When we want to talk about something that is happening right now, we use the present continuous tense.
Right now, you are reading. It is an action that is happening in the present. It is also an action that is not yet completed (you are still reading), so it is continuous. It is continuing to happen right now in the present.
To make the present continuous, we use a present tense conjugation of “to be” followed by the main verb of the sentence, and all we do is add ing to the end of the main verb.
- [pronoun] + [to be-present] + [verb] -ing
Here is what the present continuous looks like with some examples:
| Pronoun (person) | To be (present) | Verb | -ing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | am | do | ing | I am doing. |
| You | are | see | ing | You are seeing. |
| He / she / it | is | try | ing | She is trying. |
| We | are | laugh | ing | We are laughing. |
| You (pl.) | are | eat | ing | You are eating. |
| They | are | sleep | ing | They are sleeping. |
Note: When the sentence is negative, the word “not” goes after “to be”. For example, “We are not laughing.” or “We aren’t laughing.”
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