Present Continuous

Present continuous

The present continuous (the present progressive) tense denotes that an action is happening at or around the time of speaking. The present continuous is made from the present tense of the verb be and the -ing.

Form:                                        To be + present participle

Examples:

What are you doing?

I am doing my task now.

She is watching her favorite cartoon.

Jim is going home.

Affirmative: verb “to write”

·         I am writing a story.

·         He/she/it is writing a story.

·         You/ we/ they are writing a story.

Examples:

She is enjoying her holiday in Madrid.

Look! She is meowing outside.

She is trying to catch a mouse.

Negative: verb “to write”

We make the negative by putting not after the auxiliary verb “be”:

·         I am not writing a story.

·         He/she/it is not writing a story.

·         You/ we/ they are not writing a story.

Examples:

I’m not driving.

It’s not raining now.

They’re not coming.

Interrogative: verb “to write”

We make the interrogative by putting the auxiliary verb “be” in front of the subject:

·         Am I writing a story?

·         Is he/she/it writing a story?

·         Are you/ we/ they writing a story?

 Examples:

What am I doing here?

Is she making a cake?

Are they sleeping?

Use of present continuous

We use the present continuous to talk about:

·         Actions happening now

Examples:

I'm going home.

Look!  My cats are playing.

·         Temporary situations

Michael is at university. He's studying history.

I'm working in London for the next two weeks.

·         Future arrangements and plans

Examples:

What is he teaching us next session?

He is going to give a new presentation.

·         Developing changes:

Technology is improving quickly.

The situation is developing rapidly.

Her flowers are growing.

State verbs

Do not use the present continuous tense with stative verbs. Stative verbs modify a state rather than an action. They aren't usually used in the present continuous form; these verbs are normally used in the present simple, instead.

Stative verbs include:

agree  be        belong            disagree         need   owe     own    possess         contain          believe            dislike know  like      love     hate    prefer  realize                        recognize       remember      suppose            think (= believe)        understand    wish    feel      look    seem  smell  sound taste   want   feel      seem            smell  sound taste   mean  consist           depend

Examples

You are smart.

She likes her baby.

I think that you can do it.

He remembers her address.