The Present Continuous Tense
The Present Continuous Vs The Present Simple
We use the present simple tense for usual or repeated actions, facts, future schedules and stative verbs.
| Subject | Verb | |
|---|
| I | play | every Saturday. |
| You | start | tomorrow. |
| He | reads | every day. |
| Tom | runs | every morning. |
| She | knows | the answer. |
| Sara | sings | every day. |
| It | begins | next week. |
| Ice | melts | at zero degrees. |
| We | understand | the question. |
| They | walk | every day. |
| The games | begin | next Monday. |
| The planets | move | around the Sun. |
We use the present continuous tense for temporary actions happening now or around now and for future arrangements:
| Subject | BE | Action/Gerund | | Time Phrase |
|---|
| I | am | working | at home | right now. |
| You | are | playing | well | these days. |
| He | is | meeting | her | tomorrow. |
| Bob | is | swimming | in the pool | right now. |
| She | is | studying | hard | these days. |
| It | is | doing | a check | now. |
| The computer | is | installing | some software | right now. |
| We | are | coming | to visit | tomorrow. |
| They | are | selling | a lot | this month. |
| The dogs | are | eating | dinner | right now. |
| Tom and Jerry | are | running | around | at the moment. |
| Tip! |
|---|
| * Stative Verbs are not usually actions. We use the present simple for state verbs: |
| I am understanding. ✘ |
| I understand. ✔ |
| I am knowing. ✘ |
| I know. ✔ |
| Stative Verbs |
|---|
| agree |
| appear |
| be |
| believe |
| cost |
| feel |
| have (possess) |
| hear |
| imagine |
| include |
| know |
| like |
| look (seem) |
| love |
| mean |
| mind |
| need |
| owe |
| own |
| possess |
| promise |
| realise |
| remember |
| see |
| seem |
| smell |
| sound |
| taste |
| think (have an opinion) |
| understand |
| want |
| weigh |
| wish |
Now try the quiz below!