English tenses › Present Continuous
Present Continuous
Present Continuous is the tense for things happening right now, temporary situations and fixed plans for the near future.
Form
When to use it
Right now
An action in progress at the moment of speaking.
Quiet, please, I’m recording.
Temporary situations
Something true for a limited time.
I’m staying with friends this month.
Fixed arrangements
Plans already agreed for the near future.
We’re meeting the client on Thursday.
Changes and trends
Situations that are slowly changing.
Prices are going up again.
Time words
now, right now, at the moment, currently, today, this week, these days, Look!
Examples
- What are you doing?
- She’s talking to her manager.
- I’m not feeling well today.
- They’re building a new bridge.
- He’s flying to Rome tomorrow.
- Why are you laughing?
Common mistake
I am knowing the answer.
I know the answer.
State verbs (know, like, want, believe) are usually not used in Continuous forms.
Present Continuous or Present Simple?
Use Present Continuous for now and temporary things, Present Simple for habits: She’s reading a novel this week. She reads a lot. More about Present Simple.
Hear it in videos
See it in real speech. Paste any YouTube link into Tense Lens and every tense in the video is highlighted as it is spoken, with a map of where each one appears.