Present Progressive

Form of Present Progressive

P: He is speaking.
N: He is not speaking.
Q: Is he speaking?

Use of Present Progressive

Present Progressive is used for actions in the present and focusses on the course or duration of the
action.
Action taking place now
Being in the middle of doing something at the time of speaking.
Examples:
Carla is preparing the briefing.
I am looking for Mister Millers phone number.
Action taking place for a limited period of time only.
Actions that don't take place regularly, but only temporarily.
Examples:
Mister Thomson is on sick leave, that's why I am doing his job.
Three temporary employees are helping out this month.
Arranged future actions
Future actions that are already arranged (and maybe even jot down in a diary)
Beispiele:
I am meeting Misses Walker at 5 pm.
Bob is doing overtime tomorrow.

Signal Words of Present Progressive

at the moment, just, just now, Listen!, Look!, now, right now

The present progressive puts emphasis on the course or duration of an action.

The present progressive is used for actions going on in the moment of speaking and for actions
taking place only for a short period of time. It is also used to express development and actions that
are arranged for the near future.
Present progressive is also known as present continuous
Use:
am with the personal pronoun I
is with the personal pronouns he, she or it (or the singular form of nouns)
are with the personal pronouns you, we, they (or the plural form of nouns)
affirmative
I
I am playing.
he, she, it
He is playing.
you, we, they You are playing.

negative
question
I am not playing.
Am I playing?
He is not playing.
Is he playing?
You are not playing. Are you playing?

A single, silent e at the end of the word is dropped before ing.

example: come - coming
I am coming home. You are coming home. He is coming home.
But: ee at the end of the word is not changed
example: agree - agreeing

The final consonant after a short, stressed vowel is doubled before ing.
example: sit - sitting
I am sitting on the sofa. You are sitting on the sofa. He is sitting on the sofa.

The letter l as final consonant after a vowel is always doubled before ing.
example: travel - travelling
I am travelling around. You are travelling around. He is travelling around.
Mind: This applies only for British English; in American English there is usually only one l.

affirmative
I am playing. - I'm playing.
He is playing. - He's playing.

negative
I am not playing. - I'm not playing.
He is not playing. - He's not playing. / He isn't playing.
We are not playing. - We're not playing. /We aren't
We are playing. - We're playing.
playing.

Actions taking place at the moment of speaking (now)

The action is going on now.
Signal words like now, at the moment are often used to emphasise
that the action is taking place at the moment of speaking. Signal
words are not really necessary, however, as this is already
expressed by the tense itself.
He is playing football.
Arrangements for the near future
In the example you can see that the tickets are already bought.
So we are talking about an arrangement for the near future.
To make clear that the action is not going on now, we usually
use signal words like tonight, tomorrow, next Friday, at noon.
I'm going to the theatre
tonight.
Actions taking place only for a limited period of time
Here we are talking about a time limit. Jim does not
usually work in the firm, he is still at school and wants
to earn some extra money during his holidays.
To make clear that there is a time limit, we usually use
signal words, e.g. this week/month/year.
Jim is helping in his brother's firm
this week.
Actions taking place around now (but not at the moment of speaking)
This action takes place around now and only for a limited period
of time, but not at the moment of speaking.
We don't have to use signal words here, but we often find signal
words in such sentences, e.g. now, at the moment.
I'm studying for my
exams.

Development, changing situations

The sentence describes a development from one
situation to another.
Signal words are not that common here, only
sometimes the change of situation is emphasised
by using for example more and more.
The
population of China is rising very fast.

Actions taking place at the moment of speaking (now)

at the moment
now / just now / right now
Listen!
Look!

Arrangements for the near future

in the morning / in the afternoon / in the evening

at noon / tonight
tomorrow
next ...

Actions taking place only for a limited period of time

this week / this month / this year

Actions taking place around now (but not at the moment of speaking)
at the moment
now / just now / right now

Development, changing situations

more and more

Form
affirmative
negative
question
I
I am playing.
I am not playing.
Am I playing?
he, she, it
He is playing.
He is not playing.
Is he playing?
you, we, they You are playing. You are not playing. Are you playing?

Exceptions in Spelling
Exeption
silent e is dropped before ing (but: ee is not changed)
final consonant after short, stressed vowel is doubled
final consonant l after vowel is always doubled (in British
English)
ie becomes y before ing

Example
come - coming (but: agree agreeing)
sit - sitting
travel - travelling
lie - lying

Short Forms
positive
I am playing. - I'm playing.
He is playing. - He's playing.

negative
I am not playing. - I'm not playing.
He is not playing. - He's not playing. / He isn't playing.
We are not playing. - We're not playing. /We aren't
We are playing. - We're playing.
playing.

Use
Use
actions taking place at the moment of speaking (now)
arrangements for the near future
actions taking place only for a limited period of time

Example
He is playing football.
I'm going to the theatre tonight.
Jim is helping in his brother's firm this
week.

actions taking place around now (but not at the moment of

I'm studying for my exams.
speaking)
The population of China is rising very
development, changing situations
fast.

Typical Signal Words

at the moment
now / just now / right now
Listen!
Look!