Present Continuous

Present Continuous: happening now

We use the present continuous for actions happening now or around now. The form is am/is/are + verb-ing. We often use it to talk about what we can see at this moment.

I am reading a book now.

It is raining.

How to make -ing forms

Usually, we add -ing to the verb: read → reading, wear → wearing. If a verb ends in -e, we often remove the e: make → making. For some short verbs, we double the last letter: sit → sitting, run → running.

Present continuous or present simple?

Use the present continuous for something happening now: She is wearing a red coat. Use the present simple for things that are generally true or happen often: She wears a coat in winter. Think: now = present continuous, in general = present simple.

The baby is sleeping now.

It rains a lot here in winter.