How to Use the Present Continuous English Verb Tenses Grammar Lesson
Hello, I’m Jack.
Welcome to Oxford Online English!
In this lesson, you can learn about the present
continuous verb tense in English.
We’ll talk about all the possible meanings
of the present continuous; whether you’re
a beginner or an advanced learner, you’re
sure to find something new.
So, let’s get into it!
First, how can you form the present continuous?
To form the present continuous, you use:
‘be + verb + -ing’
For example:
He’s washing his car.
They’re watching a film.
What about negatives and questions?
To make negatives, add ‘not’ after ‘be’.
She isn’t doing anything.
I’m not working on that right now.
Now, to make questions, move the verb ‘be’
before the subject.
Is he doing anything?
Are you talking to me?
The same rule works if you ask a question
with a question word like ‘what’, ‘why’, or
‘how’.
Move the verb ‘be’ before the subject.
What are you watching?
Where are they going?
Now, you can see that to make questions in
the present continuous, you don’t add anything.
So don’t add words like ‘do’ or ‘did’.
Just change the order of the words!
So now you know how to form sentences and
questions with the present continuous.
But how do you use it?
One use is for something happening right now.
This is the most basic use of the present
continuous.
He’s washing his car.
They’re watching a film.
These sentences are talking about something
which is happening at this moment.
Now, we can also use the present continuous
to talk about something which has started
but not finished.
This sounds similar to the last point.
If we say:
He’s washing his car.
This means he’s started washing his car,
but he hasn’t finished yet.
So what’s the difference?
Why is this separate to the last point?
It’s different because we can also use the
present continuous in this way to talk about
things which are not happening right now.
For example:
I’m reading a good book at the moment.
She’s looking for a new apartment.
If I say, “I’m reading a good book at the
moment,” I don’t mean that I’m reading
right now, at this minute.
I mean that I’ve started a book and I haven’t
finished it yet.
In the same way, “She’s looking for a new
apartment” doesn’t mean that she’s out
looking for an apartment this minute.
It means she’s started looking for an apartment,
but she hasn’t found one yet.
In these examples, we use the present continuous
to talk about things happening around this
moment, not necessarily at this specific moment.
Next, describing a picture.
If you have a picture or a photo, and you
want to describe it to someone, you use the
present continuous.
A picture or a photo is like a moment in time.
That’s why we use the continuous form to
talk about it.
For example, here, we can use the present
continuous to talk about what we see:
They are sitting on a beam, high above the
city.
The two men on the left are smoking.
Some of them are eating sandwiches.
It doesn’t matter that the picture was taken
a long time ago.
We can still use the present continuous to
describe it.
Next, talking about something temporary or
different from usual.
So, another use of the present continuous
is to show that something is temporary.
Look at these two sentences:
He lives with his parents.
He’s living with his parents.
What’s the difference?
Why would you use the present continuous here?
In these sentences, the present continuous
shows that the situation is temporary.
If you say “He lives with his parents,” you
mean that this is permanent.
If you say, “He’s living with his parents,”
you mean that this is a temporary situation.
Maybe he’s living with his parents while
he saves enough money to get his own place.
Let’s look at one more example here:
She works in the marketing department.
She’s working in the marketing department.
Is the difference clear now?
If you say, “She works in the marketing department,”
you mean that this is her permanent job.
If you say, “She’s working in the marketing
department,” you mean that she normally works
somewhere else.
She’s just working in the marketing department
temporarily.
Next, talking about a changing situation.
I understand there are a lot of ways to use
the present continuous!
Remember that you don’t have to learn all
of this at once.
This video will still be here; take a break
and review what we’ve done so far if you
need to.
Now, you can also use the present continuous
to talk about a situation which is changing
over time.
For example:
The population of our city is growing by around
5% a year.
My English is slowly getting better.
The river used to be really polluted, but
it’s getting cleaner.
In all of these examples, we’re talking
about a change which is happening over time,
and which will probably continue into the
future.
If I say:
The population of our city is growing by around
5% a year.
This means that I expect the population to
continue growing, at least for the next few
years.
OK, so you’ve seen how the present continuous
can be used to talk about: things happening
now; things which have started but not finished;
describing pictures; talking about temporary
situations; talking about changing situations.
All of the meanings we’ve seen so far are
similar.
They are all about something happening around
a moment in time.
However, there are also some other ways to
use the present continuous which are completely
different.
Let’s look at a very important one:
Talking about arrangements in the future.
Many English learners use ‘will’ to talk about
the future, but ‘will’ can’t be used for
everything.
Actually, the present continuous is one of
the most common ways to talk about the future
in English.
If you have a solid plan or arrangement, meaning
you know where and/or when something will
happen, you can use the present continuous
to talk about it.
Here are some examples:
We’re meeting outside the cinema at 8.00.
They’re coming to ours for dinner on Saturday.
What are you doing next weekend?
It’s very common to use the present continuous
when you talk about plans for the near future,
social plans, and so on.
Talking about something strange or annoying.
Now we’re getting to more specialised, less
common uses of the present continuous.
Using the present continuous together with
adverbs like ‘always’, ‘constantly’ or ‘continually’
can show that you find a repeated action annoying
or strange.
For example:
He’s always forgetting to bring the things
he needs.
They’re constantly gossiping about me behind
my back.
My boss is continually interrupting me while
I’m trying to work.
So, if you say:
He’s always forgetting to bring the things
he needs.
You means that he often forgets to bring things,
and you find this strange or annoying.
This use of the present continuous is unusual,
because we’re using the present continuous
to talk about a repeated action or a habit,
and we don’t normally do that.
So you must use an adverb in these sentences.
You can’t say:
He’s forgetting to bring the things he needs.
To give it the meaning of something which
you find strange/annoying, you need an adverb.
So, ‘always’ is the most common adverb to
use in these sentences.
OK, we’re nearly there!
One more to go:
The last use is talking about feelings which
you are starting to be aware of.
Now again, this is a very specialised, less
common way to use the present continuous.
What does it mean?
Think about these two sentences:
I realise I made the wrong decision.
I’m realising I made the wrong decision.
Now, they’re both possible, but what’s
the difference?
In the first sentence:
I realise I made the wrong decision.
Your realisation is not a new feeling.
However, when you say:
I’m realising I made the wrong decision.
You mean that you are just starting to think
about this.
The feeling – that you made the wrong decision
– is still growing on you.
Let’s do one more example:
I find it difficult to work with him.
I’m finding it difficult to work with him.
Can you see the difference?
Again, if you say:
I find it difficult to work with him.
This isn’t something new for you.
You generally find him difficult, and you
dislike working with him.
If you say:
I’m finding it difficult to work with him.
This means that you are just starting to realise
how difficult he is, and how you dislike working
with him.
These feelings are new to you, I guess.
OK, that’s the end of the lesson.
There’s a lot of information in this video,
so you might find it useful to review some
parts of this video again.
If you want to practice this some more, check
out the full version of the lesson on our
website.
The full lesson contains notes, the full script,
and a quiz to help you practise this topic.
That’s all for now.
Thanks very much for watching, and see you
next time!