The Present Continuous Tense describes actions that are happening at the moment of speaking, ongoing around the present time or near future. Its systematic structure involves the auxiliary verb "to be" and the main verb in the -ing form.
Structure
Affirmative
Subject + am/is/are + verb(-ing)
I | am + Ving |
He/She/It | is + Ving |
You/We/They | are + Ving |
I am working now.
She is reading a book.
They are playing soccer.
Negative
Subject + am/is/are + not + verb(-ing)
I | am + not + Ving |
He/She/It | is + not + Ving |
You/We/They | are + not + Ving |
I am not sleeping right now.
He is not eating breakfast.
They are not studying today.
Question
Am/Is/Are + subject + verb(-ing)
Am | I + Ving |
Is | he/she/it + Ving |
Are | we/you/they + Ving |
Am I talking too much?
Is she sleeping now?
Are they watching TV?
Auxiliary Verb (To Be)
The verb 'to be' acts as a helper verb in the present continuous tense. It changes its form depending on the subject:
am with "I"
is with "he," "she," "it," or singular nouns
are with "we," "you," "they," or plural nouns
Main Verb
The main verb is always in its -ing form (present participle), which is formed by adding -ing to the base verb.
The main verb always retains the -ing form, regardless of the subject.
Forming the -ing form of a verb involves some spelling rules depending on the base verb.
As a general rule, add -ing to the base verb.
play → playing
jump → jumping
If verbs end in silent "e", drop the final "e" and add -ing.
write → writing
make → making
If verbs end in "ie", change "ie" to "y" and add -ing.
lie → lying
die → dying
If one-syllable verbs end in 'vowel + consonant', double the final consonant and add -ing.
run → running
sit → sitting