Examples
- I’m studying.
- Are you studying?
- She’s sleeping.
- We aren’t working.
- What time are you getting off work today?
- I’m looking after my neighbour’s cat this week.
Uses of the Present Continuous
We use the Present Continuous for the following:
- Things that are happening (in progress) at the time of speaking (right now):
- I’m working.
- Things that are happening around the time of speaking if they are out of the ordinary (temporary arrangements):
- Normally I go to school every day, but today I’m staying at home -it’s a holiday.
- Fixed plans for the near future, especially when they involve other people (future arrangements):
- We’re meeting Sally’s parents this afternoon.
“Non-Continuous” Verbs
Some verbs don’t usually take the Present Continuous. They fall into a number of categories, or semantic fields:
- Mental Processes: verbs of thinking, likes/dislikes, opinion etc.
- think, like, hate, believe, mean, …
- Verbs of Sensory Perception:
- see, hear, smell, taste, feel, …
- Verbs of Existence and of Seeming:
- be, exist, seem, look like, …
- Verbs of Possession and Belonging:
- have (got), own, belong to, …
These verbs can sometimes be used in Continuous forms, but they change their meaning. Here are some examples:
- HAVE:
- She has a baby = She’s a mother.
- She’s having a baby = She’s pregnant.
- SEE:
- I see someone = There’s someone there, my eyes tell me.
- I’m seeing someone = I have a romantic relationship with someone.
Present Continuous: Form
The Verb is made up of the Auxiliary BE and the -ing form of the main verb.
How to Make Sentences in the Present Continuous
Remember the basic sentence structure in English:
→ Affirmative: Subject + Verb + Rest.
→ Negation: Subject + Auxiliary + not + “Infinitive” + Rest.
→ Questions:
- Non-Subject: (WH) + Auxiliary + Subject + “Infinitive” + Rest?
- Subject: WH + Verb + Rest
This gives us:
→ Affirmative: Subject + [BE] [v-ing] + Rest.
→ Negation: Subject + [BE] + not + [v-ing] + Rest.
→ Questions:
- Non-Subject: (WH) + [BE] + Subject + [v-ing] + Rest?
- Subject: WH + [BE] [v-ing] + Rest?
Exercises on Present Continuous in “First Cycle of ESO Revision Pack”
Exercises on Present Continuous in “Third of ESO Revision Pack”
Exercises on Present Continuous at Agendaweb.org
