Present Continuous

Present Continuous

(actions happening NOW, AROUND NOW 
or in a PLANNED FUTURE)

AFFIRMATIVE:

Subject  +  BE  +  VERB (-ING)  +  complement.

   I        am     reading         a book.

   She      is     painting        the picture.

   We       are    playing         volleyball.

NEGATIVE:

Subject  +  BE  +  NOT  +  VERB (-ING)  +  complement.

   I        am     not     talking         on the phone.

   He       is     not     working         in the office.

   They     are    not     cleaning        the house.

INTERROGATIVE:

BE  +  subject  +  VERB (-ING)  +  complement?

Am       I           walking       fast?

Is       it          raining?

Are      you         listening     to music?        

-ING Rules

1. Add -ING to most verbs:

study  -  studying   
eat    -  eating
sleep  -  sleeping

2. Verbs ending in -e: Drop -e and add -ING.

dance  -  dancing
write  -  writing
make   -  making

Exceptions: 

be     -  being
see    -  seeing
agree  -  agreeing

3. Verbs ending in -ie: Change -ie to -y and add -ING.

lie  -  lying
tie  -  tying
die  -  dying

4. Double the last consonant of:

• One-syllable verbs ending in CVC (consonant + vowel + consonant) and add -ING.

   swim  -  swimming  

   run   -  running

   shop  -  shopping

• Two-syllable verbs ending in CVC (consonant + vowel + consonant), with the stress on the second syllable, and add -ING. 

   refer    -  referring

   commit   -  committing

   control  -  controlling

In case of two-syllable verbs ending in CVC 
(consonant + vowel + consonant), with the stress on the first syllable, DO NOT double the last consonant. Add -ING. 

listen   -  listening

happen   -  happening

open     -  opening

visit    -  visiting