Present Continuous

Present continuous is used to talk about:

An activity that is happening now

An action that is true now and will

last for a certain period of time.

Im watching a movie on the

TV
The girl is eating lunch with
her friend.
Im living with my parents until
I graduate.
Im taking French lessons
during my spring break.

Im having lunch with my boss

tomorrow.

The train is leaving in 30 min.

To refer to the future

Sentence Structure

There is no auxiliary verb (do).

Most verb add ing to the base form of the verb
o Go going
o Wear wearing
o Visit visiting
o Eat visiting
Verbs that end in one e drop the e
o Smoke smoking
o Come coming
o Hope hoping
o Write writing
Verbs that end in two ee dont drop the ee
o Agree agreeing
o See seeing
Verbs of one syllable, that ends with one consonant, one vowel and one
consonant (CVC), double the last consonant
o Stop stopping
o Get getting
o Run running
o Plan planning
o Jog jogging
o If the final consonant is -w or -y, the consonant is not doubled.
Play playing
Show showing

*Note:
To lie laying

To lay laying

Subject pronoun + to
be
I am
You are
He is
She is
It is
We are
They are

Short form

Short form (negative)

Im
Youre
Hes
Shes
Its
Were
Theyre

Affirmative form
Subject + verb to be (conjugated) + main
verb + ing
Negative form
Subject + verb to be (conjugated) + not +
main verb + ing

--------------You arent
He isnt
She isnt
It isnt
We arent
They arent

Interrogative form
Verb to be (conjugated) + subject + main
verb + ing

Im riding a bike.
Shes doing her
homework.
She is not eating lunch
with her coworkers.
The children arent
playing soccer.
Are you going by train?
o Yes, I am. (Yes,
Im is not correct)
o No, I am not. (No,
Im not is correct)
Is she joining us on the
trip?
o Yes, she is.
o No, she isnt.

You are going to the party, arent you?

The test isnt difficult, is it?
I am a smart person, arent I?
Tom is not buying a present for his girlfriend, is he?