The Present Continuous Tense


The present continuous tense is formed with the present form of the auxiliary 'be' plus the present participle.
s. + v. To be + v. ing
I am reading.
He, she is reading.
We, they, you are reading.
- In negative sentence 'not' is attached to the auxiliary be; e.g.
She is not reading.
- In interrogative sentence the auxiliary be is placed before the subject; e.g.
Is she reading?

• The uses of the present continuous:
1. With an action happening now; e.g.
It's raining outside.
2. With an action which happened at the present time but not necessarily at the moment of speaking; e.g.
I'm reading a novel by Bronte.
3. For arrangement in near future; e.g.
I'm visiting my friend tonight.
She's watching a movie this evening.

• Verbs not normally used in present continuous:
The continuous tense in mainly used for deliberate actions. Some verbs are used with it while other couldn't be used:
1. Verbs of sense (feel, see, taste, hear, and smell); e.g.
I see a plane in the sky.
I'm seeing my friend now. (it's not sense, it means meeting).
2. Verbs of expressing the feeling and emotion, such as: admire, adore, appreciate, care of, dislike, hate, love, like, respect, … etc.
3. Verbs of activities (agree, understand, believe … etc).

çяⱥžµ ɠʊµ