Questions and Time Expressions in Present Continuous

The Present Continuous tense is also used to form questions and can be accompanied by specific time expressions to indicate when an action is taking place.

Forming Questions

To form questions in the Present Continuous, move the auxiliary verb (am/is/are) to the beginning of the sentence:

• Are you feeding the dog?
• Is he/she/it feeding the dog?
• Are we/you/they feeding the dog?

Short answers:

• Yes, I am. / No, I'm not.
• Yes, he/she/it is. / No, he/she/it isn't.
• Yes, we/you/they are. / No, we/you/they aren't.

Highlight: In questions, the auxiliary verb (am/is/are) moves to the beginning of the sentence. When translated to some languages, this can be equivalent to starting with "czy" (Polish).

Time Expressions

Common time expressions used with the Present Continuous include:

• Now
• At the moment
• For the time being
• This morning/week/month/year
• Today

Examples:

• I am feeding the dog now.
• She is feeding the dog at the moment.
• My mum is feeding the dog for the time being.
• His brother is feeding the dog this morning.
• They are feeding the dog today.

Example: "We are studying English at the moment." (using a time expression to emphasize the current action)

These time expressions help to emphasize that the action is happening at or around the present moment, which is a key characteristic of the Present Continuous tense.

Vocabulary: Time expressions are words or phrases that indicate when an action is taking place. They help to provide context for the use of the Present Continuous tense.

Present Continuous Tense

The Present Continuous tense is a versatile grammatical structure in English used to express actions happening at the moment of speaking, temporary situations, or planned future events. This tense is formed by combining a form of the verb "be" (am, is, are) with the main verb ending in -ing.

Key points about the Present Continuous:

• Used for actions happening now or around the present time
• Expresses temporary situations
• Indicates planned future actions
• Formed with "be" (am/is/are) + verb-ing

Definition: The Present Continuous tense describes ongoing actions or temporary states in the present moment.

Affirmative Sentences

The structure for affirmative sentences in Present Continuous is:

Subject + am/is/are + verb-ing + rest of the sentence

Examples:

• I am feeding the dog.
• He/She/It is feeding the dog.
• We/You/They are feeding the dog.

Example: "I'm reading a book right now." (action happening at the moment)

Negative Sentences

To form negative sentences, add "not" after am/is/are:

• I am not feeding the dog.
• He/She/It is not feeding the dog.
• We/You/They are not feeding the dog.

Contractions are common in spoken English:

• I'm not
• He/She/It isn't
• We/You/They aren't

Highlight: In negative sentences, "not" is placed after the auxiliary verb (am/is/are), while the rest of the sentence remains unchanged.

Adding -ing to Verbs

Rules for adding the -ing ending:

1. For most verbs, simply add -ing:

   • talk → talking
   • play → playing

2. For verbs ending in -e, remove the -e and add -ing:

   • take → taking
   • write → writing

3. For short verbs with one syllable, one vowel, and ending in a consonant, double the final consonant:

   • run → running
   • swim → swimming

Vocabulary: Monosyllabic verbs are words with only one syllable, like "run" or "swim".