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Present Continuous Tense Rules With Examples
Friends! As We have told you in detail about Present Indefinite Tense in last notes. Today, we are going to talk about Present Continuous Tense. This is the second major type of Present Tense. So let’s try to understand in detail about Present Continuous Tense with Rules and Examples :
What is Present Continuous Tense
Present Continuous Tense : When an action continues continuously in the present time, that is, when there is a sense of continuation of an action but there is no sense of beginning and ending of the action. That is called Present Continuous Tense. Let us understand by some examples :
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Virat Kohli is playing Cricket. | We are swimming in the pool. |
| She is cooking Food. | They are going to college. |
| He is speaking English. | I am reading book. |
What did you understand by reading these examples ?
- You noticed that one thing is common in these sentences that “ing” is being used with the Ist form of Verb.
- And there are three types of helping verb — “is / am / are” being used in them.
You must have cleared one thing from these examples that “ing” and “is / am / are” are to be used in Present Continuous Tense. But how ? So, let’s try to understand Rules of Present Continuous Tense in detail :
Important Rules of Present Continuous Tense :
To understand the Present Continuous Tense, first we have to understand some of its rules which are as follows:
- This Tense uses the Helping Verb “is” with Singular Subject – He, She, It and Single Names and the Helping Verb “are” with Plural Subjects – We, You, They and Plural Names.
— Let me tell you that “I” is a plural subject but in Present Continuous Tense, a separate helping verb “am” is used for this.
- The “ing” is always applied after the Ist form of the main verb that comes after Helping verb.
- If there is Negative sentence, then use “not” immediately after helping verb is / am / are.
- In Interrogative Sentence, the helping verb (is / am / are) is always applied before the subject and must put question marks at the end of the sentence.
- If the sentence is Interrogative as well as negative, then as we said, the helping verb (is / am / are) is applied before the subject and “not” is used immediately after the subject.
You will be able to understand these rules better from the table given below.
| Helping Verb : | Is, Am, Are |
| Main Verb : | Ist Form of Verb + ing |
| Subjects | Helping Verb | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | He, She, It and Single Names | is |
| Plural | We, You, They and Plural Names. | are |
| Plural | I | am |
Keeping all these rules in mind, It will be very easy for you to understand Present Continuous Tense. So let’s study the types of Present Continuous Tense one by one with easy examples.
Types of Present Continuous Tense :
Friends! You all know that four types of sentences are made of each tense, which is also the same for the present continuous tense. It goes like this:
- Affirmative or Simple Sentence
- Negative sentence
- Interrogative Sentence
- Interrogative Negative Sentence
Affirmative Sentences | Simple Sentence :
Carefully understand the structure given below to create a simple Sentence of Present Continuous Tense :
- Structure for Affirmative sentence of Present Continuous Tense.
| For Singular : | Subject + is + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others. |
| For Plural : | Subject + are + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others. |
| For Plural (I) : | I + am + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others. |
For Example :
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| He is speaking English. | I am reading book. |
| She is cooking Food. | We are drinking Milk in the Kitchen. |
| It is falling away. | You are trying to solve this question. |
| Virat Kohli is playing Cricket. | They are going to college. |
| Radha is sleeping on the Bed. | Virat and Yuvraj are playing cricket. |
Negative Sentence :
Must use “not” immediately after helping verb in negative sentence and Follow the below structure to create a Negative Sentence of the Present Continuous Tense :
- Structure for Negative Sentence of Present Continuous Tense.
| For Singular : | Subject + is + not + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others. |
| For Plural : | Subject + are + not + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others. |
| For Plural (I) : | I + am + not + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others. |
For Example:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| He is not speaking English. | I am not reading book. |
| She is not cooking Food. | We are not drinking Milk in the Kitchen. |
| It is not falling away. | You are not trying to solve this question. |
| Virat Kohli is not playing Cricket. | They are not going to college. |
| Radha is not sleeping on the Bed. | Virat and Yuvraj are not playing cricket. |
Interrogative Sentence :
Friends! In interrogative sentences, the helping verb always precedes the subject. Always keep this in mind and follow the structure as mentioned below :
- Structure for Interrogative Sentence of Present Continuous Tense.
| For Singular : | Is + Subject + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others? |
| For Plural : | Are + Subject + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others? |
| For Plural (I) : | Am + I + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others? |
For Example:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Is He speaking English ? | Am I reading book ? |
| Is She cooking Food ? | Are We drinking Milk in the Kitchen ? |
| Is It falling away ? | Are You trying to solve this question ? |
| Is Virat Kohli playing Cricket ? | Are They going to college ? |
| Is Radha sleeping on the Bed ? | Are Virat and Yuvraj playing cricket ? |
Interrogative Negative Sentence :
Friends! Like interrogative in interrogative negative, the helping verb will always be immediately before the subject and Being negative, the “not” will always be placed immediately after the subject. To understand this, use the following structure :
- Structure for Interrogative Negative Sentence of Present Continuous Tense.
For Example:
| For Singular : | Is + Subject + not + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others? |
| For Plural : | Are + Subject + not + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others? |
| For Plural (I) : | Am + I + not + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others? |
For Example:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Is He not speaking English ? | Am I not reading book ? |
| Is She not cooking Food ? | Are We not drinking Milk in the Kitchen ? |
| Is It not falling away ? | Are You not trying to solve this question ? |
| Is Virat Kohli not playing Cricket ? | Are They not going to college ? |
| Is Radha not sleeping on the Bed ? | Are Virat and Yuvraj not playing cricket ? |
Golden Structure For Present Continuous Tense :
Friends! As always today, we are telling you the Golden Structure which you can use to make any Sentences keeping in mind the above rules and also remember it easily. It goes like this:
- Golden Structure For Present Continuous Tense : :
| Subject + | H.V. (is/am/are) | M.V. (Ist Form)+ ing | Object + | Others. |
Some Important Uses of Present Continuous Tense :
1. Present Continuous Tense is used to tell about any action that is going on in the present time, like :
- They are singing songs.
- She is washing clothers.
2. Present continuous Tense is also used to describe an event or plan in the near future,like :
- I am going to join Army.
- She is going to purchase Audi.
- They are leaving for Delhi Tomorrow.
3. Present Continuous Tense is also used to tell about any Action that is going on in the present time but it is not necessary that this Action is going on at this time, Like :
- I am working hard these days.
- She is writing a book now-a-days.
Friends! It is our endeavor that you can co-relate all these sentence structures and you can avoid remembering these huge burden of the structures.
By using the Golden Structure carefully, you will also be able to understand each tense easily and your concept will also be cleared. Hope you have learned well about “Present Continuous Tense Rules With Examples and its usage” today.
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