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Present continuous

affirmative, negative and interrogative forms

Presentation




Did you notice that the email that Juliet sent was written in present continuous?


Objective:

By the end of this section, you will understand the use and various forms of present continuous. Here, you will review it to express actions in progress, temporary situations and future plans related to extreme sports.


What are you doing?                        
What is she doing this week?
                  What are we doing next Sunday?


Present continuous is used to express different actions, do you remember which ones?

Of course! Actions that are in progress, temporary situations and future arrangements.

Read the following information:


Present continuous

Actions in progress, temporary situations and future arrangements



Navaza, M. (2012). Cursos surf 3-08-2012 [photo].
Retrieved 23/03/17 from http://bit.ly/2pm1lGI


Gehm, M. (2009). 20090809 03 mini fly out [photo].
Retrieved 23/03/2017 from http://bit.ly/2otUOWa




Scott. (2007). Motocross [photo].
Retrieved 23/03/17 from http://bit.ly/2oc7eWB

Actions in progress

The present continuous is used to express an action in progress at the moment of speaking. To emphasize this you often use words like: now, at the moment, right now.

Look at the examples:


Pronouns Affirmative Negative
I am surfing now. am not surfing now.
You
We
They
are surfing now. aren't surfing now.
He
She
It
is surfing now. isn't surfing now.
Auxiliary to be Interrogative
Are you surfing now?
we surfing now?
they surfing now?
Is he surfing now?
she surfing now?
it surfing now?

Temporary situations

The present continuous is also used to talk about a temporary situation.


Susan is a student, but she's practicing some free diving during the holidays.

This week we are skateboarding.

Future arrangements

The present continuous is used to describe a planned future arrangement.


Tom’s doing some motocross practice tomorrow.

They’re practising some rafting next Saturday morning.

Note:

Don’t forget also the spelling rules.


Infinitive -ing form Spelling
cook cooking add –ing
study studying add –ing
live living cut the final e and add –ing
run running double the final consonant and add –ing

Remember that to form the Present Continuous tense you have to put verb To Be as an auxiliary verb + main verb with –ing.








Exercise 1:

Actions in progress, temporary situations or future arrangements?

It is time to practice the content you have explored. In this exercise, you will have to identify the use of the present continuous in each situation. This exercise is to practice so you can take it as many times as you want.

Choose the right option for each sentence. At the end of the exercise, you can know your score.


Reading

Activity 1

Non-traditional sports: X-treme sports

We use the present continuous tense to talk about actions in progress, temporary activities and future arrangements. So first, you will have to read a text about extreme sports. Then you will have to analyse the content to answer some sentences. Finally, you will have to write sentences in present continuous tense.

First, read the text about X-treme sports, then do the activity.





Now, you will have to write sentences using the present continuous tense.

Listening

Activity 3

Telephone conversation

Do you remember Juliet and Sophie? Juliet sent an email to Sophie telling her about her activities at York Valley Campsite. She used Present Continuous tense to talk about actions in progress, temporary situations and future arrangements. Well, now you will listen to a telephone conversation between Juliet and Sophie talking about extreme sports. You can repeat the audio several times.

Press the play button to listen to the conversation.

According to the audio, choose the right moment (time expression) for each activity. At the end of the exercise, you can know your score.


Jeff. (2017). Dive [photo].
Retrieved 20/04/17 from http://bit.ly/2ou3GLj

Writing

Activity 4

Holidays and extreme sports

Now let’s imagine that you are visiting a tourist attraction where some extreme sports are practised.

In this activity, you will practice the present continuous tense by writing an e-mail to a friend or relative. You will tell him or her where, what you are doing at the moment, and what you are planning to do the five following days. Finally, you will mention what you are doing next weekend.

Write an email to a friend considering the following points:

Make sure you mention the characteristics mentioned in the checklist. It will help you to self-assess. Here you have an example to compare it to your writing.








Sánchez, M. (2008). Saliendo de viaje [photo].
Retrieved 20/04/17 from http://bit.ly/2oxNYxX

Speaking

Activity 5

What about you?

As reviewed, you use the present continuous to talk about actions that are in progress, temporary situations and future arrangements. Now it’s your turn to practice the tense. This is what you have to do:

First, you will listen to Juliet talking about kitesurfing, one of her favourite extreme sports. She mentions where she is, why she is there. She also gives many details about kitesurfing, and when is she planning to practice it.

Press the kitesurfing image to listen to Juliet.

Now, you have to prepare a short speech about the extreme sport that you choose. The sport that you choose has to be different from the sports Juliet and Sophie have mentioned during the unit. Your speech has to be 1 to 2 minutes talking.

First, check the aspects described in the rubrics. Then, self-assess yourself by comparing your audio to the following example.


dimitrisvetsikas1963. (2016). kite [photo].
Retrieved 20/04/17 from http://bit.ly/2q75c6R



Self-assessment

Exercise 1

Extreme sports... who is doing what?

You have reviewed the form and use of the present continuous. In the following exercise, you will check your understanding of this tense.


Exercise 2

When is it happening?

Now you will have to identify if the following statements express actions in progress, temporary situations or future arrangements.


References

Basic references

• Alexander, L.G. (1988). Longman English Grammar. United Kingdom: Longman.
• Latham-Koening, C. et al. (2012). English File Pre-Intermediate Teacher’s Book. United Kingdom: Oxford [3rd ed.]
• Soars, L., Soars, J., Maris, A. (2014). New Headway Intermediate Teacher’s Book. United Kingdom: Oxford. [4th ed.]


Complementary references

• Murphy, R. (1994). English Grammar In Use. [2nd ed.] United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
• Schrampfer, B. (2007). Understanding and Using English Grammar. USA: Pearson. [3rd ed.] U.S.A
• Thomson, A.J., Martinet, A.V. (1986). A Practical English Grammar. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. [4th ed.]