Present Tenses
We often use the Present Continuous tense in English. It is very different from the Present Simple tense, both in structure and in use.
How do we make the Present Continuous tense?
The structure of the Present Continuous tense is:
| subject | + | auxiliary be | + | main verb |
| conjugated in Present Simple | ||||
| am, are, is | present participle (-ing) |
The auxiliary verb (be) is conjugated in the Present Simple: am, are, is
The main verb is invariable in present participle form: -ing
For negative sentences we insert not between the auxiliary verb and the main verb.
For question sentences, we exchange the subject and the auxiliary verb.
Look at these example sentences with the Present Continuous tense:
| subject | auxiliary verb | main verb | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| + | I | am | speaking | to you. | |
| + | You | are | reading | this. | |
| - | She | is | not | staying | in London. |
| - | We | are | not | playing | football. |
| ? | Is | he | watching | TV? | |
| ? | Are | they | waiting | for John? |