Present Continuous Tense

The present continuous is the tense form used to talk about actions or situations that are going on at the moment of speaking.
Read the following questions and answers. They are all in the present continuous tense.

  • What are the girls doing now? They are dancing.
  • What are the birds doing now? They are chirping.
  • What is the dog doing now? It is chasing a cat.
  • What is the fox doing? The fox is trying to catch the rabbit.
  • What are the boys doing? Are they doing their homework? No, they are flying kites.
  • What is that boy holding in his hand? Is he holding a bird? No, he is not holding a bird.
  • What are the girls doing? The girl playing in the park.
  • She is holding a kitten in her hand. The puppy is howling in pain because it has hurt its leg.
  • What is the old woman doing?
  • Is s sleeping? No, she is not sleeping. She is knitting a sweater.
  • What are the dogs doing? Are they chasing the cat? No, they are not chasing the cat. They are fighting for food.

Now you should be able to recognize the present continuous tense form. As you know, it is formed with is / am / are + -ing form of the verb. Use is when the subject is a singular noun or a third person singular pronoun (he, she, it).

  • She is jogging.
  • Father is playing tennis.
  • He is working.
  • It is snowing
  • The puppies are playing.
  • Mother is knitting.