The Present Continuous is a very popular tense in English.
We use the Present Continuous as often as the Present Simple! That is why you should know the Present Continuous well.
Why is the Present Continuous so popular? Because we use this tense to talk about continuous actions that take place in the present, often at the very moment of speaking. And this is a huge number of actions that we do all the time!
These actions can be quick and short:
Or such actions can last for a long time and be global, slowly evolving:
I think the climate is changing …
Another reason for the popularity of the Present Continuous is that the Present Continuous carries several additional functions.
The Present Continuous is involved in the formation of several important grammatical constructions.
Sometimes English learners have difficulty with the fact that there is no analog of the Present Continuous in their native language. Even so, you will be able to understand what the Present Continuous is. It’s not difficult at all!
This tense is often called either the Present Progressive or Present Continuous.
Both of these names are correct, and you can find any of them in various English grammar textbooks. We will call it the Present Continuous.
The main purpose of the Present Continuous is to show an action or process that takes place at the moment of speaking.
If you are walking down the street and someone asks:
What are you doing now?
Then you can safely use the Present Continuous, answering:
I am walking down the street.
Because you perform this action at the moment of speaking.
But this does not mean that if you suddenly stop in the middle of the street, you cannot say “I’m walking down the street”. You can say that! Even if you stop, you are still in the process of performing your action in the general sense, which is “walking down the street.”
We usually use the Present Continuous with words that indicate that the action is happening right at the moment of speaking:
To form a sentence in the Present Continuous, we need two main components:
Now let’s take a closer look at these two components:
In the Present Continuous, the main verb changes as follows:
We use the verb in the base form and add the -ing ending to the verb.
| base form | ing form |
|---|---|
| Jump | Jumping |
| Run | Running |
| Read | Reading |
| Talk | Talking |
For some verbs, you can simply add the -ing ending. Some verbs take the -ing ending according to some rules.
To form an affirmative (positive) sentence in the Present Continuous, we put the subject first in the sentence. After the subject, we put the right form of the verb to be. Then we put the main verb with the -ing ending. Then we put the rest of the sentence if necessary.
Subject (I, he, dog, people, John) + to be (am, is, are) + main verb with -ing (reading, jumping, playing) + the rest of the sentence
I am dancing in the dark.
She is singing beautifully.
These guys are running really fast.
We form questions in the Present Continuous in the following way:
We put first the right form of the verb to be (am, is, are), which serves as the auxiliary verb that shows that this is an interrogative (question) sentence. Then we put in the subject. After the subject, we put the main verb with the -ing ending. After which we put the rest of the sentence, if necessary.
to be (am, is, are) + subject (I, he, dog, people, John) + main verb with -ing (reading, jumping, playing) + the rest of the sentence
Am I dancing in the dark?
Is she singing beautifully?
Are these guys running really fast?
In negative sentences, we put the subject first. After the subject, we put the verb to be with the negative not. Then we put the main verb with the -ing ending. After which we put the rest of the sentence, if necessary.
Subject (I, he, dog, people, John) + to be (am, is, are) + not + main verb with -ing (reading, jumping, Playing) + rest of the sentence
I am not dancing in the dark.
She is not singing beautifully.
These guys are not running fast.
We use the Present Continuous in many cases. Let’s take a look at the most popular of them.
I’m walking down the street now.
She is reading a book at the moment.
I am watching a fascinating TV show. It has 50 episodes!
I am traveling around the world in my car.
I’m walking down the street now, and my wife is running around the shops!
At the moment I am working, and my children are running around me and screaming! They are just having fun.
She is constantly complaining about her life.
I am watching TV day after day!
John is smoking too much.
I can’t believe, Jessica is playing sports.
He is eating too much these days!
Note: It is important to understand that we use the Present Continuous in such cases when we describe really unusual behavior that surprises us or attracts our attention.
Often in such sentences, we use words that specify the time of our planned actions: “next day”, “next month”, “tomorrow”, “in two hours”, etc.
We are moving to a new home in two weeks.
John and Jessica are going to the theatre tomorrow.
NOTE: When we use the Present Continuous to talk about our plans, we mean that we not only planned an action, but also did everything necessary to accomplish it. Therefore, the sentence “John and Jessica are going to the theatre tomorrow” means that John has made an agreement with Jessica and may have already bought tickets. It was indeed a planned action.
Grandma stays with us for two weeks.
John is using his father’s car while John’s car is being repaired.
Often in such sentences, we use additional words (until, during, while, etc.), which express that the action is temporary.
Note: It is important here to understand that the Present Continuous is used in the examples to show that Grandmother does not live there all the time, she just came to visit for two weeks. John will not drive his father’s car all the time, he took it for a while. If situations are not temporary, then we do not use the Present Continuous but the Present Simple.
I live in London. This sentence means that I live in London all the time. Probably whole my life.
I am living in London. This sentence means that I am living in London temporarily. Maybe I moved to London because of my job. I am not going to live in London for my whole life.
Climate is changing.
The children are growing up so fast!
The situation is getting worse and worse.
I’m going to visit Mark.
John is starting a new business.
I am leaving this party.
Unfortunately, I am watching TV all day, but I used to play sports.
He quit his job, he is writing books now.
People are working less these days than it was in the old days.
Another use case for the Present Continuous is Time Clauses after Conjunctions:
Such sentences have two parts:
Putting these two parts together, we describe some kind of ongoing action against the background of some kind of short action.
Conjunctions such as as long as, while, when, etc. help us connect the two. We often use this construction when we talk about ordinary life situations.
You call me at that moment when I am walking down the street. Call me back later!
They make noise while John is trying to focus on his work!
Action verbs in the Present Continuous can be used with the -ing ending. But in English, there is a group of verbs that we do not use with -ing. These are stative verbs, non-continuous verbs.
For example, verbs that describe feelings (love, want). We use these verbs with the Present Simple instead of the Present Continuous.
We can say in the Present Continuous:
We cannot say in the Present Continuous:
I am understanding that it is time for me to go home.
To say this we use the Present Simple:
I understand that it is time for me to go home.
Stative verbs are not used with the -ing ending. They cannot be in the process of duration. Because it is impossible to see or feel their dynamics.
You can imagine how John runs, Jessica jumps, or a bird flies. These are all processes that can take place in dynamics. But how can the verb “Understand” occur in action?
Therefore, the group of Stative verbs includes verbs of feelings, emotions, thought processes, and perception, such as:
What to do with these verbs? Nothing complicated! We just use these verbs in the Present Simple instead of the Present Continuous.
You can form a whole sentence using the Present Continuous with Action verbs. Then if we need to add a Stative verb to such a sentence, we just use the Present Simple.
Let’s write a sentence like this where all actions happen at the same time. We use some verbs in the Present Continuous because these verbs mean continuous actions. We use the Present Simple for others verbs from the group of Stative verbs:
I am playing with dolls, John is reading , but I think he don’t like the book.
You see, there is nothing complicated about it.
However, in English, there is an exception for every rule 🙂
Therefore, now I am going to tell you about a case when even a Stative verb can be used in the Present Continuous.
We can use Stative verbs in the Present Continuous to emphasize our emotions or feelings.
I am thinking ! Do not bother me!
Yes, I am hating you right now!
See? In these examples, we want to emphasize that the Stative verb is very important at the moment of speaking. Therefore, we put the Stative verb in the progressive (continuous) form.
The verb to have is also a Stative verb. But we can use to have in the Present Continuous. We can add the -ing ending to the verb to have in the Present Continuous. We do this in some special cases.
For example, we use the verb to have with the -ing ending if the verb to have is a part of some Fixed Expressions:
We can use these constant expressions in the Present Continuous by adding -ing to the verb to have:
I am having breakfast.
We are having fun!
The verb to be is also a Stative verb. But sometimes we can use the verb to be with the -ing ending in the Present Continuous.
IMPORTANT: In this case, I mean the verb to be in its base form without to – be. It is be that we can turn into being using the -ing ending.
be + -ing = being.
Remember: We cannot add the -ing ending to to be forms such as am, was, are, is, etc. We can only add -ing to one base form of the verb to be – be.
We use the verb to be in the form being when we want to emphasize that someone or something behaves in a certain way at a particular moment of speaking.
Stop being so rude.
She is being so nice to our children.
Look at her. She is being weird after I told her the secret.
In these examples, we emphasize the behavior of someone at the moment of speaking.
The Present Simple and the Present Continuous are great friends. The Present Simple is often used in conjunction with the Present Continuous.
For example, when we tell a story. We tell some details of the story in the Present Simple and some in the Present Continuous. Thus, we can tell that some action takes place against the background of another action.
I go out into the garden where flowers are blooming, birds are singing and everything around is so beautiful!
But how do we know when we should USE the Present Continuous and when the Present Simple? After all, both of these tenses refer to the present. Both of them are used very, very often.
Let’s take a look at the main differences between the Present Continuous and the Present Simple:
I want to eat.
Right now , Jack is thinking about how much he loves Jessica.
Grandma is living with us.
Grandma lives with us.
In the first example, Grandma lives with us and this is temporary because she came to visit us. In the second example, Grandma lives with us all the time.
The dog is running around the yard.
This means that the dog is rinning right at the moment of speaking.
The dog runs around the yard every day.
This means that the dog runs around the yard every day. The dog loves to run around the yard. The dog does it every day. This does not happen at the moment of speaking.
I jog three times a week.
Lately, I am jogging a lot.
The Present Continuous markers are words that indicate that actions occur at the moment of speaking:
I’m busy right now , I am working!
At this moment they are flying in an airplane over Paris.
Take a look at some examples of the Present Continuous. These examples will help you understand this lesson better.
I cannot speak on the phone, I am driving.
Mom is busy now, she is cleaning the kitchen.
Watch your brother is dancing.
I’m reading a book now.
They are running very fast, look!
He is walking in the park.
