Present Continuous Tense

Present Continuous Tense

An action which is happening right now is called Present Progressive Tense. An action which is going on at the time of speech.

Ex:

• I am writing a letter.
• He is doing his homework.
• They are reading a newspaper.

Graphical Interpretation:

An action which commenced in the past, is occurring right now and will probably occur in the future. Examples:

• They are reading their books.
• They are watching television.
• She is becoming tired.
• I am doing my homework.

 

Present Continuous Forms

Present Participle form of the verb is used in this tense. We use is/are/am as auxiliaries in this tense. To make a negative sentence, we use NOT with an auxiliary. In questions, we use an auxiliary at the beginning of the sentence.

Affirmative: 

Subject + am/is/are + verb + ing + object…..

• You are watching TV.
• He is knocking at the door.
• I am doing my homework.
• They are attending the meeting.

Negative: 

Subject + am/is/are + not + verb + ing + object….

• You are not watching TV.
• She is not peeling potatoes.
• I am not doing my homework now.
• They are not attending the meeting. They are discussing something else.

Interrogative:

Am/is/are +subject + verb + ing + object …..

• Are you watching TV?
• Is he leading a humiliating life?
• Am I going somewhere else?
• Are they attending the meeting?

Negative and Interrogative:

Am/is/are + not + subject + verb + ing +object …...(Am Eng)

• Are not you watching TV?
• Is not he leading a humiliating life?
• Am not I going somewhere else?
• Are not they attending the meeting?

Am/is/are + subject + not + verb + ing + object…..(Br Eng)

• Are you not watching TV? 
• Is he not leading humiliating life?
• Am I not going somewhere else?
• Are they not attending the meeting?

 

Yes/No Questions and short Answers 

A question which is answered by Yes or No is called a Yes/No Question.

A short answer means to use just subject and auxiliary after yes or no to answer. A comma is used after Yes or No.

Ex:

• Are you writing?

          Yes, I am.

• Is it raining?

           No, it is not.

• Are they asking about me?

          Yes, they are.

 

Information Questions (wh questions) and Answers

A question that is asked to interrogate or get information is called an information question.

Ex: 

• What are you doing?

          I am cleaning the kitchen.

• Where is she studying?

          She is studying in the garden.

• Why are they not answering?

          Because they are not listening.

• Who is talking?

          Ali is talking to his mother.

• Whose car is coming?

          Ali’s car is coming.

• Which book is she studying?

          She is studying English Grammar Book.

• How is she listening?

          She is listening attentively.

 

Contract forms or short forms

	Short form		Short form
He is	He’s	He is not	He isn’t
She is	She’s	She is not	She isn’t
It is	It’s	It is not	It isn’t
They are	They’re	They are not	They aren’t
I am	I’m	I am not	I ain’t
We are	We’re	We are not	We aren’t
You are	You’re	You are not	You aren’t
Ali is	Ali’s	Ali is not	Ali isn’t

• She’s becoming tired.
• I’m doing my homework.
• You’re watching TV.
• You aren’t watching TV.
• She isn’t peeling potatoes.
• I ain’t doing my homework now.
• They aren’t attending the meeting. They are discussing something else.
• Aren’t you watching TV?
• Isn’t he leading a humiliating life?
• Ain’t I going somewhere else?
• Aren’t they attending the meeting?

 

How to get the Ing-Form (Present Participle From) of the verb? 

1) The general rule when changing a verb into its -ING form is just to add -ING to the end of the verb.

Feel	feeling
Go	going
Work	working
Sleep	sleeping

• She isn't feeling very well.
• He is working on a new project.
• The children are sleeping so be quiet.

2). If the verb ends in an 'E', we remove the E and add ING.

Live	living
Have	having
Make	making
Take	taking

• We are making a chocolate cake.
• He is taking his time to get ready.
• We are living in the same room.

3). If the verb ends in a consonant + vowel + consonant, we double the final consonant and add ING.

Stop	stopping
Sit	sitting
Plan	planning
Get	getting
Swim	swimming

• The policeman is stopping the traffic.
• We are planning a party for our high school teachers.
• I think I am getting a cold.

4). If a two-syllable verb ends in a consonant + vowel + consonant and there is stress on the first syllable, we do not double the final consonant.

Happen	happening
Enter	entering
Offer	offering
Suffer	suffering

• What is happening?
• They are offering a discount.
• Many people are suffering from Coronavirus in the world.

5). But, we do not double the final consonant when the verb ends in W, X, or Y or when the final syllable is not stressed.

Fix	fixing
Enjoy	enjoying
Snow	snowing

• He is fixing his bike.
• We are enjoying this great weather.
• It's snowing outside.

6). If the verb ends in IE we change it to Y and add ING.

Lie	lying
Die	dying
Tie	tying

• I know you are lying to me!
• You should water your plants twice a day because they are dying.
• The little boy is tying his shoelaces.

7). If the verb ends in consonant + vowel + L, we normally double the final L and add ING.

Note: According to American English, we do not double the L when the accent is on the first syllable.

	ING form (UK)	ING form (US
Travel	travelling	traveling
Marvel	marvelling	Marveling

• I am travelling.
• He is marvelling at her beauty.

8). When a verb ends in a stressed vowel + R, we double the final R and add ING.

Refer	referring
Defer	deferring

• Are you referring me to Dr. Asim?
• I am deferring my class.

9). When a verb ends in an unstressed vowel + R, we do not double the final R and add ING.

Offer	offering
Suffer	suffering
Whisper	whispering

• I am offering you a special deal.
• He is now suffering from a fever.
• What is he whispering in her ear?

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