The present continuous verb tense indicates that an action or condition is happening now, frequently, and may continue into the future.
Forming the Present Continuous Tense
The present continuous tense is formed from the present tense of the verb “be” and the present participle (-ing form) of a verb:
Affirmative: Subject + to be + V-ing
- She is working.
Negative: Subject + to be + not + V-ing
- She is not (isn’t) working.
Interrogative: To be + subject + V-ing?
- Is she working?
When do We Use the Present Continuous Tense
The present continuous is used in several instances:
To describe something which is happening at the exact moment of speech:
- Jim is watching television at the moment.
To describe an action that is taking place now but not at the exact moment of speech:
- He is working in Dubai.
To describe an event planned in the future:
- I’m taking my French class on Tuesday.
With always but meaning often (used to emphasize the frequency of an action in a humorous or hyperbolic way):
- My mother is always making me go to school!
- She is always playing with that doll!
To describe an action that is taking place now and is subject to interruption:
- Ellen cannot come to the phone since she is sleeping.
Spelling of Verbs in the Present Continuous Tense
Most verbs add –ing:
- eat – eating
- speak – speaking
- cook – cooking
- start – starting
- do – doing
- stay – staying
- fix – fixing
Most verbs ended with -y, add –ing:
- buy – buying
- enjoy – enjoying
- play – playing
- say – saying
- try – trying
Verbs that ended with -e, drop the -e and add –ing:
- make – making
- write – writing
- drive – driving
- take – taking
- have – having
- shave – shaving
- share – sharing
- shake – shaking
Verbs that ended with -ee, add –ing:
- see – seeing
- agree – agreeing
Verbs ended with a consonant preceded by a vowel, double the consonant and add -ing:
- swim – swimming
- run – running
- get – getting
- stop – stopping
- sit – sitting
- put – putting
- skip – skipping
- travel – travelling
- regret – regretting
Do not double the letter if the words ends in two consonants:
- help – helping
- talk – talking
- work – working
Two-syllable verbs: the last consonant is doubled when the last syllable is stressed:
- forget – forgetting
- upset – upsetting
- prefer – preferring
Do not double the letter if the word has two or more syllables and the last part is not stressed:
- visit (first part is stressed) – visiting
- benefit (first part is stressed) – benefiting
Do not double the letter if the word ends in -y or –w:
- buy – buying
- enjoy – enjoying
- snow – snowing
Verbs ended with -ie, change -ie to -y, add –ing:
- lie – lying
- die – dying
Verbs ended with -c, change -c to –ck:
- picnic – picnicking
Excepting:
- age – ageing
- dye – dyeing
- singe – singeing
- budget – budgeting
- enter – entering
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Sumit
Tuesday 22nd of December 2020
Hi need your application
Anita Davi
Saturday 19th of September 2020
This topic is so fucking easy
Anita Davi
Saturday 19th of September 2020
Present continuous tense
ISA SANTIN
Wednesday 27th of February 2019
this topic is so fucking easy