PRESENT CONTINUOUS/PROGRESSIVE

(state verbs aren’t used in this aspect)

Functions
1. Things (actions) happening now/around now or at the
time of speaking.

E.g:
-A: How can I help you?
B: Thanks, I’m just looking. (at the time of speaking/around
now)
-I’m going over some examples about Present Continuous
aspect.
-She/He is having breakfast right now. (at the time of
speaking)
-We/You/They are learning English. (around now/for some
time now)

2. Changing situations

E.g:
-The company is getting smaller day by day because of
coronavirus.
-The number of patients is increasing rapidly at present.
-The baby boy/girl is growing fast.

3. Temporary Situations/Cases

E.g:
-I live in Antalya, but I’m staying in Ankara now /for the time
being.
-She usually eats chocolate cake, but today she is eating a
cheesecake.
-I usually wear black, but now I am wearing brown trousers
and a red t-shirt.

AFFIRMATIVE FORM
I am / ‘m Ving (Object) (the rest).
She/he/it is/‘s Ving (O) (the rest).
We/you/they are/‘re Ving (O) (the rest).

NEGATIVE & QUESTION FORM

-A: Are you waiting at the bus station?

B: No, I’m not. / No, I’m not waiting at the bus station. I’m
at the corner opposite the car park.

-A: What are you doing now?

B: I am having lunch.

(-) S am/is/are not VING (O) (the rest).

(?) (Wh-) am/is/are S VING (O) (the rest)?
(short answer) Yes, S am/is/are. No, S am
not/isn’t/aren’t.

PRESENT CONTINUOUS VS PRESENT SIMPLE

1. Present Simple describes things that happen again and
again (repeated actions), states or fixed habits or routines –
things that don’t change- at present, but Present Continuous
describes temporary situations, changing situations and
actions happening now or around now or at the present
moment, but will soon finish.

E.g:
-I love doing exercise. I understand what you mean (state
verb)
I do exercise every day. (repeated action)
-The baby boy/girl is growing fast. (changing situation)
I’m doing exercise right now. (things happening around
now)
-I’m playing tennis. (temporary situation)
I play tennis. (habit/routine/permanent situation)
(present simple) ‘I play tennis’ tells us that playing tennis is something
the speaker always does. It is part of a routine or habit. We can call this
a permanent situation.
(present continuous/ progressive) ‘I am playing tennis’ tells us that the
speaker is playing tennis right now. Soon the game will be over. We call
this a temporary situation.

2. Frequency adverbs are used with Present simple, but not

with Present continuous.
E.g:Notice that the adverb comes before the main verb in the
sentence:
Always: ‘I always read before I go to bed.’

Usually:’ I usually go shopping’

Often: ‘Her sister often comes shopping with us.’

Frequently:‘Michael frequently visits his family.’

Occasionally:‘You occasionally go to the gym, don’t you?’

Sometimes:‘It sometimes rains in summer.’

Seldom:‘They seldom ask for help.’

Rarely: ‘He rarely goes out without his backpack.’

Hardly ever:‘I hardly ever eat pizza.’

Never: ‘Japanese people never wear shoes inside.’

I’m usually going shopping.

With Present Continuous, notice that the time expression

can come at the beginning or at the end of the sentence:

(At the moment,) ’I’m watching TV at the moment.’

(These days,) ‘Paul’s living in Cardiff these days.’
(Now,) ‘What are you doing now?’
(Nowadays,) ‘I think you are smoking too much nowadays.’

TIME MARKERS for PRESENT

CONTINUOUS/PROGRESSIVE
1. At the/this moment
2. (Right/Just) now
3. Day by day (for changing trend only)
4. For the time being
5. At present
6. Today, this week
7. Nowadays, these days
8. Currently, Presently

Present Simple Present Continuous

Things which are always true: Things which are happening at

the moment of speaking:
· Water boils at 100 degrees.
· The water is boiling now,
so you can put in the pasta.

Permanent situations (or nearly Temporary situations:

permanent; true for a few years at · Julie is living in Paris for a
least): few months (usually she
· Julie lives in London. lives in London).
Situations which are slowly
changing:
· I'm getting better and
better at speaking English.

Habits or things we do regularly: Temporary or new habits:

· I drink coffee every morning. · I'm drinking too much
coffee these days because
I'm so busy at work.

To talk about what happens in To talk about people or things

books, plays and films: in pictures and photos:
· At the end of the book, the · In this photo, my mother is
detective catches the killer. walking beside a lake.

Remember:

We use the Present Simple with stative verbs. We can't use any continuous tense
(including the present continuous tense) with stative verbs.
STATE VERBS
(Do not use “-ing” with these verbs)

1. Feeling Verbs: Verbs which describe a feeling

e.g: love, like, hate, dislike, need, prefer, want, desire, etc.

2. Thinking verbs: Verbs related to thinking

e.g: think, understand, believe, forget, mean, know, remember,
agree, etc
NOTE: “Think” can be used with “-ing” if it is followed by “of” or
“about”.
e.g: I think you are right.
I’m thinking of/about moving my house.

3. Sense verbs: Verbs of senses

e.g: hear, see, taste, smell, feel, look
NOTE: If the subject affects/gives the feeling/sense, these verbs are
used as state verbs because they cause the sense. If the subject is
affected or is feeling the sense, they can be used with “-ing”.
e.g: This tea tastes delicious.
I’m tasting the tea.

NOTE: After these sense verbs, you need to use an adjective, not
an adverb!
e.g: I feel good.

4. Other verbs: Verbs that give a meaning related to

existence or fact.
e.g: be, belong, contain, own, possess, have, seem

State/ non-continuous /non-progressive/ stative verbs aren't used

in continuous tenses. These verbs often describe states that last for some
time. Here is a list of some common ones:

Stative (or State) Verb List

like know belong

love realise fit

hate suppose contain

 want mean consist

need understand seem

prefer believe depend

agree remember matter

mind recognise see

own appear look (=seem)

sound taste smell

hear astonish deny

disagree please impress

satisfy promise surprise

think (=have an
doubt feel (=have an opinion)
opinion)

wish imagine concern

dislike be have

deserve involve include

measure (=have
lack possess
length etc)

owe weigh (=have weight)

NOTE 1: A verb which isn't stative is called a dynamic

(action/activity) verb, and is usually an action.

NOTE 2: Some verbs can be both stative and dynamic:

Have means “own/possess” as a state verb. It can be used with
“-ing” as an action/dynamic verb if it is used in a collocation.

E.g: We are having a barbecue party.

She is having a sandwich.

(have a picnic, have coffee, have lunch, have a burger, have a party,
have a good time, have a break, have a bath/shower etc.)

Look (=seem (v)) is a state verb, but if it becomes part of a

phrasal verb, the meaning changes according to the preposition and
it becomes a dynamic/action verb.

E.g: You look pale. You look excited. She looks happy. (seem)
She is looking at the clouds. (look)
We are looking up a word in the dictionary. (search in a book,
etc)
I’m looking for my wallet. (search for)
I’m looking after my dog. (take care of)

Think
· think (stative) = have an opinion
E.g: I think that coffee is great.
· think (dynamic) = consider, have in my head
Eg: What are you thinking about? I'm thinking about my next
holiday.