The present continuous

A Introduction

The present continuous means that we are in the middle of an action.

The present continuous is the present tense of be + an ing-form.

I am looking. OR I'm looking.

you/we/they are looking. OR you/we/they're looking.

he/she/it is looking OR he/she/it's looking

NEGATIVE

I'm not looking.

you/we/they aren't looking

he/she/it isn't looking

QUESTION

am I looking?

are you/we/they looking?

is he/she/it looking?

OTHER EXAMPLES

I'm getting the lunch ready.

The train is coming, look.

We're looking for a post office.

Rachel isn't wearing her new dress.

What are you doing?

Who is Vicky dancing with?

We use the present continuous to say that we are in the middle of an action.

I'm waiting for the train. (I'm at the station now.)

I'm getting the lunch ready. (I'm in the kitchen now.)

I'm waiting means that I am in the middle of a period of waiting. The wait is not yet over.

We can also use the present continuous when we are in the middle of something but not actually doing it at the moment of speaking.

I must get back to the office. We're working on a new project.

I'm quite busy these days. I'm doing a course at college.

We can use the present continuous when things are changing over a long period.

The number of cars on the road is increasing.

The earth is slowly getting warmer.