Learn English- Online English Courses - Unit 22

Grammar

1. Present Continuous

The Present Continuous is used for actions that are happening around the present time. For example, "I am studying English" means that I am in the process of studying English now.

Form

The Present Continuous is formed by adding the verb "to be" and the -ing form

Singular

Affirmative

I am studying
You are studying
She is studying
He is studying
It is studying

Negative

I am not studying
You are not studying
She is not studying
He is not studying
It is not studying

Questions

Do I have a pen?
Do you have a pen?
Does she has a pen?
Does he has a pen?
Does it have a pen?

Plural

Affirmative

We are studying
You are studying
They are studying


Negative

We do not have a pen = We don't have a pen
You do not have a pen = You don't have a pen
They do not have a pen = They don't have a pen


Questions

Do we have a pen?
Do you have a pen?
Do they have a pen?

For negatives we simply add not after the auxilary verb "to be", for example:
- I am playing - I am not playing.

For questions we invert the subject and auxiliary verb to be, for example:
- You are playing - Are you playing?

Usage

The Present Continuous is used for actions happening at the present time. For example:
- We are studying English.
- You are using a computer.

The Present Continuous is also used for processes happening around the present time. For example:
- It is raining today.
- I am working in Paris this month.
- The world is turning.
The time period of the first sentence is today, the second sentence one month, and the third sentence forever, but all of these sentences are about processes that happen around the present. They started before the present, are happening now, and will continue after the present. This is a key idea of the Present Continuous.

The Present Continuous is also used for repeated actions or habits. Such repetition is seen as one continuing process. For example:
- I am getting up early this week.
Obviously I'm not getting up just one time for a whole week, but during one week I will get up early every day, so this can be seen as one process.

The Present Continuous is also used for future arrangements at a particular time. For example:
- I'm going to Rome at 10.30 tomorrow.
- She's coming to my apartment this evening.

Spelling

To make the -ing form, also known as the present participle, we usually add -ing to the verb. For example:
- study - studying
- eat - eating
- jump - jumping

For verbs ending in -e, we leave out the -e and add -ing. For example:
- write - writing: not writeing
- skat - skating: not skateing.

For verbs ending in a vowel and a consonant, we usually double the last consonant and add -ing. For example:
- run - running: not runing
- cut - cutting: not cuting

For verbs ending in -ie we change the -ie to -y and add -ing. For example:
- lie - lying: not lieing

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Try these exercises using the Present Continuous.

 

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