Study materials
Two sentences about the same person and the same walk. The difference is when it is happening.
She walks to work every day.
She is walking to work now.
The Present Continuous shows an action you could watch right now. It has started and has not finished.
Two parts that do not work apart
The tense is made of a form of be and a verb with the ing ending. Both parts are compulsory.
| Subject | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | am plus ing | I am reading. |
| he, she, it | is plus ing | She is cooking. |
| you, we, they | are plus ing | They are playing. |
Words like now, right now or at the moment often sit nearby. In speech the form of be is contracted: I'm reading, he's cooking, we're playing.
Spelling the ing
Usually the ending is simply added. Only two cases change the spelling.
work → working, read → reading
make → making, write → writing
sit → sitting, run → running
Negatives and questions
Be is at work here, so everything is familiar: not follows it, and in a question the form moves to the front.
He isn't working today.
Are you listening?
What is she writing?
Short answers repeat the form of be: Yes, I am. No, she isn't.
Not only about this second
The second use is a little wider. It is a temporary situation running around the present moment, even if at this exact minute you are doing something else.
I'm staying with my aunt this week.
He's learning Spanish.
The same tense also talks about an arranged event in the near future.
We're meeting Tom tomorrow.
Verbs that stay out of it
Some words name not an action but a state: to know, to like, to want, to need. A state cannot be watched from outside, so it does not go into this tense.
I am knowing the answer. → I know the answer.
She is wanting tea. → She wants tea.
The mistakes everyone makes
The first is losing the form of be.
She working now. → She is working now.
The second is adding ing to the helper.
Being he working? → Is he working?
The third is taking the Present Simple for something happening right now.
Look, it rains! → Look, it's raining!
All three are caught by one question. Can this be seen right now, or is it true in general? Seen now is the Continuous; true in general is the Simple.
Try it right now
Describe in English what is going on around you this minute: two sentences about the people or things nearby.
Then add one about what you are busy with these days in general. The form of be must be there both times.