Present continuous | English tenses

Form:

I	am	working.
you, we, they	are
he, she, it	is

use am, are, is + the -ing form of the verb. We use the short form more often than the full form, especially when speaking.

Uses:

- Activities at the moment of speaking:

I'm just leaving work. I'll be home in an hour.

- Future plans or arrangements:

Jennifer is going to a new school next term.

Questions:

We make questions by putting am, is or are in front of the subject:

- Are you listening?

Negatives

We make negatives by putting not (or n't) after am, is, are:

I'm not doing that.

High level

We also use the present continuous to talk about:

- Something which is happening before and after a specific time:

At nine o'clock we are usually having breakfast.

- Something which we think is temporary:

Jennifer is at university. She's studying history.

- Something which is new and contrasts with a previous state:

These days most people are using email instead of writing letters.

- Something which is changing, growing or developing:

Your Spanish is improving.

- Something which happens again and again:

Lucy is great. She's always laughing.

Note that we normally use always with this use.

Higher level

We can use the present continuous to talk about the past when we are:

- Telling a story:

The other day I'm just walking down the street when suddenly this woman comes up to me and asks me to lend him some money. Well, she's carrying a big stick and she looks a bit dangerous, so I'm wondering what to do …

- Summarising a book, film or play:

John is a pupil at New York school. One day when he is playing soccer he sees a strange object in the sky. He wonders what is happening …