Present continuous You are You Are you

The present continuous of any verb is going aren't going?

composed of two parts - the present tense going.
of the verb to be + the present participle of
the main verb. He, she, it He, she, Is he, she, it
(The form of the present participle is: is going it isn't going?
base+ing, e.g. talking, playing, moving, going
smiling)
We are We aren't Are we
going going going?
Affirmative
You are You Are you
Subject + to be + base + ing
going aren't going?
She is talking. going

They are They Are they

going aren't going?
going
Negative
FUNCTIONS OF THE PRESENT
Subject + to be + + base + ing
CONTINUOUS
not
As with all tenses in English, the speaker's
She is not (isn't) talking attitude is as important as the time of the
action or event. When someone uses the
present continuous, they are thinking about
something that is unfinished or incomplete
Interrogative
THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS IS
to be + subject + base + ing USED:
 to describe an action that is going
Is she talking? on at this moment: You are using
the Internet. You are studying
English grammar.
 to describe an action that is going
on during this period of time or a
trend: Are you still working for the
same company? More and more
people are becoming vegetarian.
Affirmative Negative Interrogative
 to describe an action or event in the

I am going I am not Am I going? future, which has already been

going planned or prepared: We're going
on holiday tomorrow. I'm meeting
my boyfriend tonight. Are they
visiting you next winter?
  to describe a temporary event or  to understand
situation: He usually plays the
drums, but he's playing bass guitar EMOTIONS / DESIRES
tonight. The weather forecast was  to envy
good, but it's raining at the  to fear
moment.  to dislike
 with "always, forever, constantly",  to hate
to describe and emphasise a  to hope
continuing series of repeated  to like
actions: Harry and Sally are always  to love
arguing! You're constantly  to mind
complaining about your mother-in-  to prefer
law!  to regret
 to want
VERBS THAT ARE NOT USUALLY  to wish
USED IN THE CONTINUOUS FORM
The verbs in the list below are normally MEASUREMENT
used in the simple form because they refer  to contain
to states, rather than actions or processes.  to cost
SENSES / PERCEPTION  to hold
 to feel*  to measure
 to hear  to weigh
 to see*
 to smell OTHERS
 to taste  to look (=resemble)
 to seem
OPINION  to be (in most cases)
 to assume  to have (when it means "to
 to believe possess")*
 to consider
 to doubt
 to feel (= to think) EXCEPTIONS
 to find (= to consider) Perception verbs (see, hear, feel, taste,
 to suppose smell) are often used with can: I can see...
 to think* These verbs may be used in the continuous
form but with a different meaning
MENTAL STATES  This coat feels nice and warm.
 to forget (your perception of the coat's
 to imagine qualities)
 to know  John's feeling much better now (his
 to mean health is improving)
 to notice  She has three dogs and a cat.
 to recognise (possession)
 to remember  She's having supper. (She's eating)
  I can see Anthony in the garden
I think Do I think? I do not
(perception)
think
 I'm seeing Anthony later (We are
planning to meet) You think Do you You do
think? not think
SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE
He thinks Does he He does
think? not think
The simple present tense is one of several
forms of present tense in English. It is used She thinks Does she She does
to describe habits, unchanging situations, think? not think
general truths, and fixed arrangements. The
It thinks Does it It does not
simple present tense is simple to form. Just
think? think
use the base form of the verb: (I take, you
take, we take, they take) The 3rd person We think Do we We do not
singular takes an -s at the end. (he takes, think? think.
she takes)
They think Do they They do
THE SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE think? not think.
IS USED:
 To express habits, general truths, NOTES ON THE SIMPLE
repeated actions or unchanging PRESENT, THIRD PERSON
situations, emotions and wishes: SINGULAR
 In the third person singular the verb
I smoke (habit); I work in London always ends in -s:
(unchanging situation); London is a  he wants, she needs, he gives, she
large city (general truth) thinks.
 To give instructions or directions:
 Negative and question forms use
 To express fixed arrangements,
DOES (= the third person of the
present or future: auxiliary 'DO') + the infinitive of
 To express future time, after some
the verb.
conjunctions: after, when, before,  He wants ice cream. Does he want
as soon as, until: strawberry? He does not want
He'll give it to you when you come vanilla.
next Saturday.  Verbs ending in -y : the third
Be careful! The simple present is not used person changes the -y to -ies:
to express actions happening now.  fly --> flies, cry --> cries
 Exception: if there is a vowel
FORMING THE SIMPLE PRESENT before the -y:
TENSE: TO THINK  play --> plays, pray --> prays
Affirmative Interrogative Negative  Add -es to verbs ending in:-ss, -x, -
sh, -ch:
  he passes, she catches, he fixes, it The present perfect of any verb is
pushes composed of two elements : the
appropriate form of the auxiliary verb to
have (present tense), plus the past
EXAMPLES participle of the main verb. The past
 He goes to school every morning. participle of a regular verb is base+ed, e.g.
 She understands English. played, arrived, in the section called
 It mixes the sand and the water. 'Verbs'.
 He tries very hard. Affirmative
 She enjoys playing the piano.
Subject to have past participle
PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE
The present perfect is used to indicate a She has visited.
link between the present and the past. The
Negative
time of the action is before now but not
specified, and we are often more interested Subject to have + past participle
in the result than in the action itself. not

THE PRESENT PERFECT IS She has not visited.

USED TO DESCRIBE (hasn't)
 An action or situation that started in
the past and continues in the Interrogative
present. I have lived in Bristol since
to have subject past participle
1984 (= and I still do.)
 An action performed during a Has she visited?
period that has not yet finished. She
has been to the cinema twice this Negative interrogative
week (= and the week isn't over
yet.)
 A repeated action in an unspecified
period between the past and now.
We have visited Portugal several
to have + subject past participle
times.
not
 An action that was completed in the
very recent past, expressed by 'just'. Hasn't she visited?
I have just finished my work.
 An action when the time is not
The present perfect continuous is used to
important. He has read 'War and
refer to an unspecified time between
Peace'. (= the result of his reading
'before now' and 'now'. The speaker is
is important)
thinking about something that started but
perhaps did not finish in that period of
FORMING THE PRESENT
time. He/she is interested in the process as
PERFECT
well as the result, and this process may still
You have You Have you
be going on, or may have just finished. been living haven't been living?
been
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS living

The present perfect continuous is made up They have They Have they
of two elements: the present perfect of the been living haven't been living?
verb 'to be' (have/has been), and the been
present participle of the main verb living
(base+ing)
Subject has/have been base+ing
VERBS WITHOUT
She has been swimming CONTINUOUS FORMS
With verbs not normally used in the
Affirmative: She has been / She's been continuous form, use the simple present
running. perfect instead (verbs such as: know, hate,
hear, understand, want).
Negative: She hasn't been running. I've wanted to visit China for years.
She's known Robert since she was a child.
Interrogative : Has she been running? I've hated that music since I first heard it.
I've heard a lot about you recently.
Interrogative negative: Hasn't she been We've understood everything.
running?
USE OF PRESENT PERFECT
CONTINUOUS
Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I have been I haven't Have I been Unfinished actions

living been living? 1: To say how long for unfinished actions
living which started in the past and continue to
the present. We often use this with 'for' and
You have You Have you 'since' She's been working here
been living haven't been living? since 2004.
been
living This use is very similar to how we use the
present perfect simple, and often it's
He, she, it He hasn't Has she been possible to use either tense. Of course, with
has been been living? stative verbs, we can't use the present
living living perfect continuous.
I've been here for hours.
We have We Have we
NOT: I've been being here for hours.
been living haven't been living?
been
2: For temporary habits or situations. The
living
action started in the past and continues to
the present in the same way as with use C)has been
number 1, but we don't answer the
questions about 'how long' so clearly. 4.This is a great book’.
Instead, we use a word like 'recently'. ‘I know.I _____ twice already.’
I've been going to the gym a lot recently. A)have read
This is very similar to the use of the B)am reading
present continuous for temporary habits C)have been reading
and often either tense is possible.
5.Hello,Jane.I’m home’.
Finished actions ‘Where have you been?I _____ for you all
3: Actions which have recently stopped day!
(though the whole action can be A)have been looking
unfinished) and have a result, which we B)look
can often see, hear, or feel, in the present. C)am looking
We don't use a time word here.
I'm so tired, I've been studying. 6.Are you having a holiday this year?’
‘Yes,I _____ to Hawaii.’
The present perfect simple has a very A)am going
similar use, which focuses on the result of B)have been
the action, whereas the present perfect C)have gone
continuous focuses on the action itself. See
my page here about the difference between 7.Who does your hair for you?’
the present perfect simple and the present ‘My mother usually _____ it’
perfect continuous for more explanation. A)is cutting
B)cuts
TIME TO PRACTICE C)has cut

1.Choose the correct answer. 8.Your socks are all wet!’

1._____ your sister recently?’ ‘Don’t worry.I _____ another pair with
‘Yes,she came to visit last weekend.’ me.’
A)have you been seeing A)am bringing
B)you have seen B)bring
C)have you seen C)have brought

2.I didn’t know Sarah could drive’.

‘Oh yes,she _____ since last April.’
A)has been driving
B)has driven 2.Correct the mistakes.
C)is driving
1.They have been to the shops.They’ll be
3.Where is Jason?’ home soon.
‘He _____ at the swimming pool.’
A)is being 2.Joe plays in the garden at the moment.
B)is
3.I am going to work nu car every day.
4.The builders finish the block of flats
already.
5.He has been breaking his arm.
6.Sam have just finished reading a very
interesting book.
7.Water is boiling at 100 C.
8.John is living here since 1986.
9.I study this subject for 5 years.
10.Who has use my scissors?
3.Fill in the gaps with have/has been (to)
or have/has gone (to).
Jack:Hi,Jill.Where’s Paul?
Jill:Oh he, 1) __________ London for a
few days.
Jack:Really! I 2) __________ London
recently.I came back yesterday. 3) _____
you _____ there?
Jill:No,I haven’t.Paul 4) __________ twice
before,though.Where’s Sarah?
Jack:She 5) __________ Spain for 2 weeks
with her parents.They 6) __________ there
to visit some friends.
Jill:When is she coming back?
Jack:They’ll all be back next weekend.
4.Put the verbs in brackets into the
present perfect or continuous,using
short forms where appropiate.
1 A:How
long__________(you/know)Alison?
B:We__________ (be) friends since we
were children.
2A:Who__________ (use) that car?
B:I was.Is there a problem?
3 A:What are Andrew and David doing?
B:They __________ (work) in the
garden for 3 hours.
4 A:Why is Sally upset?
B:She__________ (lose) her bag.
5 A:I__________(always/believe) that
exercise is good for you.
B:Of course,it’s good to keep fit.
6 A:Emily__________ (teach) maths since
she left university.
B:Yes, and she’s a very good teacher,too.
7 A:Fred__________ ( open) a new shop.
B:Really?Where is it?
8 A:This pie is delicious.
B:Is it?I___________(not/taste) it yet.
9 A:Have you found your umbrella yet?
B:No,I___________(look) for it for an
hour now.
10 A:You look exhausted.
B:Well,I__________(clean) the
windows since 8 o’clock this morning.
11 A:Can i have some more
lemonade,please?
B:Sorry,your
brother__________(just/drink) it all.
12 A:Have you got new neighbours?
B:Yes,they__________(just/move) to
the area.
5.Choose the correct answer.

1 What tine does the train leave?

I think it_____ at 2 o’clock.
A)leaves
B)has been leaving
C)has left

2 Where are Tom and Pauline?

They_____to the supermarket.
A)have just gone
B)have been going
C)go

3 What is Jill doing these days?

She_____ for a job for 6 months.
A)is looking
B)has been looking
C)looks

4 Is Mandy watching TV?

No.She_____her homework right now.
A)is always doing
B)is doing
C)does
ANSWER KEY 11.’s just drunk
12.’ve just moved
1. 1.C
2.A 5. 1.A
3.B 2.A
4.A 3.B
5.A 4.B
6.A
7.B
8.C

2. 1.They have gone to the shops.

2.Joe is playing in the garden at the
moment.
3.I go to work by car every day.
4.The builders have finished the block
of flats already.
5.He has broken his arm.
6.Sam has just finished reading a very
interesting book.
7.Water boils at 100 C.
8.John has been living/has lived here
since 1986.
9.I have been studying/have studied
this subject for 5 years.
10.Who has been using my scissors?

3. 1’.s gone to
2.’ve been to
3.Have...been
4.’s been
5.’s gone to
6.’ve gone

4. 1.’ve been
2.’s been using
3.’ve been working
4.’s lost
5.’ve always believed
6.’s been teaching/‘s taught
7.’s opened
8.haven’t tasted
9.’ve been looking
10.’ve been cleaning