Meaning
All Continuous (or Progressive) tenses express that the duration of a verb extends beyond the time reference. For the Present Continuous tense, the action might have begun before the current moment, and it typically continues into the near future.
The Present Continuous tense is commonly used to express a verb in progress at this very moment (like “You are reading an encyclopedia article,”). The Present Simple tense, by contrast, is more likely to be used for states that apply to the moment (like “I don’t have all the answers,”) or for habitual actions that are not time-bound (like “She teaches English,”).
While the Present Continuous lasts for a sustained period of time — which may feel like a long time depending on one’s perspective — it does not last indefinitely. A present verb that continues on with no end in sight should instead be expressed in the Present Simple tense. Notably, the Present Continuous tense is ultimately understood to be temporary.
Structure
BE + Active Participle
For the Present Continuous tense, the verb string needs to have some form of the auxiliary verb BE. The specific form of BE depends on the subject: ‘am’ for 1st-person singular; ‘is’ for 3rd-person singular; and ‘are’ for 2nd-person singular and all plural subjects. However, if the verb string has a modal verb at its start, the Continuous BE should then take on the form ‘be’ instead.
The verb that immediately follows the Continuous BE should be in the Active Participle form, and in most cases that would be the main verb. The form of any Active Participle simply has the -ing suffix.
Here are some example sentences:
- “I am watching television.” ← with 1st-person singular subject
- “You are watching television.” ← with 2nd-person singular subject
- “She is watching television.” ← with 3rd-person singular subject
- “We are watching television.” ← with plural subject
- “I could be watching television.” ← with modal
Notice that for each of the examples above, the auxiliary BE takes different forms, but it is always followed by the -ing form.
Structural Variations
Here are some structural variations of the third of the examples above; note how the changes are reflected only in the auxiliary verb:
- “She‘s watching television.” ← in contracted form
- “She isn’t watching television.” ← as negative
- “Is she watching television?” ← as a question
Note that am, is, and are can each be contracted as ‘m, ‘s, and ‘re, respectively.
Usage
Currently Active
The Present Continuous tense can express what the subject is doing at this very moment. This tense is sometimes call ‘Present Progressive’ because the verb is in progress as we speak. In this sense, “Piotr is playing basketball,” means that when that sentence is expressed, Piotr is on the court with his team, receiving a pass from his teammate, trying to block a shot, etc. The example toward the top of this article of “You are reading an encyclopedia article,” also applies because it is an activity that you are engaged in right now.
To emphasize that the action is currently in progress, we might used adverbial phrases like ‘right now’, ‘at the moment’, ‘as we speak’, etc.
Ongoing
The Present Continuous tense can also express ongoing actions that occur around this time, even if they’re not active at this precise moment. For example, Piotr’s parents might communicate that “Piotr is playing basketball,” to explain his activities for this semester, but perhaps at this very moment he is sitting in a classroom. What that sentence really communicates is not his immediate action, but his recurring action. It might also indicate his involvement on the basketball team as a characteristic of Piotr’s life at this time.
Action Verbs Only
The vast majority of verbs fall into one of two categories: Action Verbs and Stative Verbs.
- Action Verbs express what a subject does, or sometimes what is done to a subject. Actions can typically be demonstrated. The majority of verbs in our dictionary qualify as Action Verbs.
- Stative Verbs express a state of the subject; that is, what the subject is or has. Static Linking Verbs (like ‘is’ or ‘seems’) qualify as Stative Verbs, as do many verbs of perception, inclusion, or worth. Visit the Stative Verbs page to learn more.
The Present Continuous tense rarely applies to Stative Verbs, although exceptions might be made if the verb is dynamic (meaning it changes from beginning to end, as in “He is getting angry,”).
Advanced Concepts
Anachronistic Usage
While the Present Continuous tense is typically used for present actions, it’s possible to also use it for past or future actions.
Past Meaning
Though it’s not terribly common, present tense forms might be used for a past tense meaning in narratives that are meant to be very immersive. A storyteller might say something like “So I‘m walking along the sidewalk, minding my own business, when this stranger starts yelling at me, but I can’t tell what she‘s talking about!” The Present Continuous form almost makes the audience feel like they’re in the moment, even if these events actually took place a week ago.
This is an example of how English grammar is formed more around perception than around reality.
Future Meaning
The future is largely unknown, so most future forms express plans or expectations that we currently have for later situations. But on occasion there is some forthcoming action or event that is as good as certain in our minds. For these, we might use a present tense form to express a future tense meaning.
This might be applied to appointments and other strict schedules, like “We‘re hosting a dinner party on Saturday,” or “The repair technician is coming tomorrow morning.” The modal auxiliary will is not used here in order to remove any uncertainty or ambiguity.
Complex Verb Strings
A Present Continuous verb might also be Perfect, Passive, modal, or any combination of those. In such cases, the verb string appears more complex. Take these examples:
- “We should be watching television.” ← with modal verb
- “We have been watching television.” ← also a Perfect tense
- “We could have been watching television.” ← Perfect, Continuous, and modal
- “We are being watched by spy surveillance.” ← in Passive Voice
- “We must be being watched by spy surveillance.” ← Continuous, Passive, and modal
While this looks more complicated — and indeed there are more factors to consider in these examples — both the form and the meaning remain consistent with the basic Present Continuous tense. Regarding the form:
- In all cases, some form of the verb BE is in the sentence.
- Whichever verb immediately follows BE is in the Active Participle form. In most cases, this would be the main verb (‘watch’). However, in Passive Voice, the subsequent verb is another BE auxiliary, which then takes on the Active Participle form of ‘being’.
Regarding the meaning, it is always in case that watch is occurring in the present, whether it is active in this precise moment or ongoing around this time. What changes is whether the situation was only theoretical; whether the action of watched began previously and is showing some results; and whether ‘we’ is the agent that carries out the action.
BE vs. BE
You may have noticed that we’ve used the term ‘the Continuous BE’ regularly throughout this page. The reason we specify it as such is to make it distinct from ‘the Passive BE’. Although the two are the same word, they take on different meanings when paired with their following participles (Active Participle for Continuous; Passive Participle for Passive) and play different roles in their verb string. It’s not common, but both BEs can be used in the same verb string, as seen in the last example of the previous section. In these cases, they have a particular order, with Continuous coming before Passive. The Continuous BE should never take the form ‘being’, although the Passive BE might.
It’s easy to get these two auxiliaries confused, but understanding the difference between them is crucial for using them correctly.
Present Perfect Continuous
The Present Perfect Continuous tense is another common Intermediate and Advanced Topic. In both form and meaning, it is a combination of the Present Perfect tense and the Continuous Aspect. It is generally used to express verbs that have carried on for a sustained period of time and which have a lingering aftereffect.
Consider the example from above: “We have been watching television.” It merges the idea that this viewing has lasted over a sustained period of time, rather than simply happening briefly (continuous) with the idea that there is some fallout in the present, like a feeling of lethargy, missing an important phone call, or extensive knowledge on a particular TV show (perfect) .
Teaching Tips
The Active Participle
Learning about this tense might be the first time that students encounter the Active Participle form. Take plenty of time to introduce it since students will hear, read, and use it time and again — not only with Continuous tenses but also with other topics like Verb Patterns, Participle Adjectives, Gerunds, and more.
Another, more popular name for the Active Participle is the ‘Present Participle’, but that term can be misleading. We strongly suggest consistently using the term ‘Active Participle’ instead, or ‘Progressive Participle’ if you prefer. Doing so may help instill the notion that that form expresses the agent is actively engaging in the verb at the moment, not matter how it’s applied. Dive into our Active Participles page to learn more.
An Essential Pair
The auxiliary BE is essential for the Present Continuous tense (or any Continuous tense, for that matter). The Active Participle is equally essential. What students need to remember is that the two of these always have to go together for any Continuous tense, always in that order (BE before -ing), and never separated by another auxiliary verb (although there could be an adverb between them).
A verb string that has -ing without BE immediately before it is not correctly in a Continuous tense.
Continuous vs. Progressive
The terms ‘Continuous’ and ‘Progressive’ are used interchangeable in English Language Teaching. However, there is a very slight linguistic difference between the two:
- Continuous suggests that the verb is recurring or generally ongoing around this time and can express a characteristic of the subject.
- Meanwhile, Progressive suggests that the verb is actively in progress in the moment.
(See the two variations in the Usage section above.) There are, of course, plenty of instances when the verb is both of these things or somewhere in between. For this reason, along with the fact that they share the same form, it’s easier to consider Continuous and Progressive to be interchangeable.
While Insights to English does not advise teaching students the slight difference between terms, we do think that it’s helpful for educators to know. It may help teachers to remember the two core use cases for Present Continuous (currently active & ongoing), even when the distinction between them is blurred.
Outside of mentions like this, Insights generally groups these two together, as is standard practice. You can choose either ‘Continuous’ or ‘Progressive’ for the label, but we’ll stick with the former.
Insider Access
Visit our How to Teach Progressive/Continuous Tenses page on www.insightstoEnglish.com for a demonstrational video, bonus notes, printouts, a slideshow for your class, practice activities, and more. That page applies not only to the Present Continuous tense but to all Continuous tenses.
Further Reading
Encyclopedia Pages
- the Continuous Aspect
- the Past Continuous tense
- Active Participles
Insights Articles
RUDIMENTARY Topics
CEFR Levels A1-A2: Beginner/Starter to Pre-Intermediate courses
