Welcome to English grammar spot. This lesson is about the present continuous.
I am going to show you how to form a present continuous,
and when to use a present continuous.
But before we get started, it's good to know how to conjugate the verb 'to be'.
The singular forms are:
I am
you are
he is
she is it is.
Plural forms are:
we are
you are
they are.
It's also good to know that when i say a vowel, I mean a, e, i, o, u.
When I say a consonant,
I mean all the other letters of the alphabet.
Now let's get started.
Look at these sentences:
I am talking on the phone.
We are cooking dinner.
Both these sentences are in the present continuous tense.
How to form a present continuous.
First and foremost we need the auxiliary verb 'to be'.
The infinitive form of the verb and 'ing.'
Take a look at the examples:
I am working late.
You are talking too fast.
He is watching television.
She is walking to school.
It is raining.
For the plural forms we do exactly the same.
We are singing a song.
You are doing your homework.
They are looking for a hotel.
Now we need to pay extra attention to verbs ending in an 'e'.
Such as take and make.
These verbs
drop their 'e'.
Take a look at the examples:
I am taking the bus to school.
He is making dinner.
We also need to pay attention to vebs that have one syllable
end in a consonant and are preceded by a vowel,
because they double the consonant.
For example
these verbs are sit,
get and run.
Take a look at these sentences:
I'm sitting outside.
You are running fast.
It is getting late.
We are letting ourselves go.
They are swimming in the river.
Please note:
that these verbs have doubled their consonant.
Now let's have a look at the present continuous in questions.
We need the auxiliary verb 'to be'.
a verb,
and 'ing'. For example:
Am I getting close?
Are you running late?
Is she taking a bus? Is she playing tennis?
Is it snowing?
For the plural forms:
Are we going in the right direction?
Are you arriving by ferry?
Are they eating their lunch?
Let's have a look at the present continuous in negations.
Again we use the auxiliary verb 'to be'.
and we add not.
The infinitive form of the verb and 'ing'.
I'm not waiting for you.
You aren't looking for me.
He isn't sleeping late.
She isn't talking on the phone.
It isn't freezing.
For the plural forms we do the same:
We aren't putting up a tent.
You aren't speaking at the same time.
They aren't cutting paper.
Now we are going to take a closer look at when to use a present continuous.
We use the present continuous for things that are happening right now.
So if you look around you or maybe out of your window, you see all kinds of things going on.
Examples are: I'm watching television at the moment.
It is raining right now.
Look, they are swimming in the river.
We also use the present continuous for plans in the near future.
For example: I am flying to Dubai next week.
He is meeting her at the airport in an hour.
Are they moving this weekend?
I thank you for your attention.
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