2. Present continuous (progressive)

1.2.1. Form

Affirmative: I am + V_ing I am signing contracts.

you / we / they + are+ V_ing You are signing contracts.

he / she / it +is+V_ing He is signing contracts.

Negative: I am+not+V_ing I am not signing contracts.

you / we / they +are+ not+V_ing You are not signing contracts.

he / she / it +is+not+V_ing He is not signing contracts.

Interrogative: Am+I+V_ing? Am I signing contracts?

Are+you / we / they +V_ing? Are you are signing contracts?

Is+he / she / it +V_ing? Is he signing contracts?

Short answers: Yes, I am. No, I am not.

Yes, he is. No, he is not. (=isn’t)

Yes, we are. No, we are not. (=aren’t)

1.2.1. Spelling rules for the base form of a verb+ING (Present Participle)

• when a verb ends in mute -E, drop the final -E and add -ING:

e.g. make – make +ing = making BUT: agree – agreeing, see – seeing (double -E is kept before -ING)

• verbs ending in -IE, change -IE →Y+ING:

e.g. lie – l_ie →y+ing=lying, BUT: bully – bullying NOT: bulling

• one-syllable verbs ending in one vowel + one consonant, double the last consonant +ING:

e.g. put – put+t+ing= putting BUT: ask – asking NOT: askking

KEEP IN MIND: W, X, Y are never doubled:

e.g. snow – snowing NOT: snowwing, fax – faxing NOT: faxxing

• in two-syllable verbs with second-stressed syllable the last consonant is doubled:

e.g. per`mit – per`mitting BUT: `enter – `entering NOT: enterring

NOTE: in British English –L is always doubled:

e.g. travel – travelling BUT: traveling (US)

1.2.2. We use the present continuous

• to express an action in progress at the time of speaking or in the extended present (these days, this year, nowadays):

e.g. Many countries are facing high levels of unemployment.

She is from Saudi Arabia, but this year she is working in the USA.

• to talk about temporary actions:

e.g. He is negotiating at the moment.

• to talk about trends or situations which are developing or changing:

e.g. Share prices are getting higher and higher.

• to describe repeated actions expressing annoyance or anger or actions which happen very frequently, adverbs always, forever, continually, constantly are used:

e.g. He is always criticizing my work in front of others.

• to describe the future event which has already been arranged by the time of speaking:

e.g. I am scanning documents and making PDFs. (I have made a decision to put my CV in a digital form)

1.2.3. Time expressions in the present continuous

now, still, at the moment, at present, nowadays, today, tonight, these days, for the time being, currently, right now, etc.

e.g. We are currently seeing our overseas investors off.

1.2.4. Non-action verbs

Some verbs have a state meaning. These are not normally used in the continuous form of any tense. Some examples of state verbs include:

• likes, dislikes and feelings: admire, adore, appreciate, care, detest, dislike, envy, enjoy, fear, feel, fate, like, love, mind, prefer, respect, trust, want, wish

• thinking: agree, assume, believe, consider, disagree, disbelieve, doubt, estimate, expect (=guess), feel (=believe), find (=believe), forget, guess, imagine, hope, know, mind, regret, realize, remember, suppose, suspect, think (=believe), understand

• possession: belong to, contain have (=possess), include, own, possess

• description: appear, look, mean, resemble, seem

• senses: hear, notice, observe, perceive, see, smell, sound, taste

• some other verbs: be, consist of, cost, depend on, exist, fit, involve, matter, measure, need, satisfy, signify, surprise, weigh

e.g. The U.S. government now wants to cut family benefits drastically. NOT: The U.S. government now is wanting to cut family benefits drastically.

KEEP IN MIND: have (=possess) is used only in the present simple, BUT have used in the set expressions like: to have breakfast (lunch, dinner, supper), to have a bath (a shower), to have a bite, to have a nap, to have a smoke, can be used both in continuous or simple tenses:

e.g. He is self-employed, he has a company of his own. NOT: …. he is having the company of his own.

The staff are having a break now.

think (=believe) is used only in simple, BUT think used in the meaning of train of thought can be continuous:

e.g. I think you are right. NOT: I think you are being right.

I am thinking about this pressing issue at this moment.

see (ability to see) is used only in simple, BUT see can be used in continuous form when it means to meet smb or it is a part of set expressions as see smb home, see smb off, see the sights:

e.g. Can you hear the sound?, NOT: Are you hearing the sound?

He is seeing the lawyer today.