







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 | |
|---|---|
| I hope she is not a problematic one, then... | 我希望她不是问题青年,那么... |
| I can't call him at the moment because his phone is unreachable. | 我现在没法打给他,因为他的电话打不通。 |
| I hope it's not the right address! It looks awful. | 我希望这不是正确的地址!看上去很糟糕。 |
| Cate, are you okay? You seem a little bit aggressive. | 凯特,你还好吧?你看起来有点暴躁。 |
| Erm, I can't work it out, I guess it's more than 150 years old. | 呃,我算不出来,我猜它有150年以上的历史了。 |
| I can't believe you still don't get it! | 我无法相信你还不明白! |
| Thank you, I'm 26. | 谢谢你,我26岁。 |
| He is a plumber, dear, apparently it's clogged. | 他是水管工,亲爱的,据说坐便器堵塞了。 |
| I feel hungry, too. | 我也觉得饿了。 |
| Oh my god! It’s almost 12 o’clock. | 天哪!都快12点了。 |
| You are very funny mate. | 你非常有趣,伙计。 |
| Do you want me to make you a cup of tea or coffee? | 你想要我给你泡一杯茶或咖啡吗? |
| Of course! It's my favourite pub. | 当然!那是我最喜欢的酒吧。 |
| I think so, he can look around while Bear is not here. | 我想是的,这样它就能在大熊不在这里的时候先四处看看。 |
| Here we go, I'm sure it means they pay much less. | 猜对了,我确定这意味着他们支付的更少。 |
| It's not borrowing, it's stealing! | 这不是借,是偷! |
| I'm so sorry, but we need to cancel our meeting today. | 非常抱歉,我们需要取消今天的会议。 |
| Congratulations, I wish you luck. | 恭喜,祝你好运。 |
| I'm sorry, I'm not good at remembering names sometimes! | 很抱歉,我有时记不住人名! |
| Okay, I want to have something similar then! | 好吧,那我想吃一些类似的! |