Present progressive or present progressive (present continuous) is the designation of the present continuous tense in English. The article will present the grammatical foundations of the use of this tense in the affirmative, negative and interrogative forms of sentences. After each definition and at the end of the article, examples with translation will be given to reinforce.
Basic rules of use
So, what are the rules in present progressive and how to use it? As said, it is used for actions in the present that are in progress: right now, in the near future, or in the current period.
The sentence scheme with the affirmative form of the given tense consists of a pronoun with an auxiliary part (am, is, are), denoting the present tense (to be) + a verb link with the ending -ing.
For the present, the binder to be has three forms. It depends which person comes fromnarrative and their numbers:
- I. I am
- He|She|It. He|She|It is
- You|They|We. You|We|They are
The ending -ing needs to be "added" to the form of the verb:
- Read. Read - Reading
- Watch. Watch - Watching
- Swim. Swim – Swimming
Thus, when speaking for yourself, you must use the auxiliary verb am: I am reading. I am reading or: I do. I am doing.
When is the present continuous used in English?
In English, there are several variations when present progressive is used. Here are four directions:
- The present continuous indicates the process taking place at the moment of speaking: I am watching a movie. I am watching a movie. This distinguishes it from the present simple tense, which is used for actions that occur intermittently or constantly: Every year I watch this movie at Christmas. Every year I watch this movie in Christmas.
- Also, a progressive present describes some temporary phenomenon that may not be happening right now, but is relevant in the current period. For example: I am preparing for the exam. I am preparing for the exam. Here, the action is indicated not at this minute / second, but in the current segment and for a certain period (before passing the exam).
- Another example of a present is progressive: for some action that is planned in the near future. For example: We are leaving on Friday. We're leaving this Friday. Note that the day of the week in this sentence is preceded by the preposition on. In any other sentences in English, this preposition is placed before the day of the week.
- And the next case, when used for a long time - to describe actions or phenomena in which something is expressed in a negative way. For this, adverbs are usually used, which can be translated into Russian as "permanently" or "forever", this is always / constantly. For example: She always loses her mobile phone. She is always losing her cellphone.
Verbs not used in Present Progressive
Are there any cases when the verb is not used? As a rule, the present progressive is not used with static verbs that denote a certain state - static verbs. These include words that describe processes in relation to sensory, mental perception or attitude. They mean some activity that takes place in the mind, and a person does not have the opportunity to observe them.
Such verbs include the following: to feel - to feel, to think - to think, to love - to love, to need - to need, to mean - to mean, to mean, and others. As you can see, these words denote some kind of thinking or feeling. Due to the fact that the Progressive denotes a certain duration of actions, these verbs are not used.
Use present progressive in negative forms
To build a negative sentence, you need to add toauxiliary verb particle not.
For example:
- I am not translating the article now. I am not translating the article now.
- He's not swimming right now. He is not swimming now.
- They are not watching TV now. They are not watching TV now.
In colloquial English, abbreviated forms with personal pronouns are actively used. An apostrophe (') is inserted in place of missing letters. Abbreviated forms are more applicable for oral speech, however, they are often used in writing: in newspapers, messages, advertising signs.
For example:
- No, I don't drive now. No, I'm not driving a car now.
- She doesn't try to learn the poem. She isn't trying to learn a poem.
- They are not skating now. They aren't skating now.
Use in a question-sentence
To build an interrogative sentence, you need to move the auxiliary verb before the subject, answering the question: who? what?
For example:
- I'm reading Lermontov's poem right now? Am I reading a poem of Lermontov now?
- Is she going to the museum? Is she going to the museum?
- Are they gardening now? Are they working in the garden now?
Offers with present progressive
So, for better assimilation, here are a few phrases with the affirmative, negative and interrogative form of the present continuous tense in English with translation:
- Look! It's snowing. look! It is snowing now.
- Ira is writing a letter now. Ira is writing a letter now.
- It's cold. The wind is picking up. It is cold. Wind is getting stronger.
- Where are you going? - I'm going to go to the department store. Where are you going? - I am going to the emporium.
- She's making panna cotta. She is cooking panna cotta.
- What is he doing? - He's working on a report. What is he doing? - He is working on the report.
- The teachers are enjoying this evening. Teachers are enjoying the evening.
- He talks all the time at meetings. He is constantly chattering on meetings.
- What are you doing? - I watch the morning TV show. What are you doing? - I am watching morning TV show.
- They are playing chess now. They are playing chess now.
Conclusion
The present continuous tense is very often used in English: in speech and writing, in literature. Based on the very name of time, it is already possible to understand that it describes an action in a progressive state. The present progressive in English grammar indicates a process that is going on in the present. However, there are a number of verbs that are not used in Progressive tense - these are verbs of sensory perception and mental activity.
