CONTINUOUS TENSE

By N.G.N.M.Dilushani
“be (am,is,are,was,were) + verb + ing” form: is
coming, is driving, are practising
■ This is called the continuous form because it describes an action
that is continuing for some time.

Let’s study the two ways in which the present continuous is used,
a) To talk about an action which is happening at the moment.
Ex: My sister is watching T.V.
I am learning English
b) To talk about a fixed plan in the near future.
Ex: Malinga is bowling in the next match.
My father is going to Colombo tomorrow.
How do we spell the present continuous tense?
■ Basic rule is just adding –ing to the base verb,
Work working
Play playing
Be being
■ If the verb ends in C+V+C, double the last letter,(except some words like open,show etc.)
Stop stopping
Run running
Begin beginning
■ If the verb ends in ie, change the ie to y:
Lie lying
Die dying
■ If the base verb ends in letter e, omit the e
Come coming
Mistake mistaking
Filling the blanks using present continuous form of the verbs given after the sentences.

a. Snowy is running with Tin Tin. (run)

b. These girls …………………… for a picnic next week (go)
c. I ……………………….. to my uncle after receiving his gift.(write)
d. She ……………………… a magazing. (read)
e. He ……………………….. Us an experiment this evening. (show)
f. They …………………….. now. (dance)
The continuous form can be also used in the past tense. Now we
will see two ways in which the past continuous is used.

■ It’s commonly used for actions which were going on at a particular time in the past.
Ex: I was singing.
My mother was washing her hair.
■ It is also used when action 1 began before action 2 in the past.
Ex: I was singing (action 1) when it began to rain.(action 2)
I was reading a book when the telephone rang.
Filling the blanks using the past continuous form of the verbs given after the sentences.
a) I was eating lunch when Meera came in. (eat)
b) Meera …………………… the pots when one of them broke. (clean)
c) It ………………….. Hard. So we had to take a taxi.
d) Your parents ………………………. the shed.(repair)
e) Shan …………………… when he met his friend.(drive)
Thank You!