Present Continuous: I am cooking

now.
4
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to talk about things that happen
regularly and things that are happening at the moment.

Exercise 1
Sentence Practice
 I cook dinner every day.
 I am cooking dinner right now.
 We talk on the phone sometimes.
 We are talking on the phone now.
 He writes to his mother every month.
 He is writing a letter now.

Grammar Focus
Why use the Present Continuous Tense
In English, we use the simple present tense to talk about things that are always
or generally true: He cooks every day.

To say that something is happening right now, we use the  present

continuous tense:

 I  walk  to school everyday. → I am walking to school right

now.
 He  sleeps  10 hours a day. → He is sleeping now. Be quiet!

We also use the present continuous to talk about something that

has not happened yet, but will happen soon:

 The boys are playing soccer today. (= the boys will play

soccer today)
 Class is starting in five minutes! (= class will start in five
minutes)

How to form the Present Continuous Tense

Put the helping verb 'be' before the verb in -ing form:  'be' + verb-ing.

When adding -ing to a verb, there are some general spelling rules:

1. If a verb ends in an -e which is not pronounced (as in 'make'), you

should drop the -e, and add -ing:

 make + ing: I am making dinner. (not 'makeing')

However, if a verb ends in -ee, -oe, or -ye, just add -ing:

 see + ing: Are you seeing what I see?

 dye + ing: Are you dyeing your hair?

2. If a verb has more than one syllable and ends with one vowel + one
consonant (as in 'begin'), and has the stress at the end of the word,
then double the final consonant:

 begin + ing: Hurry up, the class is beginning! (not 'begining')

3. If a verb has one syllable, ends with one vowel + one consonant (as
in 'sit'), then double the final consonant:

 sit + ing: He's sitting on the floor. (not 'siting')

 put + ing: They're putting the clothes in the laundry machine.

Exercise 2
Sentence Practice
Something that is happening now
 I am listening to music right now.
 You are washing the dishes.
 He is watching TV now.
 He is drinking green tea.

Something that will happen soon

 I'm leaving in ten minutes.
 They're arriving at 2 o'clock.
 Another teacher is visiting our class today. Please behave.

Exercise 3
Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the blanks with the verb in the present progressive form.

1. I (study)  right now.
2. He (drink)  coffee.
3. They (go)  to a picnic.
4. She (read)  the book, Pride and Prejudice.
5. It (rain) .
6. We (run) .
Exercise 4
Sentence Building
Your mother calls you while you are busy. Tell her why you are busy by changing
the following sentences into the present continuous tense.
I clean my room now. → "I am cleaning my room now."

1. I do the dishes now.

2. I walk to the bus stop now.
3. I go to a party.
4. I exercise.
5. I sleep.
6. I work now.