Present Continuous

Usages

Affirmative Statements
Present of verb Present participle
Subject complement
BE (am,is,are) (verb+ing)

Negative Statements
Present of verb BE Present participle
Subject not complement
(am,is,are) (verb+ing)
 Yes/No questions
Present of verb Present participle
Subject complement ?
BE (am,is,are) (verb+ing)

Short answers

Affirmative short answers Negative short answers

Present of verb Present of verb
Yes, Subject No, Subject not
BE (am,is,are) BE (am,is,are)

I am I am
you are you are
he is he is
Yes, she is No, she is not
it is it is
we are we are
they are they are

NOTE: You can contract negative short answers, but you cannot
contract affirmative short answers.
Correct: No, she isn’t.
Incorrect: Yes, she’s

Examples
 Information questions
Question Present participle
verb BE Subject complement ?
word (verb+ing)

Question word Translation Use it to ask about…

What Qué/Cuál Things
Where Dónde Places
When Cuándo Time
Who Quién/A quién People
How Cómo Methods/Ways
Why Por qué Reasons
Which Cuál Choices/Options

Notice something!
There are two ways to ask questions with “Who”:

- If you don’t know the subject (the person that does the action)
Present participle
Who is complement ?
(verb+ing)

Example: Who is calling? = (You don’t know the person that is making the call)

- If you know the subject, but you don’t know the object (you know the person that
does the action but not the person receiving the action)
Present of verb Present participle
Who Subject complement ?
BE (am,is,are) (verb+ing)

Example Who is she calling? = (She is making the call, but you don’t know the
person that’s receiving the call)
Present Continuous: Spelling rules for the present participle.

- If the verb ends in a silent (unvoiced) –e, drop the –e and add –ing.
Leave – Leaving Make – Making

- If the verb ends in –ie, drop the –ie and add –ying.
Lie – Lying Die – Dying

- In verbs of one syllable, if the last three letters are a consonant-vowel-consonant*

(CVC) sequence, double the last consonant and add –ing.
Sit – Sitting Shop – Shopping

- In verbs of two or more syllables that en in CVC sequence, double the last consonant
only if the spoken stress is on the last syllable.
Permit – Permitting Order – Ordering
Forget – Forgetting Travel – Traveling

- BUT: Don’t double the consonant if the verb ends in -w, -x or –y.
Blow – Blowing Fix – Fixing Say – Saying

- In all other cases just add –ing.

Talk – Talking Drink – Drinking Play – Playing

Practice. Write the present participle of each verb. Follow the rules.