |
| I really don't know, but I believe it's more than 100 years old. | Je ne sais vraiment pas, mais je crois qu'elle a plus de 100 ans. |