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CHAPTER 3.  THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS

1. Uses of the present continuous

In English, the Present Continuous tense is usually used to express continuing, ongoing actions which are taking place at the moment of speaking or writing. In the examples given below, the verbs in the Present Continuous tense are underlined.
e.g. Right now I am cooking supper.
e.g. At the moment the plane is flying over the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The Present Continuous tense is often used in conversation.
e.g. "What are you doing?"
e.g. "I am working on my English assignment."

Occasionally, the Present Continuous tense is used to refer to a future event.
e.g. We are leaving tomorrow.

2. Formation of the present continuous

The Present Continuous tense of any verb is formed from the Simple Present of the auxiliary to be, followed by what is generally referred to as the present participle of the verb.

The present participle of a verb is formed by adding ing to the bare infinitive. For instance, the present participle of the verb to work is working.

Thus, the Present Continuous tense of the verb to work is conjugated as follows:

See Exercise 1.

3. Spelling rules for the formation of the present participle

Some verbs change their spelling when the ending ing is added to form the present participle.

a. Verbs ending in a silent e

When a verb ends in a silent e, the silent e is dropped before the ending ing is added. For example:

However, when a verb ends in an e which is not silent, the final e is not dropped before the ending ing is added. For example:

b. Verbs ending in ie

When a verb ends in ie, the ie is changed to y before the ending ing is added. For example:

When a verb ends in y, no change is made before the ending is added. For example:

See Exercise 2.

c. One-syllable verbs ending in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel

Except in the case of the final consonants w, x and y, when a one-syllable verb ends in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, the final consonant must be doubled before the ending ing is added. The reason for this is to reflect the fact that the pronunciation of the single vowel does not change when the ending ing is added.

English vowels have a variety of pronunciations. For instance, each English vowel has two contrasting pronunciations, which are sometimes referred to as short and long. Vowels which are followed by two consonants, and vowels which are followed by a single consonant at the end of a word, are generally pronounced short. In contrast, vowels which are followed by a single consonant followed by another vowel are generally pronounced long.

In the table below, the underlined vowels in the left-hand column are pronounced short; whereas the underlined vowels in the right-hand column are pronounced long. For example:

Thus, in the case of most one-syllable verbs ending in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, the vowel is pronounced short. In order to reflect the fact that the vowel is also pronounced short in the corresponding present participle, except in the case of w, x and y, the final consonant must be doubled before the ending ing is added.

In the following examples, the consonants which have been doubled are
underlined. For example:

When a verb ends in w, x or y preceded by a single vowel, the final consonant is not doubled before the ending is added. For example:

It should also be noted that when a verb ends in a single consonant preceded by two vowels, the final consonant is not doubled before the ending is added. The reason for this is that two vowels together are generally pronounced long. For example:

See Exercise 3.

d. Verbs of more than one syllable which end in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel

When a verb of more than one syllable ends in a single consonant other than w, x or y preceded by a single vowel, the final consonant is doubled to form the present participle only when the last syllable of the verb is pronounced with the heaviest stress.

For instance, in the following examples, the last syllables of the verbs have the heaviest stress, and the final consonants are doubled to form the present participles. In these examples, the syllables pronounced with the heaviest stress are underlined. For example:

When a verb of more than one syllable ends in w, x or y, the final consonant is not doubled before the ending ing is added. In the following examples, the syllables pronounced with the heaviest stress are underlined. For example:

When the last syllable of a verb is not pronounced with the heaviest stress, the final consonant is usually not doubled to form the present participle. For instance, in the following examples, the last syllables of the verbs do not have the heaviest stress, and the final consonants are not doubled to form the present participles. In these examples, the syllables pronounced with the heaviest stress are underlined. For example:

If necessary, a dictionary can be consulted to determine which syllable of a verb has the heaviest stress. Many dictionaries use symbols such as apostrophes to indicate which syllables are pronounced with the heaviest stress.

See Exercise 4.

It should be noted that British and American spelling rules differ for verbs which end in a single l preceded by a single vowel. In British spelling, the l is always doubled before the endings ing and ed are added. However, in American spelling, verbs ending with a single l follow the same rule as other verbs; the l is doubled only when the last syllable has the heaviest stress. In the following examples, the syllables with the heaviest stress are underlined. For example:

From these examples it can be seen that the American and British spellings for verbs ending in a single l differ only when the last syllable does not have the heaviest stress.

4. Questions and negative statements

a. Questions

In the Present Continuous, the verb to be acts as an auxiliary. As is the case with other English tenses, it is the auxiliary which is used to form questions and negative statements.

To form a question in the Present Continuous tense, the auxiliary is placed before the subject. For example:

See Exercise 5.

b. Negative statements

To form a negative statement, the word not is added after the auxiliary. For example:

See Exercise 6.

c. Negative questions

To form a negative question, the auxiliary is placed before the subject, and the word not is placed after the subject. However, when contractions are used, the contracted form of not follows immediately after the auxiliary. Although there is no universally accepted contraction for am not, the expression aren't I? is often used in spoken English. For example:

See Exercise 7.

d. Tag questions

Tag questions are also formed using the auxiliary. In the following examples, the tag questions are underlined. In spoken English, aren't I? is often used as a tag question. For example:

See Exercise 8.

5. Comparison of the uses of the simple present and present continuous

As pointed out in Chapter 1, the Simple Present tense may be used for stating general truths, and for referring to actions which occur at regular intervals. In the following examples, the verbs in the Simple Present tense are underlined.
e.g. Nova Scotia is a Canadian province.
e.g. Geese fly south every winter.

In contrast, the Present Continuous tense is usually used to refer to ongoing actions happening at the time of speaking or writing. In the following examples, the verbs in the Present Continuous tense are underlined.
e.g. Right now, I am visiting the province of Nova Scotia.
e.g. At the moment, a flock of geese is flying overhead.

See Exercise 9.

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