An explanation of the form of the Present Continuous (progressive) in English

1. Present Continuous (Progressive)
FORM:
POSITIVE:
Subject + auxiliary + verb + ing
verb ‘be’
The auxiliary verb changes for the subject. The ‘verb+ing’ stays the
same.
WALK: EAT:
I am walking I am eating
You are walking You are eating
S/he/it is walking S/he/it is eating
We are walking We are eating
You are walking You are eating
They are walking They are eating
Remember the subject and the auxiliary verb ‘be’ can be
contracted:
SLEEP:
I’m sleeping
You’re sleeping
She’s sleeping (Sarah’s sleeping)
We’re sleeping
You’re sleeping
They’re sleeping

2. NEGATIVE:
Like with present simple verb ‘be’ we just add ‘not’ to make a
negative
WAIT
I am not waiting
You are not waiting
S/he/it is not waiting
We are not waiting
You are not waiting
They are not waiting
Remember we con contract negatives
RUN
I’m not running
You’re not running OR you aren’t running
She’s not running OR she isn’t running
We’re not running OR we aren’t running
You’re not running OR you aren’t running
They’re not running OR they aren’t running

3. QUESTIONS
We simply reverse the auxiliary verb ‘be’ and the subject to make
a yes/no question. Remember the answer to the question is yes or
no with the auxiliary verb ‘be’ NOT the main verb.
TALK answer (with different contractions):
Am I talking? Yes, I am/No, I’m not (NOT yes, I
talking)
Are you talking? Yes, you are/No, you’re not
Is s/he/it talking? Yes, she is/No, she isn’t
Are we talking? Yes, we are/No, we’re not
Are you talking? Yes, you are/No, you aren’t
Are they talking? Yes, they are/No, they aren’t
Remember: we cannot contract a positive answer:
WRONG: Is he coming to the party? Yes, he’s.
CORRECT: Is he coming to the party? Yes, he is.

4. There are some spelling exceptions in the verb+ing form:
1. If the verb ends in a silent ‘e’, we take it off and add –ing:
come = coming
2. But if the verb end ‘ee’ it does not changes:
agree = agreeing
3. If the verb ends consonant-vowel-consonant we double the
final consonant:
sit = sitting
4. If the verb ends ‘ie’ we change it to ‘y’ and add ‘ing’:
lie = lying
5. In British English we double a final ‘l’:
travel = travelling