English XP

Continuous Tenses

continuous tenses

What Are Continuous Tenses?

I saw it while I was walking to work.

He is talking very loudly!

They will be working all day tomorrow.


Continuous tenses or progressive tenses are used to show that an action is still in motion (hasn’t finished). Although the present continuous is the most common in English, we can also use the past continuous as well as the future continuous tenses.

How To Form The Continuous Tense?

To form the continuous tense we need the present participle of a verb as well as the continuous tense of “to be” (am, is, are). This does change slightly for the past and future continuous tenses however.


He is singing.

They are running.

I am laughing.


verb stempresent participle
walk
talk
shout
type
clap
shoot
jump
swim
write
cook
walking
talking
shouting
typing
clapping
shooting
jumping
swimming
writing
cooking


As you can see above, a lot of the time we can simply add “ing” to our verb stem to form the present participle. Sometimes though we need to remove the last letter before adding “ing” (type -> typing). We also sometimes double up the last letter (swim -> swimming).


Past Continuous Tense

We use this tense to show an event that was happening in the past.

For this form we need to use was / were before our present participle.


I was teaching all day last Tuesday.

He was cooking for two hours this morning.

They were playing together all summer.


Present Continuous Tense

This tense is used to show an event that is happening right now.


I am currently typing this article.

You are reading this page.

They are also reading this page.


We can also use this tense in a similar way to the simple present to express an ongoing pursuit or activity (e.g working or studying etc) even if we aren’t doing it right this second.


I am teaching. (This means I work as a teacher even if I’m not currently teaching a class.)

You are studying English. (This is true even if you are watching TV instead right now. As long as the studying is an ongoing thing.)

They are working on a project. (Again, they may not be doing it right this second but it is an ongoing pursuit.)


Lastly we can also use the present continuous tense to talk about things that will happen in the future.


I am visiting Grandma tomorrow.

He is traveling to Germany next week.

She is cooking dinner next Tuesday.


Future Continuous Tense

We use this tense to talk about ongoing activities that will be happening in the future.

As this is in the future we need to use “will be” before the present participle.


I will be running in the marathon next week.

He will be fishing this afternoon.

They won’t be coming to dinner tomorrow.


Non-continuous Verbs

Although we can use most verbs in continuous form, there are some which don’t sound quite right in some situations and we are better off staying with simple tenses.


I am being a chef. I am a chef.

He is liking you. He likes you.

They are possessing a car. They possess a car.


Continuous Tenses Quiz

Time to test your what you have learned!

What is a continuous tense?
I was cooking this morning.
They will be playing football tomorrow.
He is reading a book.
Which one is using the continuous tense?
Which one is using the continuous tense?
Which one is using the continuous tense?
I ( ) to school. [present continuous]
They ( ) breakfast for us. [past continuous]
He ( ) in the lecture this afternoon. [future continuous]
Complete the form below to see results
Continuous Tenses
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