Purpose

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to correctly form the present continuous tense to describe an action happening right now.

Lesson Explanation

The present continuous describes an action happening right now, at this exact moment — genuinely different from the simple present (Part 2, Lesson 1), which describes habits and facts.

It is formed with a form of “to be” (am/is/are, from Part 1, Lesson 6) plus the verb’s -ing form:

I am reading. She is cooking. They are watching TV.

Most verbs simply add -ing: read → reading. Verbs ending in a single -e drop the e before adding -ing: make → making. Verbs ending in a single consonant after a single vowel double that consonant: run → running.

Compare: I work at a bank. (simple present — a general fact about your job) versus I am working right now. (present continuous — happening at this exact moment).

Practice Questions