Present Progressive |
Affirmative |
He is reading. |
Negative |
He is not reading. |
Interrogative |
Is he reading? |
Form |
To be (in the simple present) + verb + ing |
Uses |
- action taking place at the moment of speaking
- action arranged for the future
|
The Present Continuous / Progressive
John is in his car. He is in his way to work.
He is driving to work
This means he is driving now: “at the time of speaking”
This is the present continuous.
|
The past continuous (progressive) tense
This page will present the present continuous:
The form of the present continuous tense
The verb to be (in the simple present) |
verb + ing |
The affirmative forms of the present continuous:
I
|
am |
eating. |
’m |
You, we, they |
are |
’re |
He, she, it |
is |
's |
The interrogative forms of the present continuous
Am |
I |
eating? |
Are |
you, we, they |
Is |
he, she, it |
The negative forms of the present continuous
I |
am not |
eating. |
’m not |
You, we, they |
are not |
aren't |
He, she, it |
is not |
isn't |
The use of the present continuous tense
- The present continuous is used to talk about actions happening at the time of speaking.
Example:
- Where is Mary? She is having a bath. (Not she has a bath)
- What are you doing at the moment in front of your screen? Don't you know? Well … you are reading this lesson. You are learning English.
- The present continuous can also be used when an action has started but hasn’t finished yet.
Example:
- I am reading a book; it’s a nice book. (It means = I am not necessarily reading it; I started reading it but I haven’t finished it yet
Special verbs
There are verbs which are normally not used in the present continuous.
Examples:
be, believe, belong, hate, hear, like, love, mean, prefer, remain, realize, see, seem, smell, think, understand, want, wish
It's not correct to say:
He is wanting to buy a new car.*
You must say:
He wants to buy a new car.
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