English Tenses · What is happening now?
Present Continuous – Learn & Practise
“I am learning English.” “She isn’t working today.” “Are you listening?” Learn to describe activities happening now and temporary situations.
100 questions · 10 per round · No sign-in needed
Keep the -ing verb in all three forms.
1. What is the Present Continuous?
We use the present continuous to describe an activity happening now or a temporary situation around now. Build it with am, is or are + a verb ending in -ing.
Happening now
“I am reading a letter.”
“The nurse is speaking to a patient.”
Temporary situations
“My mother is staying with us this month.”
“We are working in a different office this week.”
Changes around now
“My English is improving.”
“The days are getting shorter.”
A temporary activity may not be happening at this exact second: “I am studying for a test this week” describes your current activity over several days.
2. Choose am, is or are
| Subject | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | am + verb-ing | I am reading. |
| You / We / They | are + verb-ing | They are waiting. |
| He / She / It | is + verb-ing | She is cooking. |
| One person or thing | is + verb-ing | Amina is working. |
| More than one person or thing | are + verb-ing | The students are listening. |
Need help with am, is and are? Start with the Verb to be foundation lesson.
3. Positive sentences, negatives and questions
+ Positive
Subject + am/is/are + verb-ing
I am reading.
She is studying.
They are working.
− Negative
Subject + am/is/are + not + verb-ing
I am not reading.
She is not studying.
They are not working.
? Question
Am/Is/Are + subject + verb-ing?
Am I reading?
Is she studying?
Are they working?
Remember both parts: “She is cooking”, not “She cooking” or “She is cook”. Do not add do or does: “Are you listening?”, not “Do you are listening?”
4. Contractions
Short positive forms
I’m reading. = I am reading.
You’re working. = You are working.
He’s cooking. = He is cooking.
She’s studying. = She is studying.
It’s raining. = It is raining.
We’re listening. = We are listening.
They’re waiting. = They are waiting.
Short negative forms
I’m not working.
She isn’t working. / She’s not working.
They aren’t working. / They’re not working.
Both negative patterns are correct. Keep the -ing verb after the negative form.
5. Questions and short answers
Yes/No questions
“Are you working?” → “Yes, I am.” / “No, I’m not.”
“Is she cooking?” → “Yes, she is.” / “No, she isn’t.”
“Are they studying?” → “Yes, they are.” / “No, they aren’t.”
“Am I speaking clearly?” → “Yes, you are.” / “No, you aren’t.”
Repeat am, is or are in the short answer. Do not finish a positive short answer with a contraction: say “Yes, I am”, not “Yes, I’m”.
WH-questions
Question word + am/is/are + subject + verb-ing?
- What are you doing?
- Where is she going?
- Why are they waiting?
- Who are you talking to?
- How is he travelling today?
When who asks about the person doing the activity, say “Who is speaking?”
6. Spelling: make the -ing form
Most verbs: add -ing
work → working
read → reading
study → studying
play → playing
Keep y: study does not become studing.
Usually drop a final silent e
make → making
write → writing
take → taking
use → using
Keep ee: see → seeing.
Exception: be → being.
Double some final consonants
sit → sitting
run → running
stop → stopping
plan → planning
get → getting
In many short verbs ending in one vowel + one consonant, double the consonant. Do not double w, x or y: snowing, fixing, playing.
Other useful forms
lie → lying
die → dying
tie → tying
Change ie to y before -ing.
British spelling: travel → travelling.
practise → practising.
7. Time expressions and common mistakes
Now · right now · at the moment · today · this week · this month
“I am working at the moment.” “She is staying with us this week.” Time expressions help, but always think about the meaning of the situation.
Present Simple or Present Continuous?
Routine: “I work in a café every Saturday.”
Happening now: “I am working in the café right now.”
Usual situation: “She lives in Ilford.”
Temporary situation: “She is staying with her sister this month.”
Some verbs are not normally continuous
Verbs such as know, understand, want, need, like and believe usually describe states. We normally use the present simple:
“I know the answer”, not “I am knowing the answer”.
“She needs help”, not “She is needing help”.
“I understand”, not “I am understanding”.
Some verbs change meaning: “I have a car” describes possession, but “I am having lunch” describes an activity.
- “She working.” → She is working.
- “He is runing.” → He is running.
- “They is waiting.” → They are waiting.
- “Is she work?” → Is she working?
- “Where you are going?” → Where are you going?
The present continuous can also describe a future arrangement, such as “I’m meeting my tutor tomorrow”. That use will have its own lesson; the activities here focus on now and temporary situations.
Audio uses your device’s English (UK) voice when available. No sound plays automatically.
8. Your practice space
Choose an activity. Each round has 10 questions. Type answers, choose an option or build a sentence. Read the feedback before moving on.
Full forms and standard contractions are accepted. Capital letters and final punctuation do not affect your score. Each answer is checked once per round; you can practise missed questions afterwards.
The final assessment draws from the practice bank. It is a learning check, not a qualification test.
Your round
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10. Print and practise
Use these questions for classwork or homework. The print version includes 20 questions followed by the answer key on a separate page. Use your print settings to save as PDF if you prefer.
View worksheet questions and answers
- Use the present continuous: I ___ a letter now. (read)
Answer: am reading - Use the present continuous: We ___ new words today. (learn)
Answer: are learning - Use the present continuous: You ___ in my seat at the moment. (sit)
Answer: are sitting - Use the present continuous: The driver ___ at the traffic lights now. (stop)
Answer: is stopping - Use the present continuous: They ___ the chairs now. (move)
Answer: are moving - Complete the present continuous negative: I ___ television at the moment. (watch)
Answer: am not watching - Complete the present continuous negative: She ___ dinner at the moment. (cook)
Answer: is not cooking - Complete the present continuous negative: The children ___ at the moment. (sleep)
Answer: are not sleeping - Complete the present continuous negative: The teacher ___ our homework at the moment. (mark)
Answer: is not marking - Complete the present continuous negative: He ___ the car at the moment. (clean)
Answer: is not cleaning - Complete the question: ___ you filling in the form now?
Answer: Are - Complete the question: ___ he washing his hands now?
Answer: Is - Complete the question: ___ the bus driver helping a passenger at the moment?
Answer: Is - Build a present continuous question. Use all the words.
Words: now / documents / the / sending / you / Are
Answer: Are you sending the documents now? - Build a present continuous question. Use all the words.
Words: moment / the / at / course / a / choosing / we / Are
Answer: Are we choosing a course at the moment? - Make this negative. Keep the same subject and details: I am reading a letter now.
Answer: I am not reading a letter now. - Make this negative. Keep the same subject and details: They are waiting for the bus now.
Answer: They are not waiting for the bus now. - Make a yes/no question. Keep the same subject and details: We are planning our class project at the moment.
Answer: Are we planning our class project at the moment? - Correct the mistake. Write the complete sentence: I am write an email now.
Answer: I am writing an email now. - Correct the mistake. Write the complete sentence: He is lieing on the sofa.
Answer: He is lying on the sofa.
Keep practising
Try another activity, revisit a rule or use a grammar video to support your learning.
ESOLish · Present Continuous
Name: ____________________ Date: ______________
Write your answers. Keep the same subject when changing sentences. Full forms and contractions are both correct.
Present Continuous · Answer key
More free learning: esolish.com/english-tenses/