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    English The Present Continuous

    Beginner English - Level A1

    Overview

    Learn how to form the present continuous (aka present progressive), and when to use it.

    Vocabulary

    free time activities, basic work, daily activities

    Greenville, South Carolina at Falls Park in downtown at night.

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    English A1

    The present continuous signifies something that is happening right now.
    To form the present continuous, we use the personal pronoun (I, You, He/She/It, We, You, They) with the appropriate form of “to be” plus the verb+ing.

    Presentcontinous-1

    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:

    Presentcontinous2


    Questions in the present continuous:

    Presentcontinousquestions

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

    Wh-QuestionsPres.Cont 


    Short answers in the Positive  

    ShortAnswerrPres.Contyes
     

    Short Answers in the Negative 

    ShortAnswerrPres.Cont_
     

    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.

    PresentCon.Line_

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

    SimplePresentline



    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).

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