English Grammar & Vocabulary

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Present Continuous Tense

Present Continuous Tense Examples – All Four Forms

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The following are Present Continuous Tense Examples in various forms which helps us to know various ways in which the tense is used in real-life communication. Before going to that, it is important to learn the structure and rules of present continuous tense.

Present Continuous Tense Examples

Structure: Sub + is/am/are + Verb 1 (V1) + ing + Obj

 

The following are the helping verbs that are formed for the personal pronouns in the present continuous tense.

 

Personal Pronoun Helping Verb
I am
We are
You are
He Is
She Is
It Is
They Are

 

 

 

 

Present continuous tense is used to denote an action that is currently happening.

  • I am currently working on a project.
  • The teacher is writing on the blackboard.
  • She is cooking
  • That man is mowing the lawn.
  • They are watching the picture.

Any action that is planned to happen in the near future is also written in the Present continuous tense.

  • I am meeting my professor after this lecture.
  • I am cooking my dinner tonight.

Forms of Present Continuous Tense

Like every tense, this tense also has four forms through which it can be expressed. The four are as follows:

Positive : Subject + is/am/are + V1 + ing + Object

Positive Interrogative : Is/am/are +Subject + V1 + ing + Object?

Negative : Subject + is/am/are + not + V1 + ing + Object

Negative Interrogative : Is/am/are + not + Subject + V1 + ing + Object?

If we take an example “He is walking on the pavement”, the four forms are as follows:

  1. He is walking on the pavement.
  2. Is he walking on the pavement?
  3. He is not walking on the pavement.
  4. Is he not walking on the pavement?

Some more examples of present continuous tense are as follows:

  1. They are watching a film together.
  2. The government is shutting down air travel.
  3. The teacher is going away.
  4. Scientists are researching for a cure to that disease.
  5. The cops are following that car.
  6. She is preparing dinner for the guests.

Exercise: Try to write the four forms of all the examples given above.

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Present Tense – Kinds, Structure, Example Sentences

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Present tense is used in every sentence that expresses an action that is happening currently. The four tenses in present tense are as follows.All Present Tense

1. Simple Present Tense

  Structure:  Subject + Verb 1 (V1) + Object

It used to express:

  • A habitual action.
    • I go for a walk everyday in the morning.
    • Raju attends mathematics class every evening.
    • He goes to his grandfather’s village every month.
    • Federer plays Tennis on Sundays.
    • I take my dinner at 8pm.
  • To express universal truths.
    • The sun rises in the east.
    • Two plus two equals
    • Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
  • To describe a future incident that is planned, or certainly is going to happen.
    • India plays the world cup cricket this year.
    • The President attends the award ceremony this evening.
    • That school reopens on the first of June.
  • If two actions of the future are being talked in a single sentence, one of the actions should be in simple present and the other in simple future tense.
    • They shall go when the car arrives.
    • Ravi shall eat once the food arrives.

Tip: Whenever the following words are present in the sentence, this particular tense should be used.

Usually Frequently Rarely Seldom
Never Often Sometimes Generally
Always Everyday Every week Monthly
Yearly Daily Every month

Note: Some verbs should be expressed in simple present tense and never in present continuous tense. They are:

Love Hate Dislike Like
Understand Know Believe Forget
Agree Disagree Own Belong
Possess Hear See Smell
Taste Feel Have Consist

 

2. Present Continuous Tense

 Structure: Subject + is/am/are + Verb 1 + ing + Object
  • I – Am, We – Are, You – Are, He – Is, She – Is, It – Is, They – Are

It is used to denote an action that is currently happening.

  • I am currently working on a project.
  • The teacher is writing on the blackboard.
  • She is cooking
  • That man is mowing the lawn.
  • They are watching the picture.

Any action that is planned to happen in the near future is also written in this tense.

  • I am meeting my professor after this lecture.
  • I am cooking my dinner tonight.

3. Present Perfect Tense

 Structure: Subject + has/ have + verb 3 (V3) + Object

It is used to describe the actions that are just completed.

  • I have just watched a movie.
  • The bus has just begun.
  • Ram has just finished his work.
  • They have just gone out.

Clue: If the sentences have “just, just now, already, so far, yet, recently, ever, lately” in them, this particular tense should be used.

4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense

This tense is used to express any action that has started in the past and is still continuing in the present

Structure: Subject + has/have + been + Verb 1 + ing + object
  • I have been walking on this path for 2 years.
  • We have been listening to music since 8 PM.
  • They have been waiting for their flight for an hour.
  • It has been crawling on the floor since 2PM.

This tense is mainly used to highlight the time period of the action that is happening.

For remaining Tenses Click here

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