Present simple
Il present simple si usa:
-
Per esprimere abitudini, azioni generalmente valide, azioni ripetute o situazioni immutevoli, emozioni e desideri:
I smoke (abitudine); I work in London (situazione immutevole); London is a large city (dichiarazione generalmente valida) -
Per dare istruzioni o direzioni:
You walk for two hundred meters, then you turn left. -
Per esprimere un impegno prefissato, presente o futuro:
Your exam starts at 09.00 -
Per esprimere il futuro, dopo alcune congiunzioni: after, when, before, as soon as, until:
He'll give it to you when you come next Saturday.
Attenzione! Il present simple non si usa per esprimere azioni che si svolgono nel momento in cui si parla.
Esempi
-
Abitudini
He drinks tea at breakfast.
She only eats fish.
They watch television regularly. -
Azioni o avvenimenti ripetuti
We catch the bus every morning.
It rains every afternoon in the hot season.
They drive to Monaco every summer. -
Per qualcosa di generalmente valido
Water freezes at zero degrees.
The Earth revolves around the Sun.
Her mother is Peruvian.
-
Per istruzioni o direzioni
Open the packet and pour the contents into hot water.
You take the No.6 bus to Watney and then the No.10 to Bedford. -
Per accordi prestabiliti
His mother arrives tomorrow.
Our holiday starts on the 26th March -
Per esprimere il futuro
She'll see you before she leaves.
We'll give it to her when she arrives.
Come si forma il present simple: to think
| Affermativa | Interrogativa | Negativa |
|---|---|---|
| I think | Do I think? | I do not think |
| You think | Do you think? | You do not think |
| He thinks | Does he think? | He does not think |
| She thinks | Does she think? | She does not think |
| It thinks | Does it think? | It does not think |
| We think | Do we think? | We do not think. |
| They think | Do they think? | They do not think. |
Note sul present simple alla terza persona singolare
-
Alla terza persona singolare, i verbi terminano sempre in -s:
he wants, she needs, he gives, she thinks. -
Le forme negative e interrogative usano il DOES (= la terza persona singolare dell'ausiliare 'DO') + il verbo alla forma base.
He wants ice cream. Does he want strawberry? He does not want vanilla. -
I verbi che terminano in -y: alla terza persona la -y diventa -ies:
fly --> flies, cry --> cries
Eccezione: in caso di vocale prima della -y:
play --> plays, pray --> prays -
Aggiungere -es ai verbi che terminano in:-ss, -x, -sh, -ch:
he passes, she catches, he fixes, it pushes
Esempi
- He goes to school every morning.
- She understands English.
- It mixes the sand and the water.
- He tries very hard.
- She enjoys playing the piano.