Present Continuous Tense: Forms and Usage
- Structure: Subject + verb to be (AM/IS/ARE) + -ing form of a verb + Complement.
- Use: To describe actions that are happening at the moment (NOW).
I) The Positive Form of the Present Continuous
Remember to use the Subject (this can be a subject pronoun or a noun) plus (+) the verb to be in the present tense (am/is/are) and complement (optional).
The following is the table of the positive form of the present continuous/progressive.
Common Mistakes:
– Students forget to use the verb “to be.”
Example:
a) My father working (INCORRECT) —> My father IS working. (CORRECT)
– Sometimes students do not use the -ing form.
b) Robert is play with my sister (INCORRECT) —> Robert is playING with my sister. (CORRECT)
II) The Negative Form of the Present Continuous
The negative form is used by adding “not” after the verb “to be” in the present tense form. You may use contractions.
The negative form.
Common Mistakes:
– Some students place the negative first. REMEMBER TO USE THE S+V+C !!!
a) Not working my father (INCORRECT) —> My father isn’t (is + not) working (CORRECT)
– Students use “don’t/doesn’t” to do the negative:
b) She doesn’t playing (INCORRECT) —> She isn’t playing (CORRECT)
III) The Question Form of the Present Continuous
We have to put the verb to be + the subject + -ing form + the complement.
Are you watching TV?
Remember that we can use the Question words before the structure:
Examples:
– What are you doing? Answer: I am studying English with my virtual teacher.
– Where is Pedro going? Answer: He is going to the shopping mall.
Question form
Common Mistakes:
– Students do not change the order of the verb “to be” with the subject:
a) He is working? (INCORRECT) —> Is he working? (CORRECT)
– Students use “do” or “does” in questions:
b) Do you studying? (INCORRECT) —> Are you studying? (CORRECT)
The only difficulty is, as usual, in the 3rd person singular; in fact, this 3rd person is special when conjugating verbs. As a general rule, “s” is added, although we will see that there are some exceptions.
Uses of the Present Simple
This verb tense is used to express facts or general truths.
The Sun warms the atmosphere. -> El Sol calienta la armósfera.
We also use the present simple to talk about habits; in this case, frequency expressions usually appear in the sentence, such as “usually” or “always.”
We play tennis usually. -> Nosotros jugamos al tenis ocasionalmente.
You study always. -> Vosotros estudiais siempre.
We also use it to express schedules or programs (such as the program of a theatrical show).
The train leaves in an hour. -> El tren llega en una hora.
Spelling Rules for the 3rd Person Singular
As a general rule, “s” is added to the verb form of the 3rd person singular; however, there are a few rules for a series of verb forms that are special:
1.- When the verb already ends in “s”, or in a similar sound like “sh”, “ch” or “x”:
watch -> watches (mirar) dash -> dashes (arrojar)
2.- When the verb ends in “o”, “es” is also added: