Present Continuous

The present continuous (also called present progressive) describes actions happening now or around now.

Formation

Affirmative

am/is/are + verb-ing

Examples:

• I am reading a book.
• She is cooking dinner.
• They are playing football.

Spelling Rules for -ing

Most verbs: add -ing

• work → working
• read → reading
• play → playing

Verbs ending in -e: drop -e, add -ing

• make → making
• write → writing
• live → living

Short verbs (CVC): double final consonant

• sit → sitting
• run → running
• stop → stopping
• swim → swimming

Verbs ending in -ie: change to -ying

• lie → lying
• die → dying

Verbs ending in -ee: just add -ing

• see → seeing
• agree → agreeing

Negative

am/is/are + not + verb-ing

• I am not (I’m not) working.
• She is not (isn’t) cooking.
• They are not (aren’t) playing.

Questions

Am/Is/Are + subject + verb-ing?

• Are you working?
• Is she cooking?
• What are they doing?

When to Use Present Continuous

1. Actions Happening Now

• I am writing an email. (right now)
• She is talking on the phone. (at this moment)
• Look! It is raining!

2. Temporary Situations

• I am staying with friends this week.
• She is working on a new project.
• They are living in a hotel until they find a flat.

3. Changing/Developing Situations

• The weather is getting colder.
• Your English is improving.
• The world is changing rapidly.

4. Future Arrangements

• I am meeting John tomorrow.
• She is flying to Paris next week.
• We are having a party on Saturday.

5. Annoying Habits (with “always”)

• He is always complaining! (negative emotion)
• She is always losing her keys.
• You are always interrupting me!

Simple Present vs. Present Continuous

Examples:

• I work in a bank. (permanent job)
• I am working from home today. (temporary)
• She lives in Paris. (permanent)
• She is living with her parents. (temporary)
• Water boils at 100°C. (fact)
• The water is boiling. (right now)

Stative Verbs (No Continuous)

Some verbs describe states, not actions. They are not usually used in continuous form:

Mental States

• know, understand, believe, think (= opinion), remember, forget

Emotions

• like, love, hate, want, need, prefer

Senses

• see, hear, smell, taste, feel (involuntary)

Possession

• have (= possess), own, belong, possess

Other

• be, seem, appear, cost, mean, contain

Correct:

• I know the answer. (not I am knowing)
• She loves chocolate. (not She is loving)
• This costs $10. (not This is costing)

Exceptions

Some verbs have both stative and active meanings:

Practice

Choose the correct form:

1. “She ___ (work) in a bank.” (permanent) → She works in a bank.

2. “She ___ (work) on a report right now.” → She is working on a report right now.

3. “I ___ (not/understand) this.” → I don’t understand this. (stative verb)

4. “What ___ you ___ (do) tomorrow evening?” → What are you doing tomorrow evening?