Present continuous tense in English with present continuous examples! Learn the definition and how to form the present continuous tense with useful examples and ESL printable infographics.
Present Continuous Tense
Present Continuous Definition
The present continuous is a verb tense in which the action is on-going/still going on and hence continuous. The present continuous tense is used to talk about actions that are happening at this current moment.
Forming Present Continuous Tense
Positive Statements | Present Continuous
| SUBJECT | AM / ARE / IS | VERB + ing |
REST OF THE SENTENCE |
| I | am | watching | television. |
| You | are | watching | television. |
| He | is | watching | television. |
| Tom | is | watching | television |
| The boy | is | watching | television. |
| She | is | watching | television. |
| Anna | is | watching | television. |
| The girl | is | watching | television. |
| We | are | watching | television. |
| You | are | watching | television. |
| They | are | watching | television. |
| The children | are | watching | television. |
Notice that we use:
- ‘am’ with ‘I’,
- ‘is’ with ‘He’ and ‘She’
- ‘are’ with ‘You’, ‘We’ and ‘They’
The verb form remains the same for all subjects.
Negative Statements | Present Continuous
| SUBJECT | AM NOT / ARE NOT / IS NOT | VERB + ing | REST OF THE SENTENCE |
| I | am not | playing | chess. |
| You | are not | playing | chess. |
| He | is not | playing | chess. |
| Tom | is not | playing | chess. |
| The boy | is not | playing | chess. |
| She | is not | playing | chess. |
| Anna | is not | playing | chess. |
| The girl | is not | playing | chess. |
| We | are not | playing | chess. |
| You | are not | playing | chess. |
| They | are not | playing | chess. |
| The men | are not | playing | chess. |
Notice that we use:
- ‘am not’ with ‘I’,
- ‘is not’ with ‘He’ and ‘She’
- ‘are not’ with ‘You’, ‘We’ and ‘They’
The verb form remains the same for all subjects.
Interrogative Statements/Questions | Present Continuous
| AM / ARE / IS | SUBJECT | VERB | REST OF THE SENTENCE |
| Am | I | reading | a book? |
| Are | you | reading | a book? |
| Is | he | reading | a book? |
| Is | Tom | reading | a book? |
| Is | the boy | reading | a book? |
| Is | she | reading | a book? |
| Is | Anna | reading | a book? |
| Is | the girl | reading | a book? |
| Are | we | reading | a book? |
| Are | you | reading | a book? |
| Are | they | reading | a book? |
| Are | the men | reading | a book? |
Notice the structure of the interrogative statements. We use:
- ‘am’ with ‘I’,
- ‘is’ with ‘He’ and ‘She’
- ‘are’ with ‘You’, ‘We’ and ‘They’
The verb form remains the same for all subjects.
Present Continuous Chart
I know that Google is paradise.
How do I download resources? I am specifically interested in resources relating continuous tenses to support my EALD learners. Thanks
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the crowd was cheering for the players
the players were playing very well
please underline which is the helping verb and main verb in the above sentence.
Thank you for my help