Present Continuous - usage, formation, examples.

This lecture is all about the present continuous tense present continuous is also known as the present progressive and is often used to describe things that are happening right now for this reason.

Verbs that refer to emotions and desires don’t usually have a progressive form so for instance fear love hate because if you if you fear something you don’t just fear it.

Now you fear that yesterday and last week and last year and you’ll probably fear it tomorrow as well.

So for these things that are generally true we would use the present simple and many students actually find the continuous aspects to be the most difficult ones because their native language will not always have a continuous form so the present continuous is used for an action that is happening right now.

For temporary situations for future planned events for describing annoying habits and for describing trends and we’ve formed the present continuously in the positive case with the subject plus the conjugated form of to be for that subject plus the base verb plus i n g so to give an example I am eating ice cream so if we break that down the subject is I conjugated part of to be for that subject is am the verb we’re talking about is to eat so we take the verb plus i n g we get eating and something object why is ice cream so I say I am eating ice cream.

in the negative case it’s similar we have subject plus conjugated to B plus not plus verb plus i n g so we aren’t eating ice cream so subject is we the conjugated verb to be is ah then add not we contracts are not two aren’t we are eating ice cream if we take the question form we have the conjugated a B plus subject plus verb plus ing so is she eating ice cream and lastly as a negative question conjugated to be a subject plus not plus the plus thing so isn’t he eating ice cream there some examples for an action that is happening right now you are learning about the present continuous good example that I am using the Internet or for temporary situations he is working on a building site now if we compare this for the simple present.

He works on a building site that would be his normal job but he is working on a building site implies that it’s something temporary.

or it is reaming and it’s raining you know temporary we hope it stops in or for future planned events we are going on holiday next week so the holiday is being planned it’s in the future we are going or I’m leaving early today so you’re at work and you’re telling a colleague or your boss that you’re going home early You’ve planned this I am going early today or for describing annoying habits I is always forgetting his phone you’re constantly complaining about my family and you’ll notice the words I always and constantly often appear in this type of sentence for describing trends many people are becoming vegetarian and lastly heavy metal is making a comeback.