UNIT1. Present continuous (I am doing) A. Study this example situation: Ann is in her car. She is on her way to work. She is driving to work. This means: she is driving now, at the time of speaking. The action is not finished. Am/is/are ~ing is the present continuous: I am(= I'm) driving he/she/it is(he's etc.) working we/you/they are(we're etc.) doing etc. Theaction is not finished. Am/is/are ~ing is the present continuous: I am (= I'm) driving. he/she/it is (he's etc.) working. we/you/they are (we're etc.) doing etc. I am doing something = I'm in the middle of doing something; I've started doing it and I haven't finished yet. Often the action is happening at the time of speaking: Forthe present continuous we use 'I am doing'. This means that the action is occurring at that time of speaking. For example: 'I am washing up.' This means at the time when I said 'I am washing up' I was actually washing up. For the present simple we use 'I do'. Shes wearing her new hat. (= she is wearing it now) - The weather is nice. It's not raining. - "Where are the children?" "They're playing in the park.". - (on the phone) We're having dinner now. Can you call back later? - You can turn off the television. I'm not watching it. What are you doing tomorrow? f4jw3TK. This page will help you if you can’t remember the difference between the Present Continuous tense “I am doing”, and the Present Simple tense “I do”. Which tense you use depends on how you see the state or action. If you use the Present Simple “I do”, you think something is permanent. This means we often use the Present Simple to talk about general and scientific facts, our routines or habits, to give definitions and to describe things. The Present Continuous “I am doing” means the action is happening now or around now, is unfinished, or temporary. We use it to talk about trends and changes, or about situations happening now that are different from normal. “I live in London.” This is my home. “I am living with my parents.” A temporary situation until I buy my own house. “Hot air rises.” A scientific fact. “House prices are rising.” A trend happening now. “I drive to work every day.” My routine or habit. “I am walking to work this week.” My car is being repaired. “At work I write letters to customers.” My job routine. “Im writing a difficult letter.” This is what I am doing right now and I haven’t finished yet. So the most important rule is that you use the Present Simple “I do” for permanent states and the Present Continuous “I am doing” for changes and trends. Some verbs cannot be used in the Present Continuous tense. This is because they already suggest permanence. These include Verbs of possession – own, have, belong. Although you can say “I am having a party”, it doesn’t mean you own the party, it means you are hosting a party. Verbs of the mind – believe, know, think, forget. Verbs of emotion – love, hate, detest. Verbs of the senses – see, hear, smell, taste. “I’m seeing the doctor tomorrow” means I am going to visit the doctor, but “I see the doctor” means “the doctor is standing in front of me”. Verbs of geographical location – lie. “London lies on the River Thames”. Skip to content Reading 2 min Views 845 Published by February 7, 2021 Contents The Present Continuous / ProgressiveThe past continuous progressive tenseThe form of the present continuous tenseThe affirmative forms of the present continuousThe interrogative forms of the present continuousThe negative forms of the present continuousThe use of the present continuous tenseSpecial verbsExamplesExercises on the themeThe Present Continuous / Progressive John is in his car. He is in his way to work. He is driving to workThis means he is driving now “at the time of speaking”This is the present continuous. The past continuous progressive tense This page will present the present continuous its formand its use. You may also be interested in a lesson about the past continuous The form of the present continuous tense The verb to be in the simple presentverb + ing The affirmative forms of the present continuous Iameating.’mYou, we, theyare’reHe, she, itiss The interrogative forms of the present continuous AmIeating?Areyou, we, theyIshe, she, it The negative forms of the present continuous Iam noteating.’m notYou, we, theyare notaren’tHe, she, itis notisn’t The use of the present continuous tense The present continuous is used to talk about actions happening at the time of is Mary? She is having a bath. Not she has a bathWhat are you doing at the moment in front of your screen? Don’t you know? Well … you are reading this lesson. You are learning present continuous can also be used when an action has started but hasn’t finished am reading a book; it’s a nice book. It means = I am not necessarily reading it; I started reading it but I haven’t finished it yet. Special verbs There are verbs which are normally not used in the present continuous. Examples be, believe, belong, hate, hear, like, love, mean, prefer, remain, realize, see, seem, smell, think, understand, want, wish These verbs are called stative verbs in contrast to action verbs also referred to as dynamic verbs’ such as work, play, eat, etc.’ It’s not correct to say He is wanting to buy a new car.* You must say He wants to buy a new car. Exercises on the theme English Grammar in Use With Answers