The Present Continuous or Present Progressive (in Portuguese, continuous or progressive present) is a tense used to indicate actions that are in progress at present ; at the moment of speech .
He is employed to talk about temporary situations, ongoing actions that are taking place.
As the phrases with Present Continuous refer to situations that occur at the moment of speech, it is common to observe the use of adverbs of time in the sentences.
Some commonly used adverbs of time are now (now), at the moment (at the moment) and at present .
Examples :
- She is talking to her mom now. (She is talking to her mother now.);
- Are they studying at the moment? (Are they studying at the moment?);
- She is American, but she’s living in Canada at present. (She is American but is currently living in Canada.)
In Portuguese, the Present Continuous Tense (Present Continuous Indicative Mode) corresponds to our gerund and the endings: – walk (walking, taking, thinking); – endo (eating, burning, doing); and – going (managing, falling, smiling).
Present Continuous Formation
The Present Continuous consists of a main verb and an auxiliary verb .
The verb to be in the Simple Present is used as an auxiliary and the main verb is added with the ending – ing .
That is, in phrasal construction, this tense follows the following pattern of formation:
Subject + verb t o be + verb with -ing + complement
Example :
She is watching TV . (She’s watching TV.)
Negative form
In the negative form, the not is added after the verb to be , that is, the construction of the negative phrases is done as follows:
Subject + verb to be + not + verb with -ing + complement
Example :
She is not watching TV . (She is not watching TV.)
Interrogative form
In the interrogative form, the auxiliary verb to be appears at the beginning of the sentence. The pattern of interrogative sentence structure is as follows:
Verb to be + subject + verb with -ing + complement
Example :
Is she watching TV? (She’s watching TV?)
Examples ( Examples )
- Affirmative ( affirmative form ): They are studying for the test . (They are studying for the test.)
- Negative ( negative form ): They are not studying for the test . (They are not studying for the test.)
- Interrogative form ( interrogative fo rm ): Are they studying for the test? (Are they studying for the test?)
Attention! ( Pay Attention! )
In affirmative sentences , we can use the contracted forms of the verb to be :
I am – I’m
You are – You’re
He is – He’s
She is – She’s
It is – It’s
You are – You’re
We are – We’re
They are – They’re
In negative sentences , we can use the contracted forms of the verb to be + not , but this is not the case with am (first person singular):
I am not
You are not – You aren’t
She is not – She isn’t
He is not – He isn’t
It is not – It isn’t
We are not – We aren’t
You are not – You
aren’t t They are not – They aren’t
NOTE : in more formal texts, whether academic or scientific, the contracted forms are not used.
Present Continuous Rules
Below are some rules for using Present Continuous :
1. When the main verb ends in – e and is preceded by a consonant, the vowel is removed and the – ing is added.
Examples :
- To dance – dancing
- To take – taking
- To make – making
- To come – coming
Exception : verb to be – being
Attention! ( Pay Attention! )
It is not very common to use state verbs, such as the verbs agree , need , believe , believe , know , like , etc. in the Present Continuous.
2. When the verb ends with – ie , replace that ending with – y and add – ing .
Examples :
- Die (dying) – dying
- Lie (lying) – lying
3. When the verb is monosyllable or disyllable and follows the pattern of consonant + vowel + consonant (CVC), the last consonant is duplicated.
Examples :
- To swim – swi mm ing
- To travel – trave ll ing
- To cut – cu tt ing
- To run – ru nn ing
- To sit – si tt ing
Exception 1 : when the last consonant is w or x , it is not doubled.
Examples :
- To snow (snowing) – snowing
- To fix – fixing
Exception 2 : if the stressed syllable is the first, the final letter is not folded. Only the – ing is added .
Examples :
- open – opening
- happen – happening
Present Simple x Present Continuous
Check below some differences between Simple Present and Present Continuous .
Simple Present
The Simple Present , also called Present Simple , describes a habitual action and current occurring in the present.
Negative and interrogative phrases are constructed with the auxiliary verbs of and does .
| Affirmative form | Negative form | Interrogative form |
|---|---|---|
| I love | I do not love | Do I love? |
| You love | You do not love | Do you love? |
| He / she / it loves | He / she / it does not love | Does he / she / it love? |
| We love | We do not love | Do we love? |
| You love | You do not love | Do you love? |
| They love | They do not love | Do they love? |
In affirmative sentences , these auxiliaries are only used in short answers.
Example :
“Do you have a brother?” “Yes, I do .”
See also: Simple Present
Present Continuous
It describes an action that is taking place in the present , that is, at the moment when it is spoken. It is formed with the auxiliary verb to be and a main verb.
| Affirmative Form | Negative Form | Interrogative Form |
|---|---|---|
| I am loving | I am not loving | Am I loving? |
| You are loving | You are not loving | Are you loving? |
| He / she / it is loving | He / she / it is not loving | Is he / she / it loving? |
| We are loving | We are not loving | Are we loving? |
| You are loving | You are not loving | Are you loving? |
| They are loving | They are not loving | Are they loving? |
Exercises ( Exercises )
1 . Which alternative is incorrect?
a) I am being evil with my son.
b) Do I being evil with your son?
c) Am I being evil with my son?
d) I am not being evil with my son.
Answer
Alternative b: Do I being evil with your son?
The verb “do” is a helper of Simple Present and not of Present Continuous.
2 . Write the following sentence in negative and interrogative forms: I am doing my own meal .
Answer
Negative Form: I am not doing my own meal.
Interrogative Form: Am I doing my own meal?
3 . Conjugate the verb to die in Simple Present and Present Continuous :
Answer
Simple Present
I die
You die
He / she / it dies
We die
You die
They die
Present Continuous
I am dying
You are dying
He / she / it is dying
We are dying
You are dying
They are dying