Emphasising the result of something, talking about things that happened at an unknown time in the past, describing things that happened in the past and are not yet completed or over at the moment of speech
Emphasising the duration of something, describing things that started happening in the past and are still going on at the moment of speech and/or influence the present
Emphasising that something in the past stopped or was over when something else began, describing the fact that something happened before a certain time
Emphasising the progress or duration of something, describing things that happened in the past and stopped or were over at a certain time later in the past
Will I have walked? Will she have walked? Will they have taken? Will he have taken?
The present progressive tense
Look at the following examples:
Where is Mum? – She is taking Julia to her dancing lesson.
What are you doing? – I am doing my homework.
Are you busy? – Yes, sorry, I am just talking to my boyfriend on the phone.
We can't make lunch because the cleaning lady is cleaning the kitchen right now.
Usually I don't have dinner at a restaurant, but today I am meeting an old friend for dinner.
Take another look at the examples above. Then try to answer the following questions. When you answer the second question, more than one answer is possible.
To form a positive statement using the present progressive, use the form of to be am/is/are + the verb + -ing:
The farmer's wife is just feeding the hens.
They are going downtown to see a movie.
I am reading a very interesting book at the moment.
She is looking for her set of keys.
However, there are some exceptions concerning some groups of verbs:
If you use verbs that end with an -e like to come, to make, to take, to brake, to bake, to save, you have to leave out the -e when adding -ing:
to takeShe is taking her son to the doctor.
to comeThe family is coming down the street right now.
to bakeI am baking a cake.
to saveWe are saving money to buy a new car.
If you use verbs that end with -ie like to lie, to die, you have to change the -ie into y when adding -ing:
to lieI think he is lying to me.
If you use verbs that end with a short vowel + a consonant like -m, -n, -p, -t like to run, to hop, to cut, to shut, you have to double the consonant when adding -ing:
to run The kids are running around the yard.
to hop They are hopping around the room like rabbits.
to cut She is cutting out something.
Now practise the present progressive tense. Read the sentences below and choose the correct forms.
Read the following text. A girl describes what she sees in a picture. Complete the text. Put the verbs in brackets in the present progressive tense and write them into the gaps.
You pose a yes-no-question using the present progressive in the same way as you would pose a yes-no-question with "to be". If you can't remember the rules, click here.
Just change the word order of the sentence. The question has the following word order:
Form of to be + noun/pronoun (+ adverb) + verb + -ing + ….?
If you look at the question closely, you can see that you only switch the subject of the sentence and the form of "to be":
The weather is getting better. Is the weather getting better?
He is taking the garbage outside. Is he taking the garbage outside?
The kids are running around the yard. Are the kids running around the yard?
It's the same with negative statements and yes-no-questions:
The weather is not getting better. Is the weather not getting better?
He is not taking the garbage outside. Is he not taking the garbage outside?
The kids are not running around the yard. Are the kids not running around the yard?
Wh-questions
Click here to read how to pose a Wh-question.
Here are some examples of Wh-questions using the present progressive:
What are you doing?
Where are you going?
Who is calling?
Change the positive statements into questions. To pose the question, use all the words from the statement.
You use the present progressive tense in three different cases:
to describe what someone is doing at the moment of speech or around the time of speech:
Where are the kids? – They are playing outside. At the time when the person asks the question, the kids are playing outside.
to talk about something that is happening and has not finished yet:
I am reading a really good book at the moment. ,
The person is reading it at the time, he or she has not finished it yet.
to express that something is happening out of the ordinary:
Usually we don't spend much money on cars, but this time we are getting a really expensive one.
Imagine that some of your friends are visiting you. While they are at your place, another friend is calling you on the phone. He or she asks what you are doing at the moment. Think about your answer and write it down. Use the present progressive tense as well as some adverbs of time such as just, right now, at the moment, etc. There is no right or wrong answer! You can take a look at the sample solution if you need to.
At the moment, some friends of mine are with me. We are just sitting around chatting. We are talking about old times. Some people are looking at photos from our school days. Others are searching for our classmates on the internet. Some are just smoking cigarettes outside.
She is taking her son to the doctor.