Present Continuous is another verb tense that we use to describe actions in the present. It's also called Present Progressive, and it's used to talk about actions that are happening right now or in progress. It can also be used to talk about actions that are happening around the present time, even if they are not happening at the exact moment of speaking.

The Present Continuous tenses are utilised in a wide range of contexts in the English language. One of the most common use is to provide a description of something that is happening right now, such as "I am typing on my computer" or "The children are playing in the park." The use of the Present Continuous tenses in this scenario highlights both the continual character of the action as well as the fact that it is taking place at this same moment.

How to form the Present Continuous

To form the Present Continuous, we need to use the auxiliary verb "to be" in the present tense and add the present participle (the -ing form) of the main verb.

For example:

• I am eating breakfast.
• She is walking to the store.
• They are watching a movie right now.

One more frequent application of the Present Continuous is to talk about activities that started in the past but are still going on in the present. For instance, saying something like "I have been studying Spanish for two years" highlights the fact that the action of studying Spanish is something that is continuing and something that has been happening over a period of time.

This tense can also be used to describe future actions that have already been planned or arranged. For example, "I am meeting my friend for lunch tomorrow" emphasizes that the plan has already been made and the action is scheduled to happen in the future.

And, it can also be used to describe temporary or changing situations, such as "The weather is getting colder" or "She is feeling better today." In this context, the tense emphasizes that the situation is not permanent and may change in the future.

The Present Continuous is often used with time expressions that indicate a temporary situation, such as:

• now
• right now
• at the moment
• today
• this week/month/year

The negative and interrogative forms

To make the negative form of the Present Continuous, we add "not" after the auxiliary verb "to be":

For example:

• I am not studying right now.
• She is not working today.
• They are not watching TV at the moment.

To make the interrogative form of the Present Continuous, we switch the positions of the subject and the auxiliary verb "to be":

For example:

• Am I bothering you?
• Is she dancing with him?
• Are they working on a project right now?

WH questions

We can also use WH questions with the Present Continuous, just like with the Present Simple.

For example:

• What are you doing?
• Where is she going?
• Why are they laughing so hard?

To summarize, the Present Continuous is used to talk about actions that are happening right now or around the present time, such as:

• Unfinished actions: I’m working at the moment.
• Temporaray situations: I’m living in London.
• Temporaray habits: He’s eating a lot these days.
• Annoying habits: You’re forevere loosing your keys!

But it can also signify devinite future plans, used with words such as: tomorrow, later, at 7pm

tonight, on Tuesday: I’m meeting my father tomorrow.

Remember to use the auxiliary verb "to be" in the present tense and add the present participle (the -ing form) of the main verb. With these simple rules and exercises, you can revise your grammar and improve your English.

Now, let's do a quick exercise to test your understanding of the Present Continuous:

I _____________ (study) for my exams right now.

She _____________ (not listen) to music at the moment.

What _____________ (you/do) tonight?

Why _____________ (he/look) at me like that?

Find out more about the "Back to basics" article series, or navigate through the other categories of posts available on our blog.