The present progressive puts emphasis on the course or duration of an action. The present progressive is used for actions going on in the moment of speaking and for actions taking place only for a short period of time. ... Present progressive is also known aspresent continuous.
The form of the present continuous tense
The verb to be (in the simple present) verb + ing The affirmative forms of the present continuous:
am eating. ’m You, we, they are ’re He, she, it is 's The interrogative forms of the present continuous
Am I eating? Are you, we, they Is he, she, it The negative forms of the present continuous
I am not eating. ’m not You, we, they are not aren't He, she, it is not isn't
The use of the present continuous tense
- The present continuous is used to talk about actions happening at the time of speaking.Example:
- Where is Mary? She is having a bath. (Not she has a bath)
- What are you doing at the moment in front of your screen? Don't you know? Well … you are reading this lesson. You are learning English.
- The present continuous can also be used when an action has started but hasn’t finished yet.Example:
- I am reading a book; it’s a nice book. (It means = I am not necessarily reading it; I started reading it but I haven’t finished it yet
Special verbs
There are verbs which are normally not used in the present continuous.
Examples:
be, believe, belong, hate, hear, like, love, mean, prefer, remain, realize, see, seem, smell, think, understand, want, wish
It's not correct to say:
He is wanting to buy a new car.*
You must say:
He wants to buy a new car.