ENGLISH GRAMMAR Present Continuous

PRESENT CONTINUOUS
FORM
W e f o r m t h e p r e s e n t c o n t i n u o u s w i t h Be + V-ing

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE

I am I am not

You are You are not

He is He is not

She is She is not

working working
It is It is not

We are We are not

You are You are not

They are They are not

Contractions: Contraction:
I am= I´m are not = aren´t
are = ´re is not = isn´t
is = ´s

INTERROGATIVE
SHORT ANSWERS
Am I
Yes. I am
Are you
Yes. He/she/it is
Is he
Yes. You/we/they are
Is she
working ?
Is it No. I´m not

Are we No. He/she/it isn´t

Are you No. You/we/they aren´t
Are they

Alfonso López Rodríguez www.alfonsolopez.es

 ENGLISH GRAMMAR Present Continuous

USE
We use the present continuous:

To talk about things that are happening now, at the moment we speak.
A: What are you doing?
B: I´m writing an e-mail.

We´re leaving now. Goodbye.

The bus is coming.

To talk about things that are happening now, but not exactly at the moment we speak.
My brother is looking for a job at the moment.
You are spending a lot of money these days.

To talk about something we have already arranged or planned to do in the future.

We often give the future time (tomorow, in July, on Saturday, this afternoon, next week, etc…)

A: What are you doing on Saturday morning?

B: I´m meeting a friend.

We´re visiting our grandparents next weekend.

My sister is starting a new job next Monday.

IMPORTANT

Some verbs are not used in the present continuous. They are normally used in the simple forms.
Some of the most important ones are:

like know love hate understand

believe mean remember want prefer

I am liking tennis > I like tennis.

Are you knowing Maria? > Do you know Maria?.

Alfonso López Rodríguez www.alfonsolopez.es

 ENGLISH GRAMMAR Present Continuous

SPELLING RULES
With most verbs we add -ing.
go > going
play > playing
work > working

If the verb ends in consonant + -e we delete the -e and add -ing.

come > coming live > living
move > moving have > having

*Exception: be > being

If the verb ends in -ie, we change -ie to -ying.

die > dying
lie > lying

If the verb ends in one vowel + one consonant ,we double the consonant.
get > getting
run > running
shop > shopping
sit > sitting
put > putting

*Exceptions:

a) When the verb ends in one vowel + -y, -w or -x ,we just add -ing.
play > playing
snow > snowing
mix > mixing

b) When the last syllable verb is not stressed.

listen /´LIsen/ > listening
visit /´VISit/ > visiting

*Exception: travel /´TRAVel/ > travelling

Alfonso López Rodríguez www.alfonsolopez.es

Present continuous: exercise 2
Affirmative
Complete the sentences with the verbs in brackets. _____________________

Example:

Bill .................. today. (work )- Bill is working today.

Look. She ................................................. us. (watch)

We ............................................ in Paris this week. (stay)

My sister is not here. She .................................... the shopping. (do)

Please, stop! You ..................................... so loudly! (sing)

It's 9 o'clock and I ...................................... a book. (read)

Where is Sam? - He ...................................... his car. (mend)

Paul, where are you? I .................................................. outside the school. (wait)

Sarah and Sue .................................................... in the street at the moment. (play)

Debbie .............................................................. her flat in York these days. (decorate)

Luke is in the bathroom. He ......................................... a shower. (take)

The sun .............................................. and we are sunbathing. (shine)

www.e-grammar.org/present-continuous/
 Afirmative Negative Interrogative

I walk I don’t walk Do I walk?

You walk You don’t walk Do you walk?
He walks He doesn’t walk Does he walk?
She walks She doesn’t walk Does she walk?
It walks It doesn’t walk Does it walk?
We walk We don’t walk Do we walk?
You walk You don’t walk Do you walk?
They walk They don’t walk Do they walk?

Short answers

Affirmative Negative

Yes, I / you / we / they do No, I / you / we / they don’t

Yes, he / she / it does No, he / she / it doesn’t

Third person singular

We add –s to the verb to form the third

person singular (he, she, it).
I drink – he drinks We use the Present Simple:
I run – he runs
• for habits and actions that
BUT we do regularly:
• We add –es to verbs that end in –ss, He visits his friends every
-sh, -ch, -x, -o. Sunday.
I watch – he watches She goes to school by bus.

• With verbs ending in consonant + y, • for general truths:

we change the –y to –ies. The sun rises in the East.
I cry – he cries
But with verbs ending in vowel + y, • for permanent situations:
we just add –s as usual. He lives in Athens.
I play – he plays
 Expressions used with the Present Simple

Frequency adverbs: always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, never

(they are placed before the main verb)

Time expressions: every day / week / Friday…

on Mondays / Sundays…
at the weekend…
in the morning / afternoon…
in winter / spring…
once a day / week…

A. Write the third person singular of the following verbs.

play ____________ go ____________

wash ____________ teach ____________

drive ____________ carry ____________

fly ____________ start ____________

help ____________ kiss ____________

watch ____________ tidy ____________

like ____________ enjoy ____________

cry ____________ mix ____________

B. Complete the sentences with the Present Simple of the verbs in brackets.

1. Peter and his friends __________ to school by bus. (go)

2. Elephants __________ leaves and grass. (eat)

3. David's father __________ in a hospital. (work)

4. The bank opens at 9.30 and __________ at 4.30. (close)

5. Tom and Jim __________ football every day after school. (play)

6. Mr Jones is a teacher. He __________ History. (teach)

7. Our lessons __________ at 9.00 and __________ at 3.30. (start / finish)

8. My pen friend __________ in Japan. (live)

9. Mary and her brother __________ cartoons every Sunday morning. (watch)

10. John __________ his room every day. (tidy)

C. Complete the blanks with the Present Simple of the verbs in the box.

go work ride deliver love jog rest fish walk

Mr Letty is a postman. He doesn't work in the post

office. He always works outside in the streets.

He __________ letters to all the people in the

neighbourhood every day. He doesn't __________

but he __________ his motorbike.

At the weekend, Mr Letty doesn't work.

He __________. He __________ the countryside,

so he always __________ to his country house with

his wife. Mr and Mrs Letty __________ in the river

and they __________ in the woods every weekend.

D. Look at the pictures and write questions and answers, as in the example.

1. play / the guitar / in the afternoon

Does he play the guitar in the aftenoon?

No he doesn’t play the guitar in the afternoon.
He plays the accordion.
2. walk / after lunch

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

3. ride / their / bicycles / to work / every day

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________
 4. listen / to the radio / every Sunday

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

5. clean / the house / on Mondays

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

6. watch / TV / after school

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

E. Complete the blanks with the negative or the interrogative form of the
Present Simple of the verbs in brackets.

Mark: Hi, Tess! What are you doing?

Tess: I'm watching the football team.

Mark: Do you watch (watch) them every day?

Tess: No, I don't. They __________ (not play)

every day. They play four times a week.

Mark: __________ you __________ (have)

a favourite player?

Tess: No, I __________ (not have) a favourite player. Everyone on the team is

good.

Mark: __________ the attacker __________ (move) fast?

Tess: No, he __________ (not move) fast, but he's very clever. __________

you __________ (like) football, Mark?

Mark: No, I __________ (not like) it. I like basketball. It's a great sport.