Lesson 8

CONTINOUS TENSES
The continuous tense shows an action that is, was, or will be in progress at a certain time. The
continuous tense is formed with the verb ‘be’ + -ing form of the verb.

Present Continuous Tense

The use of the Present Continuous Tense is done more than often in English. There is a great
difference between the Present Simple Tense and this. They differ in both, structure and use. Thus,
we have compiled all the things you need to know about Present Continuous Tense. This article will
help you get a better understanding of the tense. Further, with the examples and uses mentioned
here, you will be able to use this tense correctly without any confusion. Let us start by knowing
about the definition of this tense.

Definition of Present Continuous Tense

The Present Continuous Tense is a verb tense which we use to show that an ongoing action is
occurring now. It can be either at the moment of speech or now in a larger sense. We also refer to
present continuous as present progressive.

Further, we can also make use of present continuous to show that an action is going to happen in the
near future. In other words, this verb tense denotes that an action or condition is happening now,
frequently, or may continue in the future.

The formula for Present Continuous is-

to be [am, is, are] + verb [present participle]

Uncle Ted is cooking dinner while Linda looks for his new knife. They are playing at John’s
favorite park today, Greenview Park.

Thus, you see how the present continuously adds energy and action to writing. Moreover, it impacts
the reader’s understanding of when the action is occurring.

Using Present Continuous Tense

We must use the present continuous tense with the appropriate ‘to be’ verb and a dynamic verb. In
other words, a dynamic verb indicates action and/or process. Let’s take a look at an example:
Raj’s younger brother is arriving at the restaurants one hour late because his football team,
Amigos, won the national championships early today. As he is walking into Salt Restaurant, he is
yelling goodbye to his teammates outside, and Raj hopes he doesn’t cause a scene since
he is always embarrassing him in public.

Not Using Present Continuous Tense

Always remember to never use the present continuous tense with stative verbs. Stative verbs
indicate a state of being which does not show qualities of change. These verbs can stay in the simple
present. The example below can help you understand it better:

Incorrect: Uncle Ted is preferring the strawberry pastries over the chocolate ones that Linda
loves.

Correct: Uncle Ted prefers the strawberry pastries over the chocolate ones that Linda loves.

Over here, the stative verb to prefer shows opinion and thus must not be conjugated into the present
continuous. Stative verb categories comprise of emotion (to love), possession (to belong), and
thoughts (to recognize), and none of these should make use of the present continuous form.

Exceptions

Some verbs can be both, dynamic as well as stative! You can consider the verbs to be and to
think. In the dynamic form of it, the verb to be may indicate action. For instance:

Tina, Aman’s younger sister, is being by ordering spicy ramen noodles.

However, in the stative form of it, the verb to be will be awkward if we conjugate it in the present
continuous.

Incorrect: Tina is being a tall teenager, who loves her food spicy and her sports dangerous.

Correct: Tina is a tall teenager, who loves her food spicy and her sports dangerous

Present Continuous Forms

We form the present continuous by making use of am/is/are + present participle. In order to
denote questions, we can invert the subject and am/is/are. Negatives are made with not.

Statement: You are playing football.
Question: Are you playing football?

Negative: You are not playing football.

Uses Present Continuous Tense

In order to clearly understand the present continuous, we must make sure to learn about its uses for
getting a better idea of it.

Now

Make use of the present continuous with normal verbs to convey the idea that something is
occurring now, at this very moment. We can also use it to show that something is not taking place
now.

Examples:

 You are studying French now.

 You are not playing now.
 Are you coming?
 They are not drinking alcohol.
 Why aren’t you doing your chores?

Longer Actions in Progress Now

When we talk about the English language, we see that ‘now’ can mean this second, this month, this
year, this century and so on. More than often, we make use of the present continuous to say that we
are in the process of doing a longer action which is in progress; however, we might not necessarily
be doing it at this precise moment.

Examples: (All of these sentences can be said while eating lunch at a cafe.)

 I am studying to become a lawyer.

 I am not studying to become a doctor.
 Aren’t you working at a multinational company now?
 I am not watching any shows right now.
Near Future

Sometimes, we make use of the present continuous to indicate that something will or will not occur
in the near future.

Examples:

 I am meeting some fans after the concert.

 I am not going to the movies tonight.
 Is she visiting his hometown next month?
 Isn’t she coming with us today?

Repetition and Irritation with “Always”

The present continuous with words like “always” or “constantly” will express the idea that
something irritating or shocking often happens. You will observe that the meaning is like a simple
present, but with negative emotion. Make sure to put the words “always” or “constantly” between
“be” and “verb+ing.”

Examples:

 He is always coming to class late.

 She is constantly walking. I wish she would take some rest.
 I don’t like them because they are always whining.

Tips and Tricks

Always remember non-continuous verbs/mixed verbs.

It is important to remember that one cannot use non-continuous verbs in any continuous tenses. In
addition, specific non-continuous meanings for mixed verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses.
Instead of making use of present continuous with these verbs, you must make use of use simple
present.

Examples:

Incorrect: He is loving this strawberry cheesecake.

Correct: She loves this strawberry cheesecake.

FAQ on Present Continuous Tense

Question 1: My brother  ____ French?

a. Learn
b. Is learning
c. Learning

Question 2: Why  _____ playing cricket tomorrow?

a. He not is
b. He isn’t
c. Isn’t he

PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE

Past Continuous Tense is a tense which is used to indicate a continuing action or event that was
happening at some point in time in the past. It uses the auxiliary verb i.e. was or were + present
participle. Some examples of Past Continuous Tense are – It was raining every day that week, As I
spoke, people were applauding my skills, I was cooking when she called. Thus, you use Past
Continuous Tense while describing any past event or condition which was continuing at some point
in time in the past.

Definition of Past Continuous Tense

Past Continuous Tense is a tense which is used to indicate the actions or conditions that were
happening at some point in time in the past but have now finished. In other words, past continuous
tense is used to describe or indicate actions that began in the past and were continuing when another
event occurred. It is important to note here that there may be two actions going on at the same time
in the past, and one was interrupted by the happening of the other. Thus, both actions have occurred
in the past. It is also known as the past progressive tense.

This tense uses was or were + present participle. In the forming of the past continuous tense, we
use ‘was’ when the subject is Singular and ‘were’ when the subject is Plural. The second element
that is the present participle is formed by adding -ing to the root of the verb.
For example, learning, studying, mixing, laughing, etc. While framing the questions using the past
continuous tense, we indicate them by inverting the subject and was or were. For making negative
sentences we use not.

Using Past Continuous Tense sentences to describe:

Following are the situations where we use Past Continuous Tense along with sentences:

1. For any interrupted action or condition in the past

Sentence: While she was cooking food, the microwave blew.

It means that she was cooking food in the past and the doorbell rang. So, the first event i.e. cooking
got interrupted by the occurrence of the second event i.e. the blowing off of the microwave.

2. Interruption at a specific time

Sentence: Yesterday at 11 AM, I was having breakfast.

It means that at 11 AM I was in the process of having breakfast. I had started having breakfast
earlier than 11 AM.

3. Describes parallel actions or events

Sentence: He was listening to music while walking in the garden.

It means that listening to music and walking was going on simultaneously or at the same time.

4. Describes Atmosphere

Sentence: When I reached the shopping mall, several people were busy buying clothes, children
were playing in the gaming zone, and some were busy enjoying delicious food.

It expresses the atmosphere inside the shopping mall sometime in the past.

5. Use of ‘always’ and ‘constantly’

Sentence: He was constantly talking and irritated me.

It means that his constant talking in the past had irritated me then.
Examples of Past Perfect Tense

For any interrupted action or condition in the past

The following examples express that a longer action was interrupted by a shorter action in the past.

 He was listening to music, so he did not hear the phone ring.

 It started to rain while we were walking in the garden.
 While I was studying, the bulb fused.
 While I was talking on the phone, she spilled the food on her dress.

Interruption at a specific time

The following examples express that a past action gets interrupted by a shorter action. Here, we can
also mention that specific time.

 Last morning at 7 AM, I was exercising.

 Yesterday at midnight, she was studying for her exams.
 Last night at 12 AM, I was partying with my friends.
 At midnight, we were still waiting for a taxi.

Describes parallel actions or events

The following examples express that in the past two actions were happening at the same time or
simultaneously.

 While I was writing, he was cooking.

 He was working on the laptop while I was watching a movie.
 What were you doing while I was studying?
 They were discussing their future plans while walking on the beach.

Describes Atmosphere

The following examples express the atmosphere of a particular place or at a particular time in the
past.
 When I reached the shop, the customers were busy shopping and the supplier was taking
orders.
 When I went to the beach, the people were playing with the waves and some were enjoying
the street food.

Use of ‘always’ and ‘constantly’

The following examples express the action that often happened in the past which was irritating or
shocking.

 Jack was always coming to work late.

 I did not enjoy myself with them because they were always showing off.
 Sara was constantly dancing. She surprised everyone.

Note: We use ‘when’ to indicate a short action and ‘while’ to indicate a long action.

Questions on Past Continuous Tense

Fill in the blanks by choosing the correct word according to the rules of the past continuous tense:

Question.1. The sun _____ shining when I got out of my bed.

1. Have been
2. Has been
3. Is
4. Was

Question.2. Hari was _____ movie ______ I was working.

1. watching, while
2. watching, when
3. watched, but
4. watched, since

Question. 3. They ____ listening to the songs when I was reading.

1. Had been
2. Have been
3. Will be
4. Were

Question.4. I ____ writing articles when he fell down.

1. Am
2. Was
3. Have been
4. Has been

FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE

While the future continuous tense may not be taught in detail in classes, that does not change the
fact that it is used a lot by English speakers. Often, we use this tense for talking about something
which is taking place at a certain point in the future. It has two different forms which are ‘will be
doing’ and ‘be going to be doing’. Moreover, they are not like simple future forms, so they are
generally interchangeable. Thus, this article will help you learn about this in detail so that you will
be able to master this tense. After learning about this, you can sound more natural when speaking in
English.

Definition of Future Continuous Tense

The future continuous tense refers to a verb tense which denotes that something will happen in the
future and continue for an expected period of time. It is also known as the future progressive tense.

The construction for forming this tense is:

will + be + the present participle (the root verb + -ing).

The simple future tense is a verb tense which we use when an action is expected to happen in the
future and be completed. For instance, if you are going to the movies at three o’clock.

Example: I will reach at three o’clock.

I will reach is the simple future tense of the verb to reach. When we reach once; beyond that, we
can’t keep on reaching. But, once we get there, we may be doing something that goes on
continuously, at least for a particular period of time.
Example: At three o’clock, I will be meeting my friends to watch the movie.

Will be meeting is the future continuous tense of the verb to meet. The construction will + be + the
present participle meeting which denotes that the meeting is not going to take place in an instant, all
at once. In other words, it will have a duration. The will + be + present participle construction
always denotes the future continuous tense.

Example: Tony will be running a marathon this Friday.

Example: Ted will be competing against Tony in the race.

Example: I will be watching Tony and Ted race.

future Continuous Tense & Action Verbs

Before diving in deeper, it is important to note that we use future continuous tense only with action
verbs. This is because it is not possible to do them for a duration. Action verbs describe activities
like walking, thinking, and smelling. On the other hand, Stative verbs describe states of existence,
such as knowing, being, seeming, and more. Thus, using the will + be + present participle
construction with a stative verb will sound quite odd.

Incorrect: I will be being stressed tomorrow during my physics practical.

Correct: I will be stressed tomorrow during my physics practical.

Incorrect: When the leaves fall tomorrow, summer will be seeming like a distant memory.

Correct: When the leaves fall tomorrow, summer will seem like a distant memory.

Thus, you see how only simple future tense suits stative verbs such as, to be and to seem.

Uses of Future Continuous Tense

Now that you are clear with what the definition of the future continuous tense is, let us learn about
its uses.

Interrupted Action in the Future

We make use of the future continuous to denote that a longer action in the future will be intervened
by a shorter action in the future. It is important to note that this can either be a real interruption or
just an interruption in time.
Example Sentences:

 I will be playing games when he arrives today.

 I will be waiting for you when your plane arrives.
 I am going to be staying at the Tulip Hotel if anything happens and you need to call me.
 She will be performing at the music concert tonight, so she will not see Raj when he arrives.

By going through the above examples, you will see that the interruptions (given in italics) are in
simple present instead of a simple future. It is because the interruptions are in time clauses and you
cannot make use of future tenses in time clauses.

Particular Time as an Interruption in the Future

In the above use, you see that the future continuous is interrupted by a short action in the future.
Besides making use of short actions as interruptions, we can also make use of a particular time as an
interruption.

Example Sentences:

 Today at 2 PM, I am going to be eating

 I will be in the process of eating lunch.

 At midnight tonight, they will still be hiking through the woods.

 They will be in the process of hiking through the woods.

Make sure to remember that in the simple future, we use a particular time to show the time an action
will start or end. In the future continuous, a specific time will interrupt the action.

Example Sentences:

 Today at 2 PM, I am going to eat.

 I am going to start eating at 2 PM.

 Today at 2 PM, I am going to be eating lunch.

I am going to start earlier and I will be in the process of eating lunch at 2 PM.
Parallel Actions in the Future

When we make use of the future continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it will express
the idea that both actions will be happening at the same time. Thus, these actions will be parallel.

Example Sentences:

 I am going to be sleeping and she is going to be walking the dog.

 Tonight, they will be having a party, dancing to music, and having a good time.

The atmosphere in the Future

In the English language, we often make use of a series of Parallel Actions for describing the
atmosphere at a particular point in the future.

Example Sentences:

When I arrive at the party, everybody is going to be celebrating. Some will be singing. Others

are going to be dancing. A few of them will be eating snacks, and a lot of people are going to be
having drinks. They always do the same thing.

FAQ on Future Continuous Tense

Question 1: I’ll be ________ the match at 2 pm.

a. watch
b. watching
c. to watch

Question 2: At midnight tomorrow, she ________ on a resort somewhere.

a. will be relaxing
b. relax
c. will being relax
  There are some verbs that we do not normally use with continuous (or progressive)
tenses. And there are other verbs that have one meaning with simple tenses and a
different meaning with continuous tenses.
Non-continuous Verbs
Non-continuous verbs are verbs that we do not normally use with continuous tenses. These
"stative" verbs are about state, not action, and they cannot express the continuous or progressive
aspect. Here are some of the most common non-continuous verbs:
 feeling: hate, like, love, prefer, want, wish
 senses: appear, feel, hear, see, seem, smell, sound, taste
 communication: agree, deny, disagree, mean, promise, satisfy, surprise
 thinking: believe, imagine, know, mean, realize, recognize, remember, understand
 other states: be, belong, concern, depend, involve, matter, need, owe, own, possess
Look at these example sentences, right and wrong:

I want a coffee. not I am wanting a coffee.

I don't believe you are right. not I am not believing you are right.

Does this pen belong to not Is this pen belonging to you?

you?

It seemed wrong. not It was seeming wrong.

I don't hear anything. not I am not hearing anything.

 I can see someone in the distance. not I am seeing someone in the distance.
 I can't hear you very well. not I am not hearing you very well.
With verbs that we cannot use in continuous tenses, there is no real action or activity. Compare
hear and listen. The verb "hear" means "receive sound in your ears". There is no action or
activity by you. We cannot use hear with continuous tenses. But listen means "try to hear". You
make an effort to hear. There is a kind of action or activity. We can use listen with continuous
tenses.
Dual Meaning Verbs
Some verbs have two different meanings or senses. For one sense we cannot use a continuous
tense. For the other sense we can use any tense.

For example, the verb think has two different meanings:

to believe, to have an opinion

 I think red is a sexy colour.
to reflect, to use your brain to solve a problem
 I am thinking about my homework.
In sense 1 there is no real action, no activity. This sense is called "stative". In sense 2 there is a
kind of action, a kind of activity. This sense is called "dynamic".

When we use the stative sense, we cannot use a continuous tense. When we use the dynamic
sense, we can use any tense, depending on the situation.

Be as main verb
simple tense continuous tense
 Mary is a careful person. (Mary is always careful - it's her nature.) John is being careful.
(John is acting carefully now, but maybe he is not always careful - we don't know.)
 Is he always so stupid? (Is that his personality?)They were being really stupid. (They
were behaving really stupidly at that moment.)
 Andrew is not usually selfish. (It is not Andrew's character to be selfish.) Why is he
being so selfish? (Why is he acting so selfishly at the moment?)
Notice that we also make a difference between "to be sick" and "to be being sick":

She is sick (= she is not well)

She is being sick (= she is vomiting)