Weuse the present continuous for things happening now, at the moment of speaking. 'What are you doing?' 'I 'm watching TV.' Actions happening around now We use the present continuous for temporary things that are happening around now (=not at the moment of speaking but these days, or weeks, etc.) I 'm reading a very good book at the moment. UNIT1. Present continuous (I am doing) A. Study this example situation: Ann is in her car. She is on her way to work. She is driving to work. This means: she is driving now, at the time of speaking. The action is not finished. Am/is/are ~ing is the present continuous: I am(= I'm) driving he/she/it is(he's etc.) working we/you/they are(we're etc.) doing etc. Theaction is not finished. Am/is/are ~ing is the present continuous: I am (= I'm) driving. he/she/it is (he's etc.) working. we/you/they are (we're etc.) doing etc. I am doing something = I'm in the middle of doing something; I've started doing it and I haven't finished yet. Often the action is happening at the time of speaking: Thepresent continuous describes Slide 1 Present Continuous (I am doing) Richard Ortega Slide 2 Present continuous The present simple tells what a person does, is or feels. Log in Upload File StudyUnit 1: Present continuous (I am Doing) flashcards from Claude Balanta's class online, or in Brainscape's iPhone or Android app. Learn faster with spaced repetition. Thepresent continuous (also called present progressive) is a verb tense which is used to show that an ongoing action is happening now, either at the moment of speech or now in a larger sense. The present continuous can also be used to show that an action is going to take place in the near future. Read on for detailed descriptions, examples AQF9. Skip to content Reading 2 min Views 845 Published by February 7, 2021 Contents The Present Continuous / ProgressiveThe past continuous progressive tenseThe form of the present continuous tenseThe affirmative forms of the present continuousThe interrogative forms of the present continuousThe negative forms of the present continuousThe use of the present continuous tenseSpecial verbsExamplesExercises on the themeThe Present Continuous / Progressive John is in his car. He is in his way to work. He is driving to workThis 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 its formand its use. You may also be interested in a lesson about the past continuous The form of the present continuous tense The verb to be in the simple presentverb + ing The affirmative forms of the present continuous Iameating.’mYou, we, theyare’reHe, she, itiss The interrogative forms of the present continuous AmIeating?Areyou, we, theyIshe, she, it The negative forms of the present continuous Iam noteating.’m notYou, we, theyare notaren’tHe, she, itis notisn’t The use of the present continuous tense The present continuous is used to talk about actions happening at the time of is Mary? She is having a bath. Not she has a bathWhat are you doing at the moment in front of your screen? Don’t you know? Well … you are reading this lesson. You are learning present continuous can also be used when an action has started but hasn’t finished 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 These verbs are called stative verbs in contrast to action verbs also referred to as dynamic verbs’ such as work, play, eat, etc.’ It’s not correct to say He is wanting to buy a new car.* You must say He wants to buy a new car. Exercises on the theme English Grammar in Use With Answers As we have already seen, Present Continuous is generally used to indicate that something is happening at the time of speaking. On the other hand, Simple Present is used for things that are generally true, things that repeat, or for things that happen sometimes/all the time. We can also look at the difference between Present Continuous and Simple Present by considering “I am doing” Present Continuous versus “I do” Simple Present. Examples I’m doing the laundry. right now I do the laundry every Monday. repeating event Sam is washing the car. right now Sam washes the car every week. repeating event Mary is watching TV. right now Mary watches TV whenever she’s bored. generally true Note Certain words do not generally use a Present Continuous form believe depend forget hate know like love mean need prefer remember understand want Exercises In the following sentences, determine whether you should use Present Continuous or Simple Present form. Remember that the Present Continuous needs the correct form of “be”. If the sentence is a question, remember to include the correct form of “do” for question formation. Example _____ tomatoes? you / like ==> Do you like tomatoes? Please be quiet – _____ now. the baby / sleep ==> Please be quiet – the baby is sleeping now. 1. _____ a sweater for her cousin’s birthday. Susan / knit 2. _____ broccoli for dinner, but _____ that vegetable. Mother / cook, Steve / hate 3. _____ so hard I can’t see across the street. it / snow 4. _____ your first day of school as a child? you / remember 5. Tonight _____ about rattlesnakes. the lecturer / speak 6. _____ lectures about rattlesnakes all over the country. he / give 7. Where _____? you / go 8. _____ tea over coffee. she / prefer 9. _____ three languages. Paul / speak 10. _____ in ghosts? you / believe 11. _____ always _____ my cousin’s birthday, so _____ it down on my calendar. I / forget, I / write 12. _____ fast whenever he’s mad. Jim / drive 13. _____ in a golf tournament this weekend. Tim / play 14. _____ in tournaments every chance he gets. he / play 15. _____ a book for her literature class. Karen / read 16. _____ so much that the city park by the river is now flooded. it / rain 17. Why didn’t Bill study for his test? _____ better than that! he / know 18. After school _____ to the library. he / go 19. _____ to the movies tonight after dinner. we / go 20. _____ a letter to my nephew. I / write Google This page will help you if you can’t remember the difference between the Present Continuous tense “I am doing”, and the Present Simple tense “I do”. Which tense you use depends on how you see the state or action. If you use the Present Simple “I do”, you think something is permanent. This means we often use the Present Simple to talk about general and scientific facts, our routines or habits, to give definitions and to describe things. The Present Continuous “I am doing” means the action is happening now or around now, is unfinished, or temporary. We use it to talk about trends and changes, or about situations happening now that are different from normal. “I live in London.” This is my home. “I am living with my parents.” A temporary situation until I buy my own house. “Hot air rises.” A scientific fact. “House prices are rising.” A trend happening now. “I drive to work every day.” My routine or habit. “I am walking to work this week.” My car is being repaired. “At work I write letters to customers.” My job routine. “Im writing a difficult letter.” This is what I am doing right now and I haven’t finished yet. So the most important rule is that you use the Present Simple “I do” for permanent states and the Present Continuous “I am doing” for changes and trends. Some verbs cannot be used in the Present Continuous tense. This is because they already suggest permanence. These include Verbs of possession – own, have, belong. Although you can say “I am having a party”, it doesn’t mean you own the party, it means you are hosting a party. Verbs of the mind – believe, know, think, forget. Verbs of emotion – love, hate, detest. Verbs of the senses – see, hear, smell, taste. “I’m seeing the doctor tomorrow” means I am going to visit the doctor, but “I see the doctor” means “the doctor is standing in front of me”. Verbs of geographical location – lie. “London lies on the River Thames”. Learn about the present continuous and do the exercises to practise using it. Level beginner The present continuous is made from the present tense of the verb be and the –ing form of a verb I am working You are playing He is talking She is living It is eating We are staying They are sleeping We use the present continuous to talk about activities at the moment of speaking I'm just leaving work. I'll be home in an hour. Please be quiet. The children are sleeping. Present continuous 1 Matching_MTYyNzM= Present continuous 2 GapFillTyping_MTYyNzQ= future plans or arrangements Mary is going to a new school next term. What are you doing next week? Present continuous 3 Plans for next month 2nd Sat. – my birthday. Party! 4th – day off 10th Sun. – flight OS462 11th, 12th, 13th – conference, Vienna 15th – dentist 3 22nd – Mum & Dad arrive, evening 23rd – Toni's Restaurant make reservation! 25th – Mum & Dad > home 29th – payday TrueOrFalse_MTYyNzU= Present continuous 4 GapFillTyping_MTYyNzY= Present continuous questions We make questions by putting am, is or are in front of the subject Are you listening?Are they coming to your party? When is she going home? What am I doing here? Present continuous questions 1 ReorderingHorizontal_MTYyNzg= Present continuous questions 2 GapFillTyping_MTYyNzk= Present continuous negatives We make negatives by putting not or n't after am, is or are I'm not doing that. You aren't listening. or You're not listening.They aren't coming to the party. or They're not coming to the party.She isn't going home until Monday. or She's not going home until Monday. Present continuous negatives 1 GapFillDragAndDrop_MTYyODA= Present continuous negatives 2 GapFillTyping_MTYyODE= Stative verbs We do not normally use the continuous with stative verbs. Stative verbs include verbs of thinking and feeling believe dislike know like love hate prefer realise recognise remember suppose think = believe understand want wish verbs of the senses appear feel look seem smell sound taste others agree be belong disagree need owe own possess We normally use the simple instead I understand you. NOT I am understanding you.This cake tastes wonderful. NOT This cake is tasting wonderful. Level intermediate We also use the present continuous to talk about something which is happening before and after a specific time At eight o'clock we are usually having breakfast. When I get home the children are doing their homework. something which we think is temporary Michael is at university. He's studying history. I'm working in London for the next two weeks. something which is new and contrasts with a previous state These days most people are using email instead of writing letters. What sort of clothes are teenagers wearing nowadays? What sort of music are they listening to? something which is changing, growing or developing The children are growing up quickly. The climate is changing rapidly. Your English is improving. something which happens again and again It's always raining in London. They are always arguing. George is great. He's always laughing. Note that we normally use always with this use. Present continuous 5 Matching_MTYyNzc= Level advanced We can use the present continuous to talk about the past when we are telling a story The other day I'm just walking down the street when suddenly this man comes up to me and asks me to lend him some money. Well, he's carrying a big stick and he looks a bit dangerous, so I'm wondering what to do … summarising a book, film or play Harry Potter is a pupil at Hogwarts school. One day when he is playing Quidditch he sees a strange object in the sky. He wonders what is happening … Do you need to improve your English grammar? Join thousands of learners from around the world who are improving their English grammar with our online courses.

present continuous i am doing