Present Continuous : I am cooking now.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to talk about things that happen regularly and things that are happening at the moment.

Exercise 1

Sentence Practice

• I cook dinner every day.
• I am cooking dinner right now.
• We talk on the phone sometimes.
• We are talking on the phone now.
• He writes to his mother every month.
• He is writing a letter now.

Grammar Focus

Why use the Present Continuous Tense

In English, we use the simple present tense to talk about things that are always or generally true: He cooks every day.

To say that something is happening right now, we use the present continuous tense:

• I walk to school everyday. → I am walking to school right now.
• He sleeps 10 hours a day. → He is sleeping now. Be quiet!

We also use the present continuous to talk about something that has not happened yet, but will happen soon:

• The boys are playing soccer today. (= the boys will play soccer today)
• Class is starting in five minutes! (= class will start in five minutes)

How to form the Present Continuous Tense

Put the helping verb 'be' before the verb in -ing form: 'be' + verb-ing.

When adding -ing to a verb, there are some general spelling rules:

1. If a verb ends in an -e which is not pronounced (as in 'make'), you should drop the -e, and add -ing:

• make + ing: I am making dinner. (not 'makeing')

However, if a verb ends in -ee, -oe, or -ye, just add -ing:

• see + ing: Are you seeing what I see?
• dye + ing: Are you dyeing your hair?

2. If a verb has more than one syllable and ends with one vowel + one consonant (as in 'begin'), and has the stress at the end of the word, then double the final consonant:

• begin + ing: Hurry up, the class is beginning! (not 'begining')

3. If a verb has one syllable, ends with one vowel + one consonant (as in 'sit'), then double the final consonant:

• sit + ing: He's sitting on the floor. (not 'siting')
• put + ing: They're putting the clothes in the laundry machine.

Exercise 2

Sentence Practice

Something that is happening now

• I am listening to music right now.
• You are washing the dishes.
• He is watching TV now.
• He is drinking green tea.

Something that will happen soon

• I'm leaving in ten minutes.
• They're arriving at 2 o'clock.
• Another teacher is visiting our class today. Please behave.

Exercise 3

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the blanks with the verb in the present progressive form.

1. I (study) ______________________ right now.

2. He (drink)______________________  coffee.

3.They (go)________________________  to a picnic.

4. She (read)_____________________________  the book, Pride and Prejudice.

5. It (rain)_____________________ .

6. We (run)____________________ .

Exercise 4

Sentence Building

Your mother calls you while you are busy. Tell her why you are busy by changing the following sentences into the present continuous tense.

I clean my room now. → "I am cleaning my room now."

1.I do the dishes now.

2.I walk to the bus stop now.

3.I go to a party.

4.I exercise.

5.I sleep.

6.I work now.