Present Continuous Tense

What is Present Continuous Tense?

The present continuous is used for actions going on in the moment of speaking and for actions taking place only for a short period of time. It is also known as the present progressive tense. It is one of the most often used tenses in English. Keep in mind it is not used to express everyday habits and routines. Everyday habits and routines are expressed using the present simple tense.

How do we make the Present Continuous tense?

This tense is formed with the helping “to be” verb, in the present tense, plus the present participle of the verb (with an -ing ending). let us see the structure of the Present Continuous tense.
General Structure

1. Affirmative (Positive) Sentence

Subject	“To Be”	Verb	Rest of the sentence.
I	am	present participle	Rest of the sentence.
We, You, They	are	present participle	Rest of the sentence.
He, She, It	is	present participle	Rest of the sentence.

2. Negative Sentence

Subject	“To Be”+Not	Verb	Rest of the sentence.
I	am not	present participle	Rest of the sentence.
We, You, They	are not	present participle	Rest of the sentence.
He, She, It	is not	present participle	Rest of the sentence.

3. Yes/No type Question

“To Be”	Subject	Verb	Rest of the sentence?
Am	I	present participle	Rest of the sentence?
Are	we, you, they	present participle	Rest of the sentence?
Is	he, she, it	present participle	Rest of the sentence?

4.Information Question?

QW	“To Be”	Subject	Verb	Rest of the sentence?
QW	am	I	present participle	Rest of the sentence?
QW	are	we, you, they	present participle	Rest of the sentence?
QW	is	he, she, it	present participle	Rest of the sentence?

Important Note:
Verb – Present Participle
Auxiliary Verb – Am, Is, Are
I – Am
He, She, It – Is
We, You, They – Are

1. Affirmative (Positive) Sentences

Subject	“To Be”	Verb (Present Participle)	Rest of the sentence
I	am	working	on my website.
You	are	learning	English at home.
We	are	reading	WhatIsGrammar.com
He	is	speaking	on the phone.
She	is	writing	a novel.
It	is	getting	worse.
They	are	playing	cricket.

2. Negative Sentences

Subject	“To Be”	Verb (Present Participle)	Rest of the sentence
I	am not	working	on my website.
You	are not	learning	English at home.
We	are not	reading	WhatIsGrammar.com
He	is not	speaking	on the phone.
She	is not	writing	a novel.
It	is not	getting	worse.
They	are not	playing	cricket.

3. Yes/No type Question

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb (Present Participle)	Rest of the sentence?
Am	I	working	on my website.?
Are	you	learning	English at home?
Are	we	reading	www.educationworldz.blogspot.com?
Is	he	speaking	on the phone?
Is	She	writing	a novel?
Is	it	getting	worse?
Are	they	playing	cricket?

4. Information Questions

Question	Auxiliary	Subject	Present Participle	Rest of the sentence?
When	am	I	working	on my website?
Where	are	you	learning	English?
What	are	we	reading	?
What	is	he	speaking	on the phone?
What	is	she	writing	?
Why	is	it	getting	worse?
Where	are	they	playing	cricket?

When should we use the Present Continuous Tense?

So, now you can make the present continuous tense. But what about present continuous use? Here are some situations when we need this tense:

Use 1 Things that are happening at the moment

Most often, we use the present continuous tense to talk about actions happening at the moment of speaking.

I am working at the moment.
You are learning English now.
You are reading about present continues tense.

Use 2 Temporary situations

This tense is also used for activities continuing only for a limited period of time.

He is staying with his friend for a week.
I am living in Bangalore for a few months.

Use 3 Longer actions in progress

We use the present continuous to say that we are in the process of doing a longer action which is in progress; however, we might not be doing it at this exact second.

He is studying hard to become an Engineer.
I am working on my website.

Use 4 Future Arrangements and Plans

Sometimes we use the Present Continuous to show that something is planned and will be done in the near future.

I am meeting some friends after work.
I am not going to the party tonight.

Present Continuous Tense