The Present Continuous tense

The Present Continuous tense. English grammar with exercises. English ESL Worksheets. Free eBook and Free printable PDF

The Present Continuous tense

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The Present Continuous tense

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The Present Continuous tense

The present continuous is made from the present tense of the verb be and the –ing form of a verb:

I am	working
You are	playing
He is	talking
She is	living
It is	eating
We are	staying
They are	sleeping

We use the present continuous to talk about:

activities at the moment of speaking:

I‘m just leaving work. I’ll be home in an hour.
Please be quiet. The children are sleeping.

future plans or arrangements:

Mary is going to a new school next term.
What are you doing next week?

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Present continuous questions

We make questions by putting am, is or are in front of the subject:

Are you listening?
Are they coming to your party?
When is she going home?
What am I doing here?

Present continuous negatives

We make negatives by putting not (or n’t) after am, is or are:

I‘m not doing that.
You aren’t listening. (or You‘re not listening.)
They aren’t coming to the party. (or They‘re not coming to the party.)
She isn’t going home until Monday. (or She‘s not going home until Monday.)

Stative verbs

We do not normally use the continuous with stative verbs. Stative verbs include:

• verbs of thinking and feeling:

believe dislike know like

love hate prefer realise

recognise remember suppose think (= believe)

understand want wish

• verbs of the senses:

appear feel

look seem

smell sound

taste

• others:

agree be

belong disagree

need owe

own possess

We normally use the simple instead:

I understand you. (NOT I am understanding you.)
This cake tastes wonderful. (NOT This cake is tasting wonderful.)

The Present Continuous tense: exercises

EXERCISE 1.

Write sentences that are true for you now!

e.g. Wearing a suit 

I’m not wearing a suit. or I’m wearing a suit.

1. wearing jeans

2. standing up

3. sitting in my bedroom

4. working with a friend

5. raining

6. sun shining

7. listening to music

EXERCISE 2.

Choose the correct tense!

One sentence is wrong. Choose the correct sentence. Put R (right) and W (wrong).

e.g.  I have a shower every morning. R

    I’m having a shower every morning. W

1.  It’s a lovely day. The sun shines. ________

   It’s a lovely day. The sun is shining. ________

What are you doing tonight? Are you going out?________

What do you do tonight? Do you go out? ________

What are we having for supper tonight? ________

What do we have for supper tonight? ________

Where are you usually going on holiday? ________

Where do you usually go on holiday? ________

What are you doing on the floor? ________

What do you do on the floor? ________

I’m looking for something. ________

I look for something. ________

EXERCISE 3

Complete the sentences by using the words in brackets.  

e.g. I’m drinking a coffee at the bar, I’ll call you later.  

We ________________________ (the house/paint) at the moment.

Sorry, David ____________________( have/shower), he can’t come to the         telephone right now.

They______________________(have/dinner) at the moment.

What_______________( you/do) ?

I______________(study) at school with David.

They_______________(have/chips), do you want some?

The jacket__________________(you/wear) is really beautiful!!

What __________________(work men/do) in the garden?

They _____________________________ (a swimming pool/build).

EXERCISE 4

e.g. Jane is at a restaurant. What is she doing?

She’s having lunch and talking with friends.

1. Sarah is in a library. What is she doing?

2. Fred is at the gym. What is he doing?

3.  Diane is at school. What is she doing?

4.  Claire is at the beach. What is she doing?

5. John and Sue are at the cinema. What are they doing?

6. Emma is at the park. What is she doing?

7.Ronnie is at the stadium. What is he doing?

8. Jim is on the motorway. What is he doing?

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PRESENT CONTINUOUS WITH FUTURE MEANING

EXERCISE 1

Here is a page taken from Pamela’s diary for next week.

Monday	10.30 1.00 pm	Dentist. Lunch with Thomas.
Tuesday	Morning 4.00 pm	Washing up. Shopping with Diana.
Wednesday	morning 2.30 pm	Visit mum in Piacenza. Group Class at Opening.
Thursday	11.00 afternoon	Tea with Sandra. Clean the house.
Friday	morning afternoon	Ironing. Buy a present for Thomas’ birthday.
Saturday	10.00 8.30 pm	Hairdresser’s. Dinner with Thomas.

Write sentences using the information from Pamela’s diary in the Present Continuous.

E.g. On Monday, at 10.30 Pamela is going to the dentist.

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