The Present Continuous
The present continuous is used to:
- Describe what we are doing at the present moment:
At this moment you are reading this text.
- Refer to an event we have planned for a future moment:
I am going to Barcelona tomorrow
We are planning to go to Spain for our holidays
The Present continous is very easy to build. We make it using the present simple of ‘be’ + gerund (verb+ing):
Here is how we make the affirmative:
Positive | Positive Short Form |
I am reading | I‘m reading |
you are reading | you‘re reading |
he is reading | he‘s reading |
she is reading | she‘s reading |
it is reading | it‘s reading |
we are reading | we‘re reading |
they are reading | they‘re reading |
We can make the negative by adding ‘not’:
Negative | Negative Short Form |
I am not sleeping | I‘m not sleeping |
you are not running | you aren’t running |
he is not reading | he isn’t reading |
she is not singing | she isn’t singing |
it is not raining | it isn’t raining |
we are not eating | we aren’t eating |
they are not listening | they aren’t listening |
Questions are also very easy. All we do is to invert the position of the verb “be“, like in present simple, We place ‘am‘, ‘is‘, or ‘are‘ before the subject to make the question:
Yes / No Questions |
am I drinking milk ? |
are you studying? |
is he sleeping ? |
is she doing her homework ? |
is it raining ? |
are we meeting at six ? |
are they coming ? |
To make a question with “who, when, why, what or how, just put the question word at the front:
Questions |
Why am I drinking milk ? |
What are you studying ? |
When is he working ? |
What is she doing ? |
Why is it raining ? |
Who are we meeting ? |
How are they travelling ? |