Present Continuous: rules, examples and how to form it

Have you ever noticed how often you use the Present Continuous tense without even thinking about it? Right now, you’re browsing the Green Forest website, reading this article, and maybe even drinking some tea. These are exactly the moments when the Present Continuous tense (also known as the Present Progressive) is used to describe what is happening at this very moment. Let’s take a closer look at how it works, when to use it, and some key points to keep in mind.

Contents 

1. How Present Continuous is formed
    1.1. Affirmative sentences: verbs with -ing ending
    1.2. Negative sentences
    1.3. Interrogative sentences
2. Stative Verbs: verbs that are never used in Continuous tenses
3. Signal words
4. Using Present Continuous: rules
5. Common mistakes
6. Practice exercise
7. FAQs

How Present Continuous is formed

To correctly use the rules of Present Continuous, it's important to understand how it is formed. Let’s break down how to construct different types of sentences in this tense, namely affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences.

Affirmative sentences: verbs with -ing ending

Let’s start with affirmative sentences. To form Present Continuous examples, you need to use the following formula:

Subject + to be (am / is / are) + V-ing + Object

• Subject — the person performing the action in the sentence or the thing being talked about. Usually, the subject is a noun or pronoun.
• V-ing — the verb with the -ing ending.
• Object — the thing/person that the action is done to.
• To be — the auxiliary verb, which changes depending on the subject (am / are / is):

Let’s look at some examples of Present Continuous:

• I am cooking dinner right now.
• He is reading a fascinating book.
• We are learning Present Continuous together.

English values simplicity and efficiency, so contractions are a must. In Present Continuous, according to the rules, contractions most often involve the auxiliary verb “to be”. It will be contracted with the pronoun:

• I am → I'm
  I’m working at the cafe.

• She is → She's
  She’s studying nuclear engineering.

• They are → They're
  They’re playing with kittens.

Contractions are used in spoken language and informal writing, but it's better to avoid them in formal texts.

Be careful, as the contraction “it's” can mean not only “it is”, but also “it has” in a different grammatical context.

As you’ve already understood, verbs with the -ing ending are essential for forming Present Continuous examples. The -ing ending is added to the base form of the verb (without to). However, of course, there are some special rules:

Negative sentences 

Negative examples of Present Continuous are formed very simply: just add “not” after the auxiliary verb “to be”:

Subject + to be (am / is / are) + not + V-ing + Object

• I am not watching TV.
• He is not playing backgammon now.
• They are not working on the project today.

Don't be afraid to use contracted forms like “isn't” or “aren't”, as they sound more natural in everyday speech:

• She isn’t listening to music.
• We aren’t dancing at the moment.

Interrogative sentences

To form a question, you need to move “to be” to the beginning of the sentence:

To be (am / is / are) + Subject + V-ing + Object?

• Are you drinking coffee now? 
• Is he talking to your girlfriend? 
• Are they going to the cinema tonight?

Stative Verbs: verbs that are never used in Continuous tenses

Some verbs in English are typically not used in Continuous tenses according to the rules. These are called stative verbs. They describe states, feelings, possession, perception, knowledge and not actions or processes. There are several main groups of stative verbs:

Why can't these verbs be used in Continuous tenses? They do not describe an action happening at a specific moment; instead, they refer to a static state that remains unchanged over time:

✗ I’m liking chocolate.
✓ I like chocolate.

✗ She’s owning a new car.
✓ She owns a new car.

✗ I’m hearing a strange noise.
✓ I hear a strange noise.

Signal words

Time markers (or signal words) are clues that indicate which grammatical tense should be used. One of the key indicators of using the Present Continuous tense is the presence of time markers, which help to understand that the action is happening at the moment of speaking or is continuing over a specific period of time:

• Now
• Right now
• At the moment
• Today / tonight
• This week / month / year
• Nowadays
• Look!
• Listen!
• Always
• Constantly

Don't be intimidated by the last two markers (“always” and “constantly”), as we will look at their usage in more detail below. Let's take a look at a few examples with the use of time markers:

• I’m talking to my friend now.
• She’s not answering the phone at the moment.
• Are they joining us tonight?
• We’re working from home this week.
• He’s constantly interrupting me.
• Listen! She’s singing your favorite song.
• Why are you always doing this to me?

Using Present Continuous: rules

The application of Present Continuous rules in real-life examples goes beyond just here and now and includes several other interesting situations. Let's explore each case in detail with explanations and examples.

Common mistakes

1. To form examples in Present Continuous according to the rules, the auxiliary verb “to be” (am  / is / are) is always required according to the rules, but it is something people might forget to use.

✗ I walking in a park now.
✓ I’m walking in a park now.

2. The use of stative verbs.

✗ I’m understanding that you’re tired and wanting to skip English class, but I’m preferring to study a list of stative verbs right now!
✓ I understand that you’re tired and want to skip English class, but I prefer to study a list of stative verbs right now!

3. Sometimes, students use the rules of Present Continuous instead of Present Simple for actions that happen regularly, rather than at the current moment.

✗ She’s going to work every day.
✓ She goes to work every day.

4. Examples of complaints often include the word always, but it may be forgotten.

✗ You’re licking plates clean, even when we’re guests!
✓ You’re always licking plates clean, even when we’re guests!

Practice exercise

Fill in the gaps in the sentences using the correct form of the verb.

FAQs 

1. When is the Present Continuous used?

According to the rules, the Present Continuous (Present Progressive) is used to describe actions happening right now, temporary actions, future planned events, changes or processes, as well as for complaints with the word “always”.

2. How is the Present Continuous formed?

Examples of Present Continuous are formed using the correct form of the auxiliary verb “to be” (am / is / are), along with the main verb in its -ing form. For example: “We’re discussing our future holiday now”. 

3. What time markers help us recognize a Present Continuous example?

Words like “now”, “right now”, “at the moment”, “this morning”, “tonight”, “constantly”, “day by day”, etc., indicate that the action is ongoing or temporary, which is why the Present Continuous tense is used.

4. What are the rules for adding the -ing ending to verbs?

To form the Present Continuous tense, you should use the verb form with the -ing ending and follow these rules:

• For regular verbs, simply add -ing: work — working, play — playing.
• For verbs ending in -e, remove the -e and add -ing: make — making, write — writing.
• For verbs with a short vowel before a consonant, double the last consonant and add -ing: run — running, sit — sitting.
• For verbs ending in -ie, replace -ie with -y and then add -ing: lie — lying, die — dying.

5. Which verbs are not used in the Present Continuous?

Stative verbs, which describe states, thoughts, and feelings, are not used in the Present Continuous according to the rules. For example: know, like, love, want, remember, believe, understand, need, belong, and others. These verbs are used in the Present Simple.