THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS
The Present Continuous/Progressive is used to talk about the ANDO/ENDO and a “near”
future. The present continuous tense is formed with the subject plus the present particle
form (-ing) of the main verb and the present continuous tense of the verb to be: am, is,
are. ... "He" is the subject, "is" is the present tense of the verb to be and "swimming" is
the present participle verb form.
Time expressions that are commonly used in the present continuous are:
now / just now / right now / at the moment / currently / look / listen – ando/endo
NEAR FUTURE :
this morning / this afternoon / this evening / this semester / this month / this year / this
season / this Christmas, etc.
tonight / at noon / tomorrow /**** these days
next week / next month / next year / next semester, next Christmas, etc.
GRAMMAR STRUCTURE:
Affirmative statements:
SUBJECT + AM/IS/ARE + VERB/ING + COMPLEMENT.
Gerund/noun
Examples:
I am eating lunch downtown today. He is traveling to Miami.
We are watching a movie right now. Martin is getting married next year.
John is waiting for you now.
*(The complement will have further information about the action to be performed. It will
also have the time expression at the end of the sentence.)
*Frequency adverbs are not commonly used, however the adverb ALWAYS is used when
you are talking about an action that is being done on a habitual basis. It is positioned after
the verb BE. Example. Maria is always biting her nails.
Negative Statements:
SUBJECT + AM/IS/ARE + NOT + VERB/ING + COMPLEMENT.
Examples:
I am not eating lunch downtown today. He is not traveling to Miami.
We are not watching a movie right now. Martin is not getting married next year.
John is not waiting for you now. We are not having a class this morning.
Yes/No Questions:
AM/IS/ARE + SUBJECT + VERB/ING + COMPLEMENT?
Examples:
Am I doing it right? Are you listening to me? Is he working today?
Is she speaking Chinese? Is it working? Are we going home now?
Information Questions: (WH AND HOW)
INFO WORDS + AM/IS/ARE + SUBJECT + VERB/ING + COMPLEMENT?
What am I doing? Where are you living now? Who is he speaking to?
When is she coming? What is it doing here? When are we having it?
Special verbs:
There are verbs which are normally not used in the present continuous.
Examples: be, believe, belong, hate, hear, know, like, love, mean, prefer, remain, realize,
see, seem, smell, think, understand, want, and wish
It is not correct to say: He is wanting to buy a new car. You must say: He wants to buy a
new car.
EXERCISES:
Put the verbs into the present continuous:
Listen to the birds. They (sing) ____are singing_________________________________.
Look at that one. It (fly) _______is flying________________________ high in the sky.
The other one (play) ____________is playing_______________________ with a worm.
I feel happy because I (have) ______am having_________ a good time here in these woods.
Positive Sentences - Part 1 Choose the correct present progressive form.
Look! Andy ___is working____________ in the garden. (WORK)
I __am watching____________ TV at the moment. (WATCH)
We __________are reading________________ a book. (READ)
She _________is playing__________ the piano. (PLAY)
Listen! Sue and John ___are singing______________. (SING)
Affirmative Sentences - Part 2 - Put the verbs into present progressive.
My sister (clean) ______is cleaning__________________ the bathroom.
Look! They (go) _______________are going_______________inside.
I (wait) _____________________________am waiting__________ in the car now.
Mrs. Miller (listen) ____________________is listening_______________ to CDs.
We (speak) ___________are speaking___________________ English at the moment.
Exceptions - Choose the correct form. Note that there are exceptions in spelling when
adding 'ing.'
His brother (take) __________is taking_____________________________ a test at the
moment.
They (swim) _____________________are swimming_________________________ in the
pool.
Look! David and Max ________________are coming_________________ (come) home.
My dog Charlie (run) _________________________is running______________ to the
park.
I (make) __________am making_________________________________ breakfast now.
Write questions in present progressive.
Robin / ride / his bike - Robin is riding his bike.
where / she / go - Where is she going?
what / your mother / do / now - What is your mother doing now?
Which is a signal word for the present progressive?
Often - now - sometimes
Which is not a signal word for the present progressive?
sometimes - Look! - at the moment