Present Continuous
Right now, in this second, something is happening — and English has a whole tense for it: am/is/are + verb-ing. One shape for actions in motion.
What is the Present Continuous?
The tense of right now
The present continuous shows an action in progress: it started, it is going on, it has not finished. Built from am/is/are + verb-ing.
Right now
in this very momentShe is reading a book
Temporary
this week, this month — not foreverI am living in London this month
In progress
started, not finished yetThey are building a house
Not with stative verbs
know, like, want, need — no -ingI know the answer
⚠️ am/is/are + verb-ing = happening right now.
The Formula
be + verb-ing, in three moods
The helper be carries the subject match (am/is/are), and the main verb always wears -ing. Negatives and questions move the helper around.
Sheisreadinga book
Sheisn'treadinga book
Isshereadinga book?
Adding -ing
Four spelling moves
The -ing is easy to add — but the verb changes shape in three cases. Watch the ending of the verb and pick the move.
Just add -ing
most verbs, nothing changes
play → playing · read → reading
Drop the silent e
verbs ending in -e lose it
make → making · write → writing
Double the consonant
short verbs: consonant-vowel-consonant
run → running · sit → sitting
ie becomes y
lie, die — a rare pair
lie → lying · die → dying
⚠️ The verb in -ing is always spelled with one rule of these four.
Common Mistakes
Five traps to escape
The classic slips: forgetting the helper, forgetting -ing, and misspelling the -ing form. Here is the escape route.
I am work now.
I am working now.
💡 The main verb always takes -ing.
She is go to school.
She is going to school.
💡 Go keeps its o: going.
He is runing fast.
He is running fast.
💡 Short verbs double the consonant: run → running.
They are makeing a cake.
They are making a cake.
💡 Silent e drops: make → making.
What you are doing?
What are you doing?
💡 In questions the helper jumps first: are you…?
Quick Quiz
Test what you just learned
Three minutes, five questions — check what stuck. No essay questions, we promise.
Listen! The birds ___ .
💡 Extra info2 sections
Time Partners
Words that announce the continuous
These little words shout "in progress": now, right now, at the moment — and a few that stretch today or this week.
Simple vs Continuous
Habit vs happening
The present simple is for habits and facts; the continuous is for what is moving right now. Same subject, two different cameras.
Simple — habits
always, usually, every dayI drink coffee every morning
Continuous — now
in progress, unfinishedI am drinking coffee now
Stative verbs — no -ing
know, like, want, need, love, hateI like this song
⚠️ Habit → simple. In motion → continuous. Feelings → simple.