Present Continuous

Present Progressive/ Continuous

The Present Progressive also known as Present Continuous is used to show somebody is in the middle of an activity and is still in progress. It is formed with the simple present of the verb to be and the present participle of the main verb.

Examples:

   

     Positive (am, is, are) + verb in present participle + Complement

-        Mike is walking out after a row with his girlfriend.

Negative (am, is, are) + NOT + verb in present participle + Complement

-        We are not taking syntax this semester.

Question (am, is, are) + Subject + verb in present participle + Complement

-        Are you cooking dinner?

For some verbs we add –ing to the base form:

-        Play: playing

-        Eat: eating

When the verb ends in -e, we take off the -e and add –ing:

-        Come : coming

-        Move: moving

When the verb ends in a vowel followed by a consonant and if the last syllable is stressed, then we double the consonant:

-        Prefer - preferring

-        Rub - rubbing

When the verb ends in a vowel + l, we double the consonant:

-        Travel- travelling

-        Control - controlling

Make sure you do not use the Present Continuous/ Progressive tense just for talking about actions that are happening in the moment; we can also use it for talking about near future plans. There are other situations in which we can use the Present Continuous tense: Temporary actions, Repeated temporary events, Change, Actions happening around the moment of speaking (longer actions), Plans and arrangements.

Examples:

-        Who’s looking after the children while you’re here?

-        I’m not drinking much coffee these days. I’m trying to cut down.

-        They’re building a new stand at the football ground.

-        You’re constantly spilling things.

-        Aren’t you playing football on Sunday?