The Present Continuous

Close your eyes. Imagine you are at the beach. What are you doing right now?

I am sitting on the sand…… I am surfing the waves…. I am building a sand castle…. I am swimming in the water…. I am running on the beach…. I am playing catch with my friends….

What do all these sentences have in common?

Present Continuous Form: subject + to be (am, is, are) + infinitive + ing

Present Continuous Example: I am sitting on the beach. subject “to be” sit + ing

Present Continuous The action is taking place right now so we are looking at it…. Be Am/is/are Verb + ing

Function of the present continuous When do we use it? 1.To describe actions that are happening at the moment of speaking. I am standing in front of the class now.

2. To talk about something that will happen in the near future. She is going to the movies on Saturday.

3. To describe temporary actions. Her father is working in Rome this month.

4. To talk about trends. More and more people are using their computers to listen to music.

5. To talk about repeated actions that are irritating to the speaker. He is always coming late to class.

now at this moment at present right now Look! Listen! today tonight this afternoon Time Expressions

Positive Statements I am playing football. or I’m playing football. You are playing football. or You’re playing football.

Negative Statements I am not playing football. I’m not playing football. You are not playing football. You’re not playing football. You aren’t playing football.

Song time!!! Suzanne Vega Tom’s Diner

Spelling rules…. Usually, in the present continuous we add an “ing” to the verb, right? Readreading Ask Go Be asking being going

Not really…. Verbs that end with an “e”. The “e” must be dropped in order to add the “ing” Givegiving Have Take having taking

Verbs that end with an “ee”. Here, we don’t drop the final “e” before adding an “ing”. Agree agreeing See seeing

Verbs that end with a vowel (a,e,i,o,u) and a consonant (not inc. w,x, y). In this case, we double the last consonant and then add an “ing”. sitsitting fit run getgetting running fitting

Verbs that end with an “ie”. These must be changed to “y” before adding the “ing”. die lie tie dying lying tying

Asking yes/no questions How do we ask yes/no questions in the present continuous?

Try it…. Turn these statements into yes/no questions. I am playing football. They are drinking water right now. She is singing her favorite song. Am I playing football? Are they drinking water right now? Is she singing her favorite song?

What happened? When we ask yes/no questions in the present continuous, we put the “to be” verb first. To be + subject + verb + ing

Let’s look at our questions… I am playing football. Am I playing football? To be subject verb + ing Answer: Yes, I’m playing. No, I’m not playing.

They are drinking water right now. Are they drinking water right now? To be subject verb + ing Answer: Yes, they are drinking. No, they aren’t drinking.

She is singing her favorite song. Is she singing her favorite song? To be subject verb + ing Answer: Yes, she is singing. No, she isn’t singing.

WH Questions What do you think goes first when we ask WH question in the present continuous?

Good job…………… Correct. When we ask a WH question in the present continuous, the WH word comes first………….. WH word + to be + subject + verb + ing

Try to come up with WH questions using these key words… Why, he, (to) hit What, she, (to) do Where, I, (to) go When, it, (to) happen Who, they, (to) laugh How, it, (to) go