THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE
Date: 2015-10-07; view: 449.
Unit 3
| Positive | Negative | Interrogative |
| I am speaking. We are speaking. You are speaking. He is speaking. She is speaking. It is speaking. They are speaking. | I am not speaking. We are not speaking. You are not speaking. He is not speaking. She is not speaking. It is not speaking. They are not speaking. | Am I speaking? Are we speaking? Are you speaking? Is he speaking? Is she speaking? Is it speaking? Are they speaking? |
| I'm speaking. She's speaking. We're speaking. | She isn't speaking. We aren't speaking. | N.B!Whoisspeaking? She is speaking, isn't she? |
Grammar Reference:
The Present Continuous Tense is used:
1. To express an activity happening now, still, at present, at the moment (Look! Listen!), just, constantly.
· They're just waitingfor the attorney.
· She can't answer the phone because she is speakingto the investigator.
· The world is constantly changing.
2. To express an activity happening around now, but perhaps not at the moment of speaking.
· She is studying Law at university.
· I'm reading a good book by Henry James.
3. To express a planned future arrangement.
- I'm meeting Mr. Black at ten o'clock tomorrow.
- He's starting a new job next week.
- What are you doing at the weekend?
Note:
There are certain groups of verbs that are almost never used in the Present Continuous Tense. That is why we use the Present Indefinite Tense. These are the groups of such verbs:
1. Verbs of the mind: know, understand, think, believe, forget, remember, mean, doubt, consider, suppose, realize
2. Verbs of emotion and feeling: like, love, hate, dislike, prefer, want, care
3. Verbs of the five senses: see, smell, taste, hear
4. Verbs of possession: have, own, belong
5. Certain other verbs: cost, need, contain, depend, consist, seem
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