Transcript
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Hi, I'm Rebecca and welcome to this
class on the present continuous tense
which is also called the present
progressive tense. Now, this class is
part of the ingid series on English verb
tenses.
So, the present continuous tense is a
basic tense. It's usually one of the
first tenses that you start to learn
when you start studying English.
However, it doesn't exist in every
language and it might not exist in your
language. So, it's possible to make
mistakes very easily and it's a basic
tense. So, we really don't want to make
those kind of mistakes. So, just stay
with me. We're going to go through it
step by step. I'll show you exactly how
to use it. We'll do lots of practice
together and you will understand and be
able to use it. So, are you ready? Let's
start.
So there are two basic tenses first to
start to talk about the present. They
are
the present simple
and the present continuous. Okay, we
know it has two names. I'm just going to
use one name. So what's the difference?
Let's look at some examples in each of
these tenses.
So in the present simple I would say I
work.
In the present continuous I would say I
am working.
So what is the difference between these
two?
I am working
talks about something that's happening
right now. For example, I am teaching.
You are watching. You are listening.
Right? Or it can also talk about
something temporary like you're watching
this lesson this moment but also for a
short time. Short is a general idea.
Okay? So it could be something that's
happening now or something temporary.
However, we use I work and present
simple to talk about things that are
true in general. I work in this company.
but I am working now.
Or I work in this company, but I'm not
working now. I'm having lunch. See the
difference? Okay. We also use present
simple to talk about things that are
more permanent like your job, right? You
don't change your job usually every day.
It's more or less permanent. Where you
work, where you live. This is more
permanent and general present simple.
And this is more temporary and now. So
that's the basic overview and the basic
idea. And how do we actually form this
tense? We form it by using the subject
like I, you, we, they, he, she, it plus
the verb to be plus the verb plus ing.
Let's look at an example.
I am working. So we have the subject and
the verb to be and each form of the verb
to be. I am working. You are working. We
are working.
They are working.
He is working.
She is working. It's working. Okay. The
computer, the air conditioner, whatever.
Okay. So that's the basic overview of
this tense. Now, let's look at when we
use the present continuous tense. So, as
we saw earlier, we can definitely use it
to talk about something that's happening
right now. For example, the baby is
sleeping. Don't make noise. Okay? Or for
example, oh, it's raining outside.
All right? So, those are examples of
something happening right now.
We can also use this tense to talk about
something that's happening around now.
For example, he's writing a book.
So, he might not be writing it this
minute, but he's writing it around now.
We don't know how long it'll take, but
it's happening around this time. So, we
can use it in that context. For example,
we could also say he's working on a
project. Maybe the project is going to
take one week and maybe it'll take one
year or 10 years. We don't know. But
it's happening around now. Okay.
Next, we can also use it to talk about
something temporary.
Not something that happens all the time,
but something temporary.
For example, that book, right? We don't
know. Maybe it's going to take him three
years to write the book, but it in his
mind it's not something that's going to
last forever. It's something temporary.
Okay? So, this is more what how you look
at what is happening.
Or this example, something temporary, we
are staying at a hotel.
We live in our home. That's permanent.
But right now, while we're in this city,
while we're traveling, we are staying at
a hotel. That's something temporary.
Okay. Next, we can also use it to talk
about a trend. A trend is something
that's changing, okay? Something that's
developing.
For example, the prices of homes are
increasing.
Let's say the prices were here and now
the prices are going up. So we can say
the prices are increasing some sort of
changes that are happening
and we can also talk about a trend in
terms of something that's popular. Often
we talk about things uh fashion trends
for example right people are wearing a
certain color people are wearing bright
colors this summer or people are wearing
certain kinds of shoes. So we can talk
about trends using this present
continuous tense. All right. So those
are the basic ways in which we use this
tense. But I just want to let you know
that there are also two slightly more
advanced ways in which we can use this
tense. So let's look at what they are.
The first one is to talk about some kind
of repeated action, but it's usually
something negative. So we're using it to
kind of com when we want to complain
about something. For example, if you say
they're always making noise,
that's a negative remark, right? So we
can use always in this context to with
the present continuous tense. Usually
we use words like always, never,
sometimes, um, frequently and so on to
talk about present simple, something
that's true in general. For example,
they always help us or just to talk
about facts. But when you're talking
about something negative, then very
often we can use this present continuous
tense. But that's a slightly more
advanced way to use it. So don't worry
about it too much. But you might hear
people using it that way.
And another point, I know that I said
this is called the present continuous
and it talks about the present, not the
past, not the future, the present.
However, sometimes we can actually use
it to talk about the future, but only in
a special way. So, let's look at what
that is. If I say she is flying to
Mexico next week. Now, if I didn't say
next week, if I only said she's flying
to Mexico, what does it mean? It's
happening right now. So, when I want to
use this tense to talk about the future,
I have to say something like this. I
have to say next week, tomorrow, next
summer, next year. I have to give it
some kind of time in the future. and
then you can use present continuous for
the future in a slightly more advanced
way. Okay, so those are the basic ways
in which we use this tense. Now let's
look at when not to use the present
continuous tense. So first of all,
everything here, all these examples,
these are all wrong. Okay? And we're
going to understand why. So we cannot
use the present continuous tense to talk
about any permanent actions or
activities. For example, for most people
where they live, where they work, these
are more or less permanent. They don't
change every day. They're not temporary,
right? So if I live in Canada all the
time, then it would be wrong to say I am
living in Canada. that would only be
okay if it was something temporary.
Similarly, if I work at ABC company and
that's my permanent job, it would be
wrong to say I am working at ABC
company. I would need to say I work at
ABC company. That would be a different
tense, the present simple tense. And
similarly here if I live in Canada I
need to say I live in Canada and not I
am living because that would be
temporary. So that's the most common
kind of mistake that people make. So be
really careful of that. Similarly we
have stated verbs. This is another area
that you have to be really careful
about. Why? Because in English there are
two kinds of verbs. action verbs and
what are called stative verbs. So action
verbs are your normal verbs that you
know most of the time like work, run,
play, jump. Okay? And stative verbs
describe a state or a condition. It
could be a mental state. It could be an
emotional state. Okay? And with this
tense, we cannot use stative verbs. And
in fact, in any continuous tense in
English, you cannot use stative verbs.
Let me give you some examples of stated
verbs. For example, it would be wrong to
say, I am understanding English. No, you
cannot say that because understand is a
stated verb to do with your mind. So
it's wrong to say that. Okay, this is
all wrong. Okay, it would be wrong to
say we are liking this show. Liking is
wrong because like is a stative verb. So
we would need to say we like this show.
We I understand English. Okay. Similarly
here when you talk about when you talk
about verbs that refer to what you own,
what you possess, what you have, we
cannot use those verbs in the stated
form with this tense. So it would be
wrong to say they are having a car. You
would need to say they have a car.
Similarly,
um again there's a a long list of stated
verbs, but the verb need and the verb
want are very common verbs which are
usually stative verbs and therefore you
can't use them in this tense. So it
would be wrong to say are you needing
help. You would need to say do you need
help. Okay? So whether you have learned
the present simple or not, don't worry
right now. Just understand that with
present continuous, you cannot use
stative verbs. So everything here is
wrong. Now let's look at how we form the
present continuous tense. Let's start by
looking at a sample sentence.
I am working.
So we saw that there are three parts. I
which is the subject
am in this case which is a form of the
verb to be.
Then we have the verb work. Right? And
then we have ing. All right. So in order
to use this tense correctly, you need to
know two things. You need to be sure
that you know the verb to be perfectly
and then you need to know how to add the
verb plus ing and any changes you need
to make in spelling. So, what I've done
is I've divided this lesson first into
just looking at the verb to be to make
sure that you are using it correctly
because if you have mistakes in the verb
to be, this central part, then you will
make mistakes in this tense. But if
you've got it right, then you'll be
absolutely fine. So, let's just take a
minute to review the verb to be. All
right? And then we'll move on to the
next part.
So in a positive sentence it would be I
am,
you are,
we are,
they are,
he is,
she is,
it is.
Now when we say the verb to be, the verb
to be is one of the most common verbs,
but it is used in two ways. One is by
itself. For example, I can say I am a
teacher.
Or we can also use the verb to be as a
helping verb as it's being used in this
tense. Then I could say I am teaching.
Now, the verb to be became a helping
verb. But one way or the other, whether
I'm using the verb to be by itself or
I'm using it in this context, then I
still need to know exactly how to use
the verb to be. So, now let's look at
the negative.
I am not.
You are not.
We are not.
They are not. What do you notice? We're
just adding not. Right. Let's do it a
little bit more. He is not.
She is not.
It is not. Okay. Right now, don't worry
about this last part. We're going to add
that soon. Okay. Let's just get this
part right. The verb to be. All right.
Next, let's look at when we have the
verb to be in a question or in our
tense. So, what do we do? Instead of
saying I am, we say am I.
If you had the verb after that, you
would say am I working? And so on. But
we'll look at that in a minute. Right
now, just master this part. It's a
critical part of understanding and using
this tense correctly.
Are you?
Are we?
Are they? Right. The same at the bottom
here. Is he?
Is she?
Is it? All right. So, make sure that you
can use the verb to be so that you can
use the present continuous tense
correctly. Now, let's look at how we
form the full present continuous tense.
You already know the verb to be. Now
we'll say a positive sentence, a
negative sentence and a question. So you
can repeat after me. It will be very
good practice to also hear the correct
form.
I am working.
You are working.
We are working.
They are working.
He is working.
She is working.
It is working.
Okay, got that? Good. For the negative,
it's very easy. You just add not before
the verb plus the ing. So, not working,
right? You're not working. He is not
working. They are not working. Like
that. Okay, it's very simple. Just take
this and add not working.
Now for the question we have to reverse
the order. So instead of saying I am, we
say am I. Right? Just like with the verb
to be. Same thing. That's why I told you
the verb to be is so important. It's
part of this tense. So repeat after me
the questions. Am I working today?
Are you working?
Are we working?
Are they working?
Is he working?
Is she working?
Is it working?
So that's your basic question form. Now
remember, you can always add a question
word before that. For example, you could
say,
"When are you working?
Where are you working?
How long are you working?" But what's
important,
what's important if you do that is
to keep this same order. Keep your
question order. Don't turn it back into
a sentence. Just add the question word
like when or how long or why or
something like that and keep this
structure. When are you working? Where
are you working? Why are you working?
And so on. Okay. And that's how you form
the present continuous tense. Now let's
look at how we use contractions in the
present continuous tense. So in English
sometimes instead of saying for example
I am learning we shorten it or contract
it and say I'm learning. So why do we do
that? Usually it's faster, it's easier
and we use it a lot in informal
conversation and also in informal
writing. We do not usually use
contractions like these in formal
business writing or in academic writing,
but we use them a lot on an everyday
basis. So, let's see how to spell them
and how to pronounce them.
So, I am becomes I'm. What happened
here? We took away the a and we put an
apostrophe where we took away the letter
and we joined those two words. I'm you
are becomes your.
We are becomes
we're
becomes
there.
He is becomes
he's
she is
she's
and it is
it's okay. All right. So, let's say a
sentence, a really short sentence with
these contractions so you can learn how
to say them easily and naturally. I'm
learning.
You're learning.
We're learning.
They're learning.
He's learning.
She's learning.
It's learning. Okay. Good. Now, we can
do the same thing when it's negative.
So instead of saying I am not, we can
shorten it in one way only, we can say
I'm not. So basically we just took the
I'm and we added not. All right? So we
just got rid of this and then we joined
these two. Okay? Sorry, we didn't join
them, but we use them one after the
other. Okay? I'm not. So let's say a
sentence. I'm not watching.
Are you watching TV? No, you can put it
off. I'm not watching. Okay. Next. You
are not becomes what? There are two
possibilities here. First, let's just
add not. So you are not can become
you're not,
we're not,
they're not
or you are not can be contracted in a
different way.
Here we are just going to take away the
O here and put an apostrophe and combine
these two.
What we did here is we took this one and
we got rid of this letter and combined
this one. So let's look at it for a
second. You are not here became you're
not. We contracted these two words. You
are not here. We got rid of the O and we
joined these two words. Are not. So, the
other possibility is you aren't. Say it
after me. You aren't watching.
We aren't watching.
They aren't watching.
Okay, very good. The same here. He is
not can become he's not. Right, we got
rid of this one.
She's not.
It's not.
Or we can get rid of the O here and join
this and we can say he isn't.
She isn't watching.
It isn't watching.
So that's how we spell and pronounce the
contractions.
Now, let's look at some spelling changes
we need to make to the verb when we're
using the present continuous tense. So,
with all of the verbs, you need to add
ing. And to most of the verbs, that's
all you need to do. You just need to add
ing. For example,
eat becomes eating.
Walk.
Walking. Right? All we did was add that
ing. But with some verbs, you have to
make a few small other changes.
For verbs ending in e, we need to drop
the e and then add ing. For example, use
becomes using. So we dropped or
cancelled this e and added ing.
Take becomes taking again. We dropped or
cancelled the E. All right, good. For
verbs ending in I E, we need to drop the
I E and add Y and then add the ing. For
example, lie, right? L I E cancel I E
add Y and then ing lying.
Tie becomes tying.
Okay, that's it. Now, for some verbs
ending in a C VC pattern, we have to
double the last letter. What is that
CVC?
C stands for consonant, V for vowel and
then C again for consonant. A vowel in
English is a, e, i, o or u. And a
consonant is any other letter. So what
you do is you look at the verb. All
right? You uh look at the verb from the
end. It will be easier. And if it
follows that pattern, right? C the p is
a consonant, the a is a vowel and then
the l is a consonant. So if it follows
that pattern, cvc, then double that last
letter. Now there are some special
circumstances. It doesn't always apply
but it often applies. There are patterns
in English spelling and sometimes there
are exceptions. So in this case clap
becomes clapping.
Sit becomes sitting. Okay? And those are
the major spelling changes you need to
make. Now let's look at how to give
short answers in the present continuous
tense. So in English, if someone asks
you a question and your basic answer is
yes or no, we don't usually just say yes
or no. We usually say a little bit more
than that. But at the same time, we
don't have to repeat everything they
asked us in the question in our answer.
So what we do is something like this. If
someone says, "Is he working late?"
You could simply say yes, he is or no,
he isn't. And how do you know what to
say here? You just take it from here,
right? So, is he?
Yes, he is. Or no, he isn't. All right?
So, what's important to notice is that
in the positive answer, you cannot use
any contraction. You cannot shorten it
and say yes, he's no, that's wrong. But
in the negative, you can definitely use
the contraction. You could say no, he is
not. It's not wrong, but usually we'll
just use the contraction.
The same thing here. Are they going to
the meeting? So, we could say what? Yes,
they are.
or no they aren't. Okay, so you're
basically taking your answer clues from
the question itself and again no
contraction possible in the positive
answer.
Here's another one. Are you studying?
So here it's going to be a little bit
different. Why? Because they're asking
are you? And there you have to answer
with I. Right? So here you cannot use it
but you will simply say yes I am or no
I'm not. Got it? You can't take it from
there but you can still just give a
short answer. You don't have to say yes
I am studying. No I am not studying.
Just say yes I am. No I'm not. In fact
it's a good thing to just know this
phrase. Okay. Yes, I am. No, I'm not.
So, for example, if I ask you, are you
are you learning the present continuous
tense?
Yes, I am. Are you making progress in
your English? Yes, I am.
Are you feeling happy? I hope you're
saying yes, I am. Now, let's practice
what you've been learning.
So, we have some positive sentences.
We're going to work with some negative
ones and some questions. So, first
we'll take a sentence which is in
present simple and we're going to change
it to present continuous. Okay.
Number one, I go becomes what?
I
am
going. Okay. Or
I'm going. All right. We can also
contract it or shorten it. We wait.
Let's use the contracted form and turn
it into the present continuous form. We
wait becomes what?
Where?
waiting, right? We're waiting. We are
waiting. We're waiting. Good. They play.
Again, let's use the contraction just so
you can practice the uh spelling also
where to put that apostrophe and so on
and pay attention to it. They play
becomes
they are
playing.
Okay. Very nice. All right. Now we have
a sentence which is already in present
continuous. What we want to do is to
change it to the negative form. In
present continuous. She's calling. How
can we make that negative? There are two
ways.
She's calling.
Make it negative.
She's
not calling.
This is one way. And the other way,
she
isn't
calling. Right? That was those were the
two ways that we learned. She's not
calling. She isn't calling. All right.
Very good. We're cooking.
Make it negative. First, the easy way.
You can always just use the easy way,
too, if you're unsure. We're not
cooking. I call this one the easy way
because you just need to add not. And
it's 100% right. It's not like that one
is better than this one. No, everything
is equally correct. We are not cooking.
Or what's the other way though? We
aren't
cooking.
Okay. So again, pay attention to the
spelling there.
Next number six. I'm reading.
Make it negative.
What will it become?
I'm
not
reading.
And in this case, that's the only form
that we can make it negative. All right.
Now, the questions. So, right now, it's
just a sentence. Let's see how we can
make it into a question. They are buying
a new car.
Make it a question. It's really easy.
Got it? Yes. Just move these around. Are
they buying a new car? And of course,
the first word will be capitalized and
the second word will not.
She is doing her homework.
Make it a question.
What is it? The same thing.
Is she doing her homework?
Good. And if you're writing it again, it
would be capital for the first letter
and then not capital after that.
We are leaving at 8. Make it a question.
Same thing.
Are we leaving at 8? And of course, at
the end of each of these, we would have
a question mark if you're writing it
down. So, how did you do? Hope
everything is going well, and I'm sure
it is. Let's look at a little bit more.
Now, let's look at some common mistakes
that are made with the present
continuous tense, and you can help me
correct them.
The first kind of mistake, sometimes the
verb to be is missing. For example,
my brother watching the news.
So what did that student need to say?
What did that person want to say?
What's missing the verb to be? So we
have to say my brother
is watching the news. Okay? Remember we
have the subject, the verb to be, and
then the verb plus ing.
Sometimes the same thing can happen but
in a negative sentence. For example,
this person wrote, "John not helping."
How can we correct that?
John, the easy way to correct it is to
say, "John is not helping." Or we can
always contract it and say, "John's not
helping."
Okay? Or we can say, "John isn't
helping." All right?
Sometimes the verb to be is missing in a
question.
Instead of saying she going,
what's wrong there? What should we be
saying? We should be saying.
Is she going?
Is she going? Right? Again, we needed
that verb to be. We can't have this
tense without the verb to be. Right?
That's why we looked at it so many
times. So, make sure that you don't
forget it. Next, sometimes the verb to
be is there, but it's incorrect. There's
an incorrect form of it being used. For
example, this person wrote, "Bob and
Maria is driving home."
That's not right. They have the verb to
be, but it's not in the right form
because Bob and Maria is like they,
right? So it should be Bob and Maria
are driving home. Okay. And here this
person wrote he ain't studying.
Now ain't is actually slang. You might
hear it a lot in songs or in music or in
movies. Okay? But in academic English,
in correct grammar, it's not acceptable.
So, if you're doing an exam or if you're
writing a paper for university or if
you're trying to impress a client, it's
probably not such a good idea to use it.
Instead of that, you should use the
correct version, which is what? He
isn't studying. Okay? That doesn't mean
you can never use slang. You can
certainly use slang with your friends or
casually whenever you want to, but just
be aware what is slang and what is not
slang.
Next, sometimes the verb, the main verb,
not the verb to be, but the verb in the
sentence is used incorrectly. For
example, this person wrote, "She is due
her homework."
How can we fix that?
She is
doing
she is doing her homework.
And this one wrote, "The game is start
now."
It should be the game is
starting
now. Okay, there we go. Good. See, I'm
sure you're you can find these now
yourself, right? And that's the way now
you've learned. You know the rules.
you're able to apply the rules whether
you're reading something or whether
you're looking at something or whether
you're writing it yourself or whether
you're speaking it will come out right
next. Sometimes mistakes are made in
spelling. For example, there are several
mistakes here. She's lying. But this
should be what? Not L I E. L Y I N G.
This was one of those verbs also. She's
sitting but it's consonant vowel
consonant. So we need to double the last
letter sitting. And here writing
ends with an e, the verb write. So we
need to get rid of that e. Okay. So be
careful of those spelling changes that
we talked about. Also, here's a spelling
mistake. This person wrote, "We're going
to the mall.
That's what they wanted to say.
But what's missing here?
The apostrophe. Good. So that goes right
here. Okay. Instead of we are, it became
we are. We are going to the mall. Okay.
Next. Sometimes
people forget and they use a stated verb
anyway in this tense. And they might say
something like, "I am needing some
water." But can we say that? No. In
correct English, you cannot say that
because need is one of those stated
verbs. So, you would need to change that
and just say, I need some water. The
same here. I'm wanting to visit Hawaii.
No, want is another stated verb. So, we
just say, "I want to visit Hawaii."
Okay? And last of all, remember what I
told you, what we talked about earlier,
that we don't and should not be using
this tense to talk about permanent
situations.
So, for example, somebody asked this
person, "What does your company do?" And
he said, "We are manufacturing cars."
But that's not right because it's not
something they do just temporarily.
It takes a lot of work in organization
to do this work. So it should be not we
are manufacturing cars but just we
manufacture
cars. Okay. So in that case using the
present continuous tense would be
incorrect. you just need it there. The
other present simple tense. So, these
are some of the common mistakes and I
think you see that once you know the
rules, the rules actually make it easier
for you. They free you to speak and
communicate more correctly. So, we've
covered a lot in this class. Let's
review now just one last time. You know
this tense when you can make what? A
positive sentence, a negative sentence,
and a question. For example,
David is making coffee, a positive.
David is not making coffee, a negative
sentence.
Is David making coffee? A question. Or
to add question words to that, for
example, when is David making coffee?
Why is David making coffee? And so on.
Okay. So, what can you do from here? To
practice this tense, try to think of
examples in your own life. Talk to
yourself as you're going through your
day. What are you doing at that moment?
I'm waking up. I'm brushing my teeth.
I'm taking a shower. I'm having
breakfast. There are so many things that
you can say as you're walking around.
You don't have to say them aloud. You
can also say them in your mind. Okay?
But try to use the tense that you've
learned so well right now. Okay? Now
when you feel that you know this tense
then you can go on to the next lesson in
this series because this is a series of
the verb tenses. Next after that you can
also practice a little bit more if you
wish by taking a quiz on invit. Thanks
very much for watching and all the best
with your
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About this lesson
Learn how to use the present continuous to talk about actions happening now and temporary situations.