Dear readers of the English Voyage blog! Today you will learn how to use one more tense of the English verb In the grammar tables below, we will look at the formation of affirmative, interrogative and negative forms Present Continuous (Progressive). After tables and a useful video, you will be able to translate Russian sentences into English using the present continuous tense. If you do not confuse forms and translate sentences with am, is, are without errors, then you will easily remember the formation of time.

To get started, watch this video tutorial carefully. Here they calmly and in detail talk about the construction and use of Present Continuous. At the end - an exercise (do not be too lazy to do it :).

Time Present Continuous used:

to describe an action happening at the moment of speaking. For example: She is singing a song now. She is singing a song now.

to describe a temporary action that occurs not at the present moment of speech (at the same minute, second), but in present period time. For example: I am working on the project. I'm working on the project. (Meaning not at this moment, but for a limited present period, which will soon end).

to describe repetitive actions that cause irritation, disapproval of the speaker. Especially with phrases like always, constantly, repeatedly, which are translated, as a rule, into Russian by the word "forever". For example: You are always shouting at me! You always yell at me!

marker words(read more about marker words in the article) for Present Continuous: now, at the moment, this week, today. For the future - tomorrow, next week.

Time Present Continuous NOT used with state verbs - verbs that describe the state of the soul, body or mind, as well as ongoing relationships. State verbs include the following English verbs: appear (meaning "appear"), assume - believe, be - be, believe - believe, count, belong - belong, consider (meaning "count"), consist - consist, contain - contain, cost - cost, depend - depend, detest - to be disgusted, envy - to envy, equal - to be equal, exist - to exist, expect - to expect, feel (in the meanings "cause a sensation", "to be touched" and "count"), fit - to be fit, forget - forget, hate - hate, have (meaning "possess"), hear - hear, include - include, know - know, lack - lack, like - like, look (meaning "look"), love - love, matter - to matter, mean - to mean, need - to need, owe - to be due, own - to own, possess - to possess, prefer - to prefer, realize - to realize, remember - to remember, see (in the meanings of "perceive by sight", "understand" ), seem - to seem, smell (meaning "smell"), taste (meaning "to have a taste"), tend - to have a tendency, think (meaning "to count"), understand - to understand, want - to want, wish - to desire , weigh (in the meaning of "weigh"). We will look at state verbs in more detail in future posts.

THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS (PROGRESSIVE) TENSE

affirmative form

Structure			Examples
I	am	V+ing	I am listening to music. I listen to music.
	is		He is listening to music. He is listening to music. She is listening to music. She's listening to music. It is getting dark. It's getting dark.
	are		We are reading. We read. You are reading. You are reading. They are reading. They are reading.
Notice the suggestion to after the word listen which should be used Always after this verb. The omission of to after listen is

Interrogative form

(yes/no questions - general questions) ?

Structure			Examples
Am	I	V+ing?	— Am I reading? I am reading? - Yes, I am. / No, I'm not.
Is			Is he reading? He reads? - Yes, he is. / No, he isn't. Is she reading? She is reading? - Yes, she is. / No, she isn't. Is it getting dark? Is it getting dark? - Yes, it is. / No, it isn't.
Are			Are we coming back? Are we going back? - Yes, we are. / No, we aren't. Are you coming back? Are you coming back? - Yes, you are. / No, you aren't. Are they coming back? Are they coming back? - Yes, they are. / No, they aren't.

Interrogative form

(WH-? - special questions) ?

Negative form

Structure			Examples
I	am not	V+ing	I am not dancing. (= I'm not) I don't dance.
	is not		He is not singing. (= He isn't) He doesn't sing. She is not having dinner. (= She isn't) She doesn't have dinner. It is not raining now. (= It isn't) It's not raining now.
	are not		We are not working. (= We aren't) We don't work. You are not laughing. (= You aren't) You are not laughing. They are not looking at me. (= They aren't) They don't look at me.

Before you say a sentence, think about the verb. If this is a state verb, then instead of Present Continuous, you need to use Present Simple. For example, “I love pizza” - “I love (like) pizza”.

So, today we have considered the formation of Present Continuous. If you have any questions about the topic or need additional explanations, write in the comments. I will gladly answer all questions. Expect new articles in the rubric.

Tenses of the English verb, as a rule, inspire sacred horror in all students. Still - there are as many as 16 of them! But the devil is not so terrible as he is painted. We will try to explain to you as simply as possible, especially since for a start you can limit yourself to 4 times. In today's post, we will analyze the Present Continuous Tense - Present Continuous Tense.

• To better understand the tenses of the English verb, it is not necessary to memorize their name. It will be enough to clearly know three things: 1) when the action occurs; 2) how the desired form of the verb is formed; 3) what is the auxiliary verb.

The Present Continuous Tense - Present Continuous Tense

As mentioned above, there are three main things to know.

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1. When does the action take place? The Present Continuous Tense denotes an action that is taking place at the moment of speech, directly Now. That is, the action is indicated in the process, so this time is sometimes called Present Progressive Tense.

2. How is it formed? The present continuous tense form of the verb is formed with the verb to be (present tense) and . Simply put, am/is/are + verb ending ing.

Consider the example of the sentence "I am writing a letter." Before us is a sentence, the action of which is taking place at the moment - "I am now writing a letter." The verb-predicate is the word “I write”, and it is this word that we must put in the Present Continuous Tense. Since the subject is “I”, we therefore take the form of the verb “am”, and add the ending ing to the verb-predicate write. As a result, we get the sentence I am writing a letter.

3. What is the auxiliary verb? An auxiliary verb is needed to form the interrogative (?) and negative (-) forms of all tenses of the English verb and to form the affirmative (+) form of some tenses of the English verb. For the Present Continuous Tense, the auxiliary verb is to be, or rather, its forms am / is / are.

In the interrogative form, the auxiliary verb (Are you eating now?) is put in the first place. In the negative form, not is “attached” to the auxiliary verb (He isn’t sleeping now).

For clarity, we will conjugate our sentence “I am writing a letter” by faces in the affirmative, interrogative and negative form.

Please note that only the forms of the verb to be change depending on the person of the subject, the present participle (ING-th form of the verb) does not change.

Here is a translation of several sentences in the present continuous tense:

• We are drinking tea now
• I am not reading now - I am not reading now
• Are you currently working? are you working now?
• Is he playing now? is he playing now?
• She is not drinking coffee now - She is not drinking coffee now

Note: There are a few English verbs, which are not used in the present continuous tense, these are the so-called verbs of feelings and perception:

With these verbs - even if the action is happening at the moment - it is used:

• I'm tired. I want to go home.
• Do you know that girl? Yes, but I don't remember her name.
• You are speaking too fast. I don't understand.

Present Continuous - Present Progressive is quite common in English language. Pronounced in Russian [present progressive] - English transcription. After studying the article, you can easily find Present Continuous in the text, conjugate verbs, learn how to use all three forms of sentences, and learn the various rules for using this tense.

At the end of the article are exercises that will help you master the language skills. Beginners may be confused with Present Progressive, as these two tenses are used in the present form. Here, we presented a detailed explanation on the topic - Present Continuous.

Read the story on Present Progressive. Be sure to pay attention to the underlined verbs.

Right now, it's Friday evening. Sindy and Ron are at home. They are sitting on the sofa. They are eating dinner. At this moment, Sindy is drinking water. She is eating chocolate. She is sitting next to Ron. She is talking to Ron. Ron is Sindy's husband. He is sitting on the sofa with Sindy. He is also drinking water. Ron is listening to Sindy. After dinner, Ron and Sindy are visiting their friends.

Cases of using Present Progressive tense (Continuous)

There are several cases where only the Present Continuous is used, and not some other. Below are sample sentences to help you understand the topic.

• 1. Actions that are happening at the moment, right now:

Example (for example):

— My boss is having dinner with his sister now - The boss is now having lunch with his sister.
— My brother is having a shower at the moment - My brother is taking a shower at the moment.
— I'm practicing Italian grammar - I practice Italian grammar.

• 2. Actions are happening now, but not necessarily happening at this moment. That is, when the action has started but not yet ended:

Example (for example):

— my friend is preparing for his exam - My friend is preparing for the exam. (This means that it is being prepared, but not at the moment).
— I'm reading a great book - I am reading a wonderful book. (Optional at this point. I've started reading but haven't finished yet.)
— My mother is writing a book - My mother is writing a book.
— She is looking for a new apartment - She is looking for a new apartment.

• 3. If you have a photograph or a painting and you want to describe it to someone, then we also use the Present Continuous:

Example:

— They are sitting on the bench. The two women on the left are drinking water. Some of them are eating apples - They are sitting on a bench. The two women on the left are drinking water. Some of them eat apples.
It doesn't matter if the photo was just taken or a few years ago, we still use our long time.

• 4. When there are 2 actions, one of which is in progress, and the other is a habitual action, the first is expressed by Present Count., the second:

Example:

— you never close your mouth while you are eating You never close your mouth while eating. (close - stands in, since this is a human habit, and the second is a process, which is why Present Progressive is used).
— I never sleep while I' m working I never sleep while I work.

• 5. Actions that only happen temporarily:

Compare two examples:

(Comparison and Present Progressive)

— She lives
— She is living with her grandparents - She lives with her grandparents.

What do you think is the difference?

In the first sentence, she lives permanently with her grandparents. Secondly, this is a temporary situation.

More examples:

— His father works in Amsterdam - His father works in Amsterdam.
— His father is working in Amsterdam this month - His father is working in Amsterdam this month.

• 6. Constant repetitive actions with ever, always, forever, constantly which express irritation and criticism:

example:

— Terry is constantly touching my books! Terry touches my books all the time!
— They are always causing trouble! They always create problems!
— He is such a boring man, who's always making fuss about nothing! – He is such a boring person who always quarrels about nothing!

Pay attention to the following example:

— The earth is always moving- The earth is always moving.

In this sentence, the Earth moves in the literal sense of the word, and this is true. This is an ongoing process. Therefore, we use the present continuous tense.

• 7. Planned actions, events in the near future:

example:

— I' m my family tonight - in the evening I will visit my family (everything is planned).
— They are gettin g married next week - They will get married next week.
— My husband is picking me up at 7 o'clock tonight - My husband will pick me up at seven o'clock.

• 8. Changing or evolving situations:

example:

— The climate is getting warmer - The climate is getting warmer.
— The price of gold is increasing- The price of gold is rising.
— Your English and German are getting better - Your English and German are improving.

• 9. Physical condition:

We can use Present Progressive (Continuous) to express physical state.

example:

— How are you feeling? - How do you feel?

But we can also say:

— How do you feel?

With Present Indefinite, the meaning is the same.

— My back is hurting- My back hurts.
— My back hurts

The two options in Present Continuous and (Present Simple) are absolutely correct.

• 10. Trends:

example:

— More and more people are using their computers to watch films - More and more people are using computers to watch movies.

• 11. Another moment when we use the Present Progressive is when you have the feeling that you are starting to realize something:

example:

— I find
— I'm finding it is difficult to live with him - It is difficult for me to live with him.

- In the first version, these feelings are not new for you.
- In the second option, when you use the present continuous tense, then these feelings are new for you. I mean, you've only just started thinking about it.
A common mistake is to use this form to describe what a company sells or makes. In general, a company sells something on a regular basis, so you need to use the present simple tense, not the present continuous.

Let's look at examples:

- Wrong: We are producing plastic pipes.
- That's right: We produce plastic pipes - We produce plastic pipes.

Marker words (satellites) Present Progressive (Continuous)

The English language uses pointer words, they tell you which tense you should use. In the present continuous tense, these words are used in situations that occur during a conversation or making plans for the near future.

Actions taking place at the moment of speaking (now):

look!
Listen!
At present
Now
just now
At the moment
right now

Activities for the near future:

In the morning etc.
Tomorrow
Next/next week
Tonight
Today
This afternoon

Always
Still
Nowadays

Examples of sentences for hint words (markers):

look! The sun is rising - Look! The sun is rising.

I'm looking after June's dog this week I am looking after June's dog this week.

She is staying with parents in Rome at present He is currently with his parents in Rome.

Present Progressive (Continuous) sentence forms

Let's look at how sentence forms are used in the present continuous tense in English.

Affirmative sentences (Positive Sentences)

As always, an affirmative sentence begins with a subject (subject), followed by an auxiliary verb to be, which changes. Therefore, we need to repeat the conjugation of the verb to be (I am, They are, He is etc). The ending -ing is added to the semantic verb, and the to particle is not used.

The formula is very simple:
Subject + to be + main Verb + ing(participle Participle I)
Subject + verb to be + semantic verb + -ing form.

Table of the affirmative form of Present Continuous Tense:

Who? Who?	Form of verb (verb form)	Examples (examples)
I (I)	am+ verb + ing	I am training now
He/She/It (he, she, it)	is+ verb + ing	He is clapping now She is singing now It is working now
You (you, you)	are+ verb + ing	You are typing now
We (we)	are+ verb + ing	We are talking now
They (they)	are+ verb + ing	They are kissing now

Native speakers very often abbreviate the pronoun and to be:

I am - I'm having a good time in these woods.
You are - You're holding my handbag.
You can also safely abbreviate pronouns for fast speech.

Negative sentence form Present Progressive (Negative Sentences)

The construction of negative sentences is the same as in Russian. You need to add the particle ‘not’ (not) after to be. Everything else is in place. To simplify, let's look at the table:

Who? Who?	Form of verb (verb form)	Examples (examples)
I (I)	am + not+ verb + ing	I am not training now
He/She/It (he, she, it)	is + not+ verb + ing	He is not clapping now She is not cooking now It is not working now
You (you, you)	are + not+ verb + ing	You are not running now
We (we)	are + not+ verb + ing	We are not having a shower now
They (they)	are + not+ verb + ing	They are not kissing now

Abbreviated form of negative sentences:

They aren't jumping or they're not...
He isn't phoning or He's not…
And so on.

Interrogative form of sentences Present Progressive (Interrogative or question sentences)

To form an interrogative sentence, you will need:

Verb to be (verb to be) - takes 1st place
Subject (subject) - takes 2nd place
Main verb (semantic verb) - takes 3rd place

Table of the interrogative form of the sentence:

verb to be	Who? Who?	Form of verb (verb form)	Form of verb (verb form)
Am	I (I)	verb + ing	Am I sitting now?
Is	He/She/It (he, she, it)	verb + ing	Is he walking now? Is she crying now? Is it cracking now?
Are	You (you, you)	verb + ing	Are you training now?
Are	We (we)	verb + ing	Are we boxing now?
Are	They (they)	verb + ing	Are they diving now?

Do you know that there is also an interrogative-negative form? Let's look at an example right now:

—Is she not studying?

The abbreviated form can also be used without hesitation in such sentences:

— Isn't she studying?

Learn more about interrogative sentences(question sentences):

Tag questions - Tag questions
General questions - Yes/No questions
Alternative questions - Alternative questions
Special or WH-questions

Rules for the formation of Present Continuous (Progressive) tense in English. Rules for adding the ending -ing to verbs

When -ing form is added to a verb, some of them change in spelling:

• 1. Verbs on - e, when adding -ing form, the letter is e out:

- Have - having

Verbs ending in a long sound e, then add -ing from without changing the spelling:

See-seeing
-Agree-agreeing

• 2. Verbs on - ie, when adding -ing form, then the letter changes to - y:

• 3. Verbs on - y, when adding -ing form, the letter is preserved:

- Cry - crying

• 4. If the verb consists of one syllable and ends in (consonant + vowel + consonant), then the last consonant is doubled:

— Plan — planning
Win-winning

• 5. When the verb ends in (С + Г + С) and has two or more syllables, and if the final syllable is stressed, then the last consonant is doubled:

-forget-forgetting
-regret-regretting

Note (note):
below are verbs ending in (С + Г + С). However, the consonant is not doubled, as they end in w, x or y:

-Row-rowing
- stay - staying

The spelling of the word Travel can be written in two ways:

Traveling - American version / American English

Traveling - British/British English

General Table of Education of the Present Continuous - Present Progressive

Offer types	Present continuous
Affirmative sentence	I + am + v-ing(verb in -ing form) We/you/they + are + v-ing He/she/it + is + v-ing
Negative sentence	I + am not + v-ing We/you/they + are not(aren't) + V-ing He/she/it + is not(isnt) + V-ing
Interrogative sentence	Am+ I + V-ing…? Are+ we/you/they + V-ing Is+ he/she/it + V-ing
Special question	WH + am/is/are + S + V-ing WH-question word, S subject- subject, V-verb. WH Why, when, where, etc.

Present Progressive (Continuous) - Present Continuous: exercises with translation and answers

Do the exercises to master the material.

Exercise 1(exercise). Put the verb into Present Continuous and translate the sentences.

1. Tom (eat) an apple.

2. My granddad (wear) a nice coat.

3. Sarah and Rob (talk) to father.

4. Jim (do) the washing-up right now.

5. Peter (sit) on the bench.

6. My mum (prepare) brunch now.

7. Ben (pack) the picnic basket.

8. Listen! Stan (come) home.

9. We (collect) our son from school.

10. I (not wash) my hair.

answers. Answers to the exercise:

1. Is eating
2. Are wearing
3. Are talking
4. Is doing
5. Is sitting
6. Is preparing
7.Is packing
8. Is coming
9. Are collecting
10. Am not washing

Exercise 2. Put the sentences into interrogative form using the Present Progressive.

1. __ I ___ (wear) a warm sweater?

2. __ he ___ (read) the magazine?

3. __ the President ___ (make) the right decision?

4. ___ we ___ (read) a lot of books?

5. __ my sisters ___ (come) to the concert with us?

answers. Answers to the exercise:

1. Am I wearing…?
2. Is he reading…?
3. Is the President making…?
4. Are we reading…?
5. Are my sisters coming…?

Exercise 3. Put the verbs in the -ing form and sort them into a table.

Rob, listen, lie, use, die, cry, come, travel, put, bring, run, tie, dive, hope, go.

+ -ing	-ie Changes to y + -ing	-ie Changes to y + -ing	Double consonant + -ing

answers. Answers to the exercise:

1. Robbing
2. Lying
3.Using
4. Bringing
5. Running
6. Tying
7. Hoping
8 Going
9. Crying
10. Coming
11. Putting

Exercise 4. An exercise on the differences between Present Simple and Present Progressive.

1. I (work) from 8 to 6 every day.

2. She (watch) TV right now.

3. My brother always (play) soccer on Saturday.

4. Can your father (speak) Chinese?

5. What are you(do)? I'm drinking a cup of tea.

6. He (write) a letter to his girlfriend now.

7. We need an umbrella because it (rain) outside.

8. Be quite because my baby (sleep).

9. John (visit) his parents twice a week.

10. They always (go) to university from Monday to Friday.

answers. Answers to the exercise:

1. Work
2. Is watching
3. Plays
4. Speak
5. Are you doing
6. Is writing
7. Is raining
8. Is sleeping
9. Visits
10 Go

Remember, at school, in the third grade, an English teacher showed you pictures in which people were doing various useful things, and asked in English: “What is he doing?”. And you answered: "He reads", "He helps his mother" or "He builds a birdhouse." This is where the acquaintance with Present Continuous ended for many of us.

Present Continuous, or present continuous tense, one of the basic tenses of the English language, starting from which you will build your system of tenses.

First, we will consider how the forms of this time are formed.

To form a statement, we need two components: auxiliary to be (am/ is / are - depending on the subject) and ending verb-ING.

Statement
		Ving: working.

Negation
		NOT		Ving: working.

General question
		Ving: working	?

* informational question with the word When ? is not set in Present Continuous, since the form itself to be + Ving indicates that the action is happening at the moment of speech, therefore, the question of time does not make sense.

At all times the group Continuous and in all types of statements there is an auxiliary verb to be and a semantic verb with the ending -ING.

How to add an ending -ING to verbs? When this ending is added to the verb, the spelling of the verb changes. There are a few rules to remember:

		For most verbs that end in a consonant after two vowels or two consonants, the ending is added unchanged	speak - speaking point-pointing
		If the verb ends in silent E, then it drops out and the ending ING is added.
		For verbs that end in Y, the ending is added unchanged	study - studying
		If the verb ends in a closed stressed syllable, then the final consonant is doubled
	travel-travelling	Verbs that end in an L preceded by a vowel double the L when the ending is added. This rule applies to British English, in American English L is not doubled.	quarrel - quarrelling marvel - marveling model - modeling
		If the verb ends in R in a stressed syllable, then the R is doubled	prefer - preferring
	Exceptions	There are a number of exceptions to remember	agree - agreeing

Now consider the use cases Present Continuous.

1. An action that occurs at the moment of speech. (Action in progress at the moment of speaking)

Present Continuous serves to express an action that is happening at the moment of speech, often in front of our eyes, that is, we can observe the process.

At the time of speech indicate such time indicators: now(Now), at the moment(at present), still(still). Time pointers now And at the moment may not be used, because the form itself to be + Ving indicates that the action is happening right now, at the moment of speech.

In addition, words that serve to attract attention (look, listen, be careful, etc.), indicate that the action is happening at the moment of speech.

look! She is dancing! - Look! She is dancing!
Jim is still doing his homework. Jim is still doing his homework.
Be careful! The ladder is falling! - Carefully! The ladder is falling!

2. Temporary actions and states

States are actions that seem to be in progress at the time of speech, but we cannot see them. For example: live, work, study.

Using the Present Continuous in this sense, you are saying: “I’m doing it now, but it’s temporary, I don’t usually do it. When the action is completed, everything will return to its place".

Pointers: today, this week, these days, tonight, at present.

I'm living at my friend's while my flat is being redecorated. - I live with a friend while my apartment is being renovated. (This is a temporary action, the renovation will be completed and I will return to my apartment)

He likes science fiction but this month he is reading historical novels as it's the topic of this month. - He loves science fiction, but this month he is reading historical novels because that is the theme of this month. (The action is temporary, the topic will end and he will read fiction again)

She is working as a secretary these days. - IN given time she works as a secretary. (This is a casual job)

3. Changing and progressive actions (Changing or developing situations)

If you are watching any process and see the changes taking place, then you should use Present Continuous. Often used with paired adjectives in comparative degree: more and more, better and better.

It is becoming a client and colder. - It's getting colder and colder.
The flowers are becoming more and more beautiful. - The flowers are getting more and more beautiful.
It is getting hotter. I will have a break. - It's getting hotter. I'll take a break.

4. Plans and agreements. (Arrangements)

The present continuous also has a future meaning. It can denote personal plans and arrangements for the near future. Often with indications of place and time. In Russian, we use the present tense in the same way to express the future action that we have planned:

Mr. Smith is leaving tomorrow at 11.00. - Mr. Smith leaves tomorrow at 11.00.
I am taking my exam tomorrow so I am studying tonight. - I'm taking the exam tomorrow, so I'm studying tonight.
We are meeting the manager tomorrow at 10 o'clock. We are meeting with the manager tomorrow at 10 o'clock.

5. At the beginning of the story to create an atmosphere. (Setting the scene)

If you are going to tell a story, you can use the Present Continuous to create a setting, to give the listeners an opportunity to imagine the situation. You can use the word Imagine(Imagine).

The Present Simple is used to describe the main events.

He is walking through the dark forest. It is raining and the wind is blowing. - He's walking through a dark forest. It's raining and the wind is blowing.
Imagine: you are in the garden. The sun shining is and the birds are singing. Imagine you are in a garden. The sun is shining and the birds are singing.

6. Frequently repeated actions to convey irritation or surprise (Annoying or surprising actions)

Always is considered a typical Present Simple marker, but this adverb can be used with the Present Continuous to express an action that is repeated too often: constantly, all the time. Such actions either irritate us or surprise us.

Except always, can be used constantly And continuously.

My sister is always leaving her dirty dishes on the table. My sister constantly leaves dirty dishes on the table.
You are constantly interrupting me! - You interrupt me all the time!
I am always meeting you in this shop. - I always meet you in this store.

Comparative characteristics present simple And Present Continuous you will find .

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