Present Continuous

Course Description

This lesson covers the Present Continuous tense in English, which is used to describe actions happening right now or around the current moment. Learners will explore how to form positive and negative statements, as well as questions, using this tense. The course also highlights common exceptions and important rules related to verbs such as "think" and "have," along with practical questions used in daily conversation. Through engaging exercises, students will gain a solid understanding of when and how to use the Present Continuous tense.

Learning Outcomes

Form Present Continuous statements in both long and short forms for singular and plural subjects
Construct Present Continuous questions for different subjects (singular and plural).
Understand and apply the rules for using the Present Continuous with specific verbs.
Use common Present Continuous questions like "How are you doing?" and "How’s it going?" in conversations.
Avoid common mistakes with verbs that do not usually appear in the Present Continuous tense.
Identify the difference between using the Present Continuous for actions versus thoughts, opinions, and possession.

We form Present Continuous questions like this:

Questions

Singular

Am I crying?

Are you crying?

Is she/he/it crying?

Plural

Are we crying?

Are you crying?

Are they crying?

We do not usually use the Present Continuous to talk about thoughts or opinions:

I like winter season. (NOT I'm liking winter season.)

I know this song. (NOT I'm knowing this song.)

We do not usually these following verbs in the Present Continuous:

VERBS TO MEMORIZE:

hate, believe, want, remember, understand, need, know, mean, love, like, forget, prefer

There are some rules about the verb think and have:

to express opinions, we cannot use "think" in the Present Continuous:

I think she's beautiful. (NOT I'm thinking he's nice.)

to talk about an action, we can use "think" in the Present Continuous:

She's thinking about her exam.

to talk about possessions, we cannot use "have" in the Present Continuous:

I have a ticket. (NOT I am having a ticket.)

to talk about actions, we can use "have" in the Present Continuous:

I'm having lunch. They're having fun together.

We ask "How are you?" by using three common questions in the Present Continuous:

How 's it going?

How are you getting on?

How are you doing?