Present Continuous

The Present Continuous is used for actions that are happening around the present time. For example, "I am studying English" means that I am in the process of studying English now.

Form

The Present Continuous is formed by adding the verb "to be" and the -ing form

Singular Affirmative I am studying You are studying She is studying He is studying It is studying Negative I am not studying You are not studying She is not studying He is not studying It is not studying Questions Do I have a pen? Do you have a pen? Does she has a pen? Does he has a pen? Does it have a pen?

Plural Affirmative We are studying You are studying They are studying Negative We do not have a pen = We don't have a pen You do not have a pen = You don't have a pen They do not have a pen = They don't have a pen Questions Do we have a pen? Do you have a pen? Do they have a pen?

For negatives we simply add not after the auxilary verb "to be", for example:
- I am playing - I am not playing.

For questions we invert the subject and auxiliary verb to be, for example:
- You are playing - Are you playing?

Usage

The Present Continuous is used for actions happening at the present time. For example:
- We are studying English.
- You are using a computer.

The Present Continuous is also used for processes happening around the present time. For example:
- It is raining today.
- I am working in Paris this month.
- The world is turning.
The time period of the first sentence is today, the second sentence one month, and the third sentence forever, but all of these sentences are about processes that happen around the present. They started before the present, are happening now, and will continue after the present. This is a key idea of the Present Continuous.

The Present Continuous is also used for repeated actions or habits. Such repetition is seen as one continuing process. For example:
- I am getting up early this week.
Obviously I'm not getting up just one time for a whole week, but during one week I will get up early every day, so this can be seen as one process.

The Present Continuous is also used for future arrangements at a particular time. For example:
- I'm going to Rome at 10.30 tomorrow.
- She's coming to my apartment this evening.

Spelling

To make the -ing form, also known as the present participle, we usually add -ing to the verb. For example:
- study - studying
- eat - eating
- jump - jumping

For verbs ending in -e, we leave out the -e and add -ing. For example:
- write - writing: not writeing
- skat - skating: not skateing.

For verbs ending in a vowel and a consonant, we usually double the last consonant and add -ing. For example:
- run - running: not runing
- cut - cutting: not cuting

For verbs ending in -ie we change the -ie to -y and add -ing. For example:
- lie - lying: not lieing.