English The Present Continuous

Positive Examples

• I am working.
• You are sleeping.
• She is going to work.
• He is doing well.
• We are eating dinner.
• They are making dinner.

Negative Examples

• I am not working.
• You are not sleeping.
• She is not going to work.
• He is not doing well.
• We are not eating dinner.
• They are not making dinner.

Contraction Examples

• I’m working. – I’m not working
• You’re not sleeping– You aren’t sleeping.
• She’s not going to work. – She isn’t going to work.
• He’s not doing well. – He isn’t doing well.
• We’re not eating dinner. – We aren’t eating dinner.
• They’re not making dinner. – They aren’t making dinner.

The present continuous in the Positive:

Questions in the present continuous:

Questions in the present continuous with the use of “Wh-” question-words:

 

Short answers in the Positive  

 

Short Answers in the Negative 

 

Question: Are you going to school?

Question: Are they smiling?   

Question: Where is he going?

Answer:  Yes, I am/No, I am not.

Answer: Yes, they are/No, they’re not.

Answer: He is going to work.

 

We use the present continuous (verb + ing), when we speak about something that is happening right now.

We use the Simple present (I do), when we speak about something that we generally/usually do (every day/often).

Examples:

I am brushing my teeth (right now). I brush my teeth (every day).
I am eating meat (right now). I eat meat (generally).
I am not drinking beer (right now). I do not drink beer (generally).