Present Progressive Tense Examples & Use

The present progressive (also referred to as the present continuous) is a verb tense that is used when describing a temporary action that is currently happening. It can also be used when describing future plans (e.g., “She is starting a new job tomorrow”).

The present progressive uses a conjugated form of the auxiliary verb “be” along with the present participle (“-ing” form) of the main verb (e.g., “He is reading”).

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I am going I am not going Am I going?

You are going You aren’t going Are you going?

He/she/it is going He/she/it isn’t going Is he/she/it going?

We are going We aren’t going Are we going?

You are going You aren’t going Are you going?

They are going They aren’t going Are they going?

How to use the present progressive

The form the verb “be” takes in the present progressive is determined by the subject. The first person (“I”) uses “am,” the third person singular (“he,” “she,” “it”) uses “is,” and all other persons (“we,” “you,” “they”) use “are.”

The subject and verb are often combined in a contraction (e.g., “he’s,” “I’m,” “we’re”), and the main verb is always in the present participle (“-ing”) form.

The present progressive is used to describe an ongoing (continuous) action or event. It is most frequently used when discussing current actions and future intentions or plans.

     Present progressive examplesHe is listening to music.

     We are eating at that new restaurant tomorrow.

    When is our train leaving?

The present progressive is also used in some other contexts:

• Describing a change process that happens over time

• Emphasizing (when used with the adverb “always”) that something happens repeatedly

• Describing a new development or trend that differs from the past

      Present progressive examples:

      The sea level is rising.

      She is always making excuses.

      Why are more people traveling to Europe these days?

Present Participle – Spelling Rules

Generally, the present participle is formed by adding -ing to the base infinitive form of a verb. However, there are a few exceptions:

• An -e at the end of the word is removed, but -ee, -oe and -ye remain unchanged.

Example:

• come – coming
  (but: agree - agreeing)

• The final consonant is doubled in words that have a short stressed vowel before the final consonant. However, -w, -x and -y are not doubled
  
  

Example:

• sit – sitting
  (but: fix –fixing)

• An -l as the final consonant after a vowel is always doubled in British English but not in American English.

Example:

• travel – travelling (British), traveling (American)

• An -ie at the end of the word is replaced by a -y.
  
  

Example:

• lie – lying

Exercises:

www.liveworksheets.com/w/en/english-second-language-esl/1994766#google_vignette 

wordwall.net/es/resource/3982298/present-progressive-true-or-false 

wordwall.net/es/resource/4385117/present-progressive 

www.liveworksheets.com/w/en/efl-english-foreign-language/70093 

www.liveworksheets.com/w/es/english/1212278 

Questions are also really, really easy. Just like we made the question with 'be' in the present simple, here we also put 'am', 'is', or 'are' before the subject to make a 'yes / no' question:

Yes / No Questions

am I eating chocolate ?

are you studying now ?

is he working ?

is she doing her homework ?

is it raining ?

are we meeting at six ?

are they coming ?

For 'wh' questions, just put the question word at the front:

Wh Questions

Why am I eating chocolate ?

What are you studying now ?

When is he working ?

What is she doing ?

Why is it raining ?

Who are we meeting ?

How are they travelling ?

Exercises:

www.liveworksheets.com/w/en/english-language/181008 

www.liveworksheets.com/w/en/english-second-language-esl/247164 

wordwall.net/es/resource/21856435/english/present-progressive 

wordwall.net/es/resource/27723068/esl/present-continuous-questions-new