Present Continuous

Hi there! I'm The Present Continuous Guy. I'm here to tell you what I'm doing at the moment because my life is changing a lot these days.  Now I'm not studying, but I'm working in a Body Piercing Tattoo shop. I like tattoos. At the moment I'm wearing nine tattoos and ten piercings.

At present I'm playing the guitar in a heavy metal group called "Metal Bananas".

This evening I' m playing with some friends in Marbella in a birthday party. I' m going out with a girl, but she's working in the disco today. She isn't coming with me to the party. Are you coming with me guys?

Comprehension
Si quieres aprender cómo se forma y cuándo se usa el Present Continuous haz click en los siguientes apartados:
Present Continuous Form
Present Continuous Use
Practica lo aprendido con los siguientes ejercicios:
"Let's practise"

Form	Use	Contrast
Exercise 1 Exercise 2 Exercise 3	Exercise 1	Exercise 1 Exercise 2

FORM

[am/is/are + present participle]

Examples:

• You are watching TV.
• Are you watching TV?
• You are not watching TV.

Complete List of Present Continuous Forms

USE 1 Now

Use the Present Continuous with Normal Verbs to express the idea that something is happening now, at this very moment. It can also be used to show that something is not happening now.

Examples:

• You are learning English now.
• You are not swimming now.
• Are you sleeping?
• I am sitting.
• I am not standing.
• Is he sitting or standing?
• They are reading their books.
• They are not watching television.
• What are you doing?
• Why aren't you doing your homework?

USE 2 Longer Actions in Progress Now

In English, "now" can mean: this second, today, this month, this year, this century, and so on. Sometimes, we use the Present Continuous to say that we are in the process of doing a longer action which is in progress; however, we might not be doing it at this exact second.

Examples: (All of these sentences can be said while eating dinner in a restaurant.)

• I am studying to become a doctor.
• I am not studying to become a dentist.
• I am reading the book Tom Sawyer.
• I am not reading any books right now.
• Are you working on any special projects at work?
• Aren't you teaching at the university now?

USE 3 Near Future

Sometimes, speakers use the Present Continuous to indicate that something will or will not happen in the near future.

Examples:

• I am meeting some friends after work.
• I am not going to the party tonight.
• Is he visiting his parents next weekend?
• Isn't he coming with us tonight?

USE 4 Repetition and Irritation with "Always"

The Present Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happens. Notice that the meaning is like Simple Present, but with negative emotion. Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and "verb+ing."

Examples:

• She is always coming to class late.
• He is constantly talking. I wish he would shut up.
• I don't like them because they are always complaining.

REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs/ Mixed Verbs

It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for Mixed Verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using Present Continuous with these verbs, you must use Simple Present.

Examples:

• She is loving this chocolate ice cream. Not Correct
• She loves this chocolate ice cream. Correct

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

• You are still watching TV.
• Are you still watching TV?

EXERCISES 

• Verb Tense Exercise 1 Simple Present and Present Continuous
• Verb Tense Exercise 2 Simple Present and Present Continuous

Watch this video:

La estructura básica del presente continuo:

Present Continuous Tense - English Grammar - by Englischbox on Youtube

           The Present Continuous Tense by learnamericanenglish on Youtube

Otro en Castellano: Presente Continuo
La estructura básica del afirmativo del presente continuo: (somebody=alguien; somewhere-algún sitio; something=algo)

	suj	aux	verbo
	I	am	eating	something.	Estoy comiendo algo.
	You	are	talking	to somebody.	Estas hablando con alguien.
	He	is	listening	to something.	Está escuchando algo. (él)
	She	is	reading	something.	Está leyendo algo. (ella)
	It	is	going	somewhere.	Va a algún sitio.
	You	are	looking	at something.	Mirais algo.
	We	are	wearing	something.	Llevamos algo puesto.
	They	are	sitting	somewhere.	Están sentados en algún sitio.

Practicar:

Present Continous Activities - Escucha las oraciones en presente continuo y haz las actividades.

Nota: Con el presente continuo se utilizan dos verbos: la forma correspondiente del verbo "to be" como verbo auxilar y la forma básica del verbo (el infinitivo) como verbo principal (más "ing").
Nota: Normalmente, simplemente se añade "ing" al verbo para formar el verbo principal (Llamado "presente participio" por unos y forma "-ing" por otros). En los verbos de una sola sílaba que acaban en una vocal y una consonante, se dobla la consonante: "sit" = "sitting". En los verbos que acaban en una vocal, una consonante y "e", se quita la "e" y se reemplaza con "ing": "write" = "writing", "rate" = "rating", "like" = "liking".

Una diferencia entre el presente continuo y el presente simple: Algunas ideas en inglés pueden sonar un tanto absurdas a oídos españoles si se traducen directamente. Por ejemplo, "We are wearing something" equivale a "Llevamos algo puesto" y no "Estamos llevando algo puesto", o "They are sitting" equivale a "Están sentados" y no "Están sentándose" como en español. La razón por la que utilizamos el presente continuo para describir estas situaciones es que el presente simple en inglés se limita a describir hábitos y características (o verdades generales). En otras palabras, si utilizáramos el presente simple para decir "we wear something" sonaría a que tenemos ese hábito o característica. (Por ejemplo: "Llevamos puesto algo todos los días" o "Llevamos puesto algo por regla general".)

La estructura básica del negativo del presente continuo:

suj	aux		verbo
I	am	not	eating	something.	No estoy comiendo algo.
You	are	not	talking	to somebody.	No estas hablando con alguien.
He	is	not	listening	to something.	No está escuchando algo. (él)
She	is	not	reading	something.	No está leyendo algo. (ella)
It	is	not	going	somewhere.	No va a algún sitio.
You	are	not	looking	at something.	No mirais algo.
We	are	not	wearing	something.	No llevamos algo puesto.
They	are	not	sitting	somewhere.	No están sentados en algún sitio.

Nota: Contracciones: Se suele contraer "It is" con "it's", "it is not" con "it's not" o "it isn't", "you are" con "you're", "we are not" con "we're not" o "we aren't", "that is" con "that's", "that is not" con "that's not" o "that isn't", etc. (Nota: "I am not" solamente se contrae con "I'm not").
La estructura básica del interrogativo del presente continuo: (anywhere = alguna o cualquier parte, anybody = cualquiera, alguien, anything = cualquier cosa, algo)

	aux	suj	verbo
	Am	I	eating	something?	¿Estoy comiendo algo?
	Are	you	talking	to somebody?	¿Estas hablando con alguien?
	Is	he	listening	to something?	¿Está escuchando algo? (él)
	Is	she	reading	something?	¿Está leyendo algo? (ella)
	Is	it	going	somewhere?	¿Va a algún sitio?
	Are	you	looking	at something?	¿Mirais algo?
	Are	we	wearing	something?	¿Llevamos algo puesto?
	Are	they	sitting	somewhere?	¿Están sentados en algún sitio?

Nota: La palabra "some" y "any" a veces significan lo mismo. La principal diferencia es que "some" se suele utilizar para afirmativas y "any" para negativas y interrogativas.
Nota: En el presente continuo interrogativo simplemente se intercambia el verbo "to be" con el sujeto para hacer la pregunta.
La estructura básica de las respuestas cortas del presente continuo (e iguales a las del verbo "to be"):

	Af.					Neg.
	Yes,	I am.				No,	I'm not.
	Yes,	you are.				No,	you aren't. (you're not)
	Yes,	he is.				No,	he isn't. (he's not)
	Yes,	she is.				No,	she isn't. (she's not)
	Yes,	it is.				No,	it isn't. (it's not)
	Yes,	we are.				No,	we aren't. (we're not)
	Yes,	you are.				No,	you aren't. (you're not)
	Yes,	they are.				No,	they aren't. (they're not)