The structure of present continuous is: subject + auxiliary "to be" + verb root + ing:
John is working.
Mary and her mother are swimming.
Contracted forms are allowed in a spoken English or informal written English.
John's working, I'm eating, you're drinking, he's / she's / it's coming, we're painting, they're studying.
There is inversion with the auxiliary verb "to be" and the subject:
Is John working?
Are Mary and her mother swimming?
The word "not" is used, which can usually join with the subject or the auxiliary verb "to be" in contracted forms:
You're not watching television OR you aren't watching television.
He's / she's / it's not waiting OR he / she / it isn't waiting.
We're not reading OR we aren't reading.
They're not playing football OR they aren't playing football.
The computer's not working OR the computer isn't working.
BUT:
I'm not studying English at the moment. And never "I amn't studying English...".
There are two main uses of the present continuous: to talk about the present and to talk about the future.
a) Actions which are happening at this moment in time:
She's writing a report right now.
John's busy just now. He's washing his car.
Just a moment. I'm just finishing this exercise.
b) Actions also happening in the present but not necessarily exactly now. In other words, when we talk about activities that are happening in our lives in the present: studies, temporary work situations, temporary projects...
I'm going to intensive classes at an English academy this month.
Mary's working at the local supermarket until she finds something better.
We're currently developing a marketing campaign to sell our new products.
Compare with present simple...
There are some verbs which we do not usually
use in the form: subject + auxiliary "to be" + verb root + ing.
The verbs may express a present time but we use the present simple
form of the verb and not present continuous. Some of these verbs
are:
like, hate, dislike, love, want, prefer, wish, need, know, hope, believe, doubt, mean, realize, recognize, remember, suppose, contain, depend on, matter, owe, own, possess, appear, resemble, seem, understand, see, hear, taste, smell, be and usually have when it expresses possession, eg. I have a car. For example:
I like this pizza I'm eating at
the moment (not I'm liking).
I need to finish this
now (not I'm needing).
I see you don't want to
go (not I'm seeing you're not wanting to go).
I have
the report here (not I'm having).
Some of these verbs can have different meanings from the above. With these different meanings the "ing" form may be possible:
I'm seeing a new girl at the moment
(see means have a relationship with)
I'm having
a bath just now (have means take).
Verbs that talk about how we are physically: feel, ache, hurt, can use either the simple or the continuous form with the same meaning:
I feel fine today. / I'm feeling fine today.
My arm aches.
/ My arm is aching.
Finally, we can express more formality with some verbs if we use the simple form of the verb. This can be seen in letter correspondence:
I write to inform you... (formal).
I'm writing to let you know... (menos formal).
I
look forward to hearing from you. (formal).
I'm looking forward
to hearing from you. (menos formal).
The present continuous structure is used to talk about some future actions. As this structure is firstly a present tense, we must make it clear when we want to use it to talk about future. We can do this by using time adverbs, for example, adverbs that express future. Look at the sentence:
I'm going to Madrid.
The sentence above, without more context, does not clearly show that it is talking about the future.
I'm going to Madrid tomorrow.
The adverb "tomorrow" clearly shows this is future.
This structure is used to talk about future when we mention activities that we have planned. If we think of what we write as future arrangements in our diary, this will give us an idea of the most common use of present continuous for future. That means we often say when the event is happening - on Thursday, next week, on Sunday afternoon.
I'm going to the gym on Wednesday evening.
My wife and I are playing squash on Saturday morning.
I'm not doing anything this afternoon. I'm free.
Are you coming to see me next week?
Present continuous is often used to talk about actions we are about to to (immediate future). We may even use the word "now" although we mean the action is going to happen in a few moments. In these examples, the present continuous is expressing the intention we have for doing something just after we have finished speaking.
I don't have time to wash up, I'm leaving for work now.
I'm going to bed now. I'm really tired!
We should remember that the above sentences refer to intentions we had before speaking. We should not confuse this with when we make decisions at the moment of speaking, when we would use will...
If the sentence does not express a plan, arrangement or intention, we will not use present continuous. For example, in the following situations, it does not make sense to suppose that we are talking about plans, arrangements or intentions.
Mary is having a terrible car accident tomorrow.
I'm getting ill during the summer holidays.
You're winning the Christmas this year. I can feel it in my bones.
- Comparing present continuous with present simple...
- Exercises on the present continuous...
Copyright © 2023 Practising English
All rights reserved