Present Progressive
Form of Present Progressive
• P: He is speaking.
• N: He is not speaking.
• Q: Is he speaking?
Use of Present Progressive
Present Progressive is used for actions in the present and focusses on the course or duration of the action.
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• Action taking place now
Being in the middle of doing something at the time of speaking. Examples:
Carla is preparing the briefing. I am looking for Mister Miller’s phone number.
• Action taking place for a limited period of time only. Actions that don't take place regularly, but only temporarily.
Examples: Mister Thomson is on sick leave, that's why I am doing his job. Three temporary employees are helping out this month.
• Arranged future actions Future actions that are already arranged (and maybe even jot down in a diary)
Beispiele: I am meeting Misses Walker at 5 pm. Bob is doing overtime tomorrow.
Signal Words of Present Progressive
at the moment, just, just now, Listen!, Look!, now, right now
The present progressive puts emphasis on the course or duration of an action.
The present progressive is used for actions going on in the moment of speaking and for actions taking place only for a short period of time. It is also used to express development and actions that are arranged for the near future. Present progressive is also known as present continuous
Use:
• am with the personal pronoun I
• is with the personal pronouns he, she or it (or the singular form of nouns)
• are with the personal pronouns you, we, they (or the plural form of nouns)
affirmative negative question I I am playing. I am not playing. Am I playing? he, she, it He is playing. He is not playing. Is he playing? you, we, they You are playing. You are not playing. Are you playing?
A single, silent e at the end of the word is dropped before ing.
example: come - coming I am coming home. You are coming home. He is coming home. But: ee at the end of the word is not changed
example: agree - agreeing
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The final consonant after a short, stressed vowel is doubled before ing.
example: sit - sitting I am sitting on the sofa. You are sitting on the sofa. He is sitting on the sofa.
The letter l as final consonant after a vowel is always doubled before ing.
example: travel - travelling I am travelling around. You are travelling around. He is travelling around. Mind: This applies only for British English; in American English there is usually only one l.
affirmative negative I am playing. - I'm playing. I am not playing. - I'm not playing. He is playing. - He's playing. He is not playing. - He's not playing. / He isn't playing.
We are playing. - We're playing.
We playing.
are not playing. - We're not playing. /We aren't
Actions taking place at the moment of speaking (now)
The action is going on now.
Signal words like now, at the moment are often used to emphasise that the action is taking place at the moment of speaking. Signal words are not really necessary, however, as this is already expressed by the tense itself.
Arrangements for the near future
In the example you can see that the tickets are already bought. So we are talking about an arrangement for the near future.
To make clear that the action is not going on now, we usually use signal words like tonight, tomorrow, next Friday, at noon.
Actions taking place only for a limited period of time
Here we are talking about a time limit. Jim does not usually work in the firm, he is still at school and wants to earn some extra money during his holidays.
To make clear that there is a time limit, we usually use signal words, e.g. this week/month/year.
Actions taking place around now (but not at the moment of speaking)
He is playing football.
I'm going to the theatre tonight.
Jim is helping in his brother's firm this week.
I'm studying for my exams.
This action takes place around now and only for a limited period of time, but not at the moment of speaking.
We don't have to use signal words here, but we often find signal words in such sentences, e.g. now, at the moment.
Development, changing situations
The sentence describes a development from one situation to another.
Signal words are not that common here, only sometimes the change of situation is emphasised by using for example more and more.
Actions taking place at the moment of speaking (now)
• at the moment
• now / just now / right now
• Listen!
• Look!
Arrangements for the near future
• in the morning / in the afternoon / in the evening
• at noon / tonight
• tomorrow
• next ...
Actions taking place only for a limited period of time
• this week / this month / this year
Actions taking place around now (but not at the moment of speaking)
• at the moment
• now / just now / right now
Development, changing situations
• more and more
Form
affirmative negative question I I am playing. I am not playing. Am I playing? he, she, it He is playing. He is not playing. Is he playing? you, we, they You are playing. You are not playing. Are you playing?
The population of China is rising very fast.
Exceptions in Spelling
Exeption Example
silent e is dropped before ing (but: ee is not changed)
come - coming (but: agree - agreeing) final consonant after short, stressed vowel is doubled sit - sitting final consonant l after vowel is always doubled (in British English)
travel - travelling
ie becomes y before ing lie - lying
Short Forms
positive negative I am playing. - I'm playing. I am not playing. - I'm not playing. He is playing. - He's playing. He is not playing. - He's not playing. / He isn't playing.
We are playing. - We're playing.
We playing.
are not playing. - We're not playing. /We aren't
Use
Use Example actions taking place at the moment of speaking (now) He is playing football. arrangements for the near future I'm going to the theatre tonight.
actions taking place only for a limited period of time
Jim is helping in his brother's firm this week. actions taking place around now (but not at the moment of speaking)
I'm studying for my exams.
development, changing situations
The population of China is rising very fast.
Typical Signal Words
• at the moment
• now / just now / right now
• Listen!
• Look!