Temporary situations

Main uses

Spelling rules

Table 2

Formation

Unit 2 The Present Continuous (Progressive) Tense

The present continuous tense is formed with the present tense of the auxiliary verb be + the present participle (the infinitive + ing).

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I am working	I am not working	am I working?
you are working	you are not working	are you working?
he/she/it is working	he/she/it is not working	is he/she/it working?
we are working	we are not working	are we working?
you are working	you are not working	are you working?
they are working	they are not working	are they working?

1 We can add -ing to most verbs without changing the spelling of their base forms:

beat/beating, carry/carrying, catch/catching, enjoy/enjoying, hurry/hurrying

2 If a verb ends in -e, omit the -e and add -ing.

come/coming, have/having, make/making, ride/riding, use/using

The exceptions are: to age/ageing, singe/singeing

But! This rule does not apply to verbs ending in double e:

agree/agreeing, see/seeing

3 A verb that is spelt with a single vowel followed by a single consonant doubles its final consonant:

hit/hitting, let/letting, put/putting, run/running, sit/sitting

4 With two-syllable verbs, the final consonant is normally doubled when the last syllable is stressed:

for'get/forgetting, pre'fer/preferring, up'set/upsetting

Compare: 'benefit/benefiting, 'differ/differing, 'profit/profiting

Note!

'label/labelling 'quarrel/quarrelling,'signal/signalling, 'travel/travelling (BrE) are exceptions to this rule.

Compare:

labeling, quarreling, signaling, traveling (AmE)

5 -ic at the end of a verb changes to -ick when we add -ing:

panic/panicking, picnic'picnicking, traffic/trafficking

6 A verb having –ie at the end, changes -ie to –y and adds –ing:

lie/lying, die/dying, tie/tying

7 A verb having - p at the end doubles it, but only when the ending has the construction consonant+vowel+consonant.

Worship/worshipping

1 We use the Present Continuous to describe actions or events which are in progress at the moment of speaking. To emphasize this, we often use adverbials like now, at the moment, just,at present, currently, still.

Someone's knocking at the door. Can you answer it?
What are you doing? - I'm just tying up my shoe-laces.
He's working at the moment, so he can't come to the telephone.

He's still talking to his girlfriend on the phone.

1) The Present Continuous can be used to describe actions and situations which may not have been happening long, or which are thought of as being in progress for a limited period. The following indicators are generally used: these days, this week, this month, this year.

What's your daughter doing these days?

- She's studying English at Durham University.

2) Such situations may not be happening at the moment of speaking:

Don't take that ladder away. Your father's using it. (i.e. but perhaps not at the moment).

3) Temporary events may be in progress at the moment of speaking:

The river is flowing very fast after last night's rain.

4) Temporary actions and situations may be given as a contrast to usual actions:

I usually drive to work, but this week I am taking a bus as my car is in repair.

3 We also use the Present Continuous to describe developing or changing situations. The verbs to change, to get, to grow, to improve, to become, to rise, to fall, to increase and to decrease are usually used. Very often adjectives in comparative degree are used in such sentences.

The number of cars on the road is increasing. The earth is slowly getting warmer.
People are becoming less tolerant of smoking these days.

4 When we are talking about repeated temporary actions in the present tense, we use the Present Continuous for an action that continues to happen before and after another action that interrupts it. We use the Present Simple for the other action.

The phone always rings when I'm having a bath.

Friends always talk to me when I'm trying to study.

Whenever I come, he is arguing with his sister.

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