Chapter 1 - Present Continuous Tense - 123 New Vocabularies - Practical English Grammar: Volume 1 - Willyam Wen
CHAPTER 1
Present Continuous (I’m Doing)
VOCABULARIES [123 NEW VOCABULARIES]
Personal Pronouns
- She – A female person
- You – The person being spoken to
- They – More than one person or thing
- We – The speaker and others
- He – A male person
- It – A thing, animal, or idea
Possessive Adjectives
- Her – Belonging to a female person
- Their – Belonging to them
- My – Belonging to me
Possessive Pronouns
- Mine – Belonging to me
Demonstrative Pronouns
- This – Something near the speaker
- That – Something far from the speaker
Question Words
- Where – In what place
Proper Names
- Italy – A country in Europe
Verbs
- Work – To do a job
- Drive – To control a vehicle
- Do – To perform an action
- Make – To create something
- Have – To own something
- Bath – To wash the body
- Let – To allow
- Go – To move to another place
- Go Out – To leave home
- Rain – Water falling from the sky
- Enjoy – To like something
- Read – To look at and understand words
- Lend – To give something temporarily
- Finish – To complete something
- Want – To desire something
- Learn – To gain knowledge
- Build – To make by putting parts together
- Rise – To go up
- Get – To receive or obtain
- Live – To stay or exist
- Increase – To become greater
- Play – To have fun or take part in a game
- Study – To learn about something
- Watch – To look at carefully
- Cook – To prepare food
- Sleep – To rest with eyes closed
- Write – To put words on paper
- Listen – To pay attention to sound
- Use – To do something with
- Wait – To stay until something happens
- Talk – To speak
- Run – To move fast on foot
- Cry – To shed tears
- Bark – The sound a dog makes
- Clean – To make something not dirty
- Win – To be the best in a competition
- Sit – To rest on a chair
- Blow – To move air
Nouns
- Car – A vehicle with four wheels
- Way – A path or method
- Noise – A loud or unwanted sound
- Party – A social gathering
- Bed – Furniture for sleeping
- Moment – A short time
- Book – A set of written pages
- Friend – A person you like and trust
- House – A building for living
- Week – Seven days
- Month – About four weeks
- Population – The number of people in a place
- World – The Earth and all people
- English – The English language
- Cost – The price of something
- Economic – Related to money and trade
- Situation – A condition or state
- Football – A sport played with a ball
- Park – A public green area
- Test – An exam
- Movie – A film
- Dinner – The main meal of the day
- Kitchen – A room for cooking
- Child – A young person
- Mother – A female parent
- Email – An electronic message
- TV – Television
- Music – Organized sound
- School – A place for learning
- Phone – A device for calling
- Basketball – A sport played with a hoop
- Bus – A large public vehicle
- Homework – School work done at home
- Chess – A board game
- Parent – A mother or father
- Dog – A common pet animal
- Room – A space inside a building
- Exercise – Physical activity
- Brother – A male sibling
- Wind – Moving air
Adjectives
- Tired – Needing rest
- Much – A large amount
- Interesting – Making you curious
- Italian – From Italy
- Some – An unspecified amount
- Own – Belonging to oneself
- Fast – Moving quickly
- English – Related to England or the English language
- Better – More good
- Worse – More bad
- Right – Correct
- Dark – With little light
- Strong – Having power
Adverbs
- Please – A polite word
- So – Very
- At the Moment – Right now
- Much – To a great degree
- Now – At this time
- Anymore – No longer
- Today – This day
- Hard – With effort
- Fast – Quickly
- Very – To a high degree
- Right Now – Immediately
- Outside – In or to the outer area
- Strongly – With strength
Prepositions
- On – Touching a surface
- At – In a specific place or time
- In – Inside something
- To – In the direction of
Conjunctions
- When – At the time that
A. Introduction: What Is the Present Continuous?
Imagine this situation:
Ann is in her car. She is on her way to work. She is driving to work.
This tells us that Ann is driving right now, at the moment of speaking. She has started driving, but she hasn’t finished yet. The action is still in progress.
We use the present continuous tense to talk about actions that are happening now or around now.
Form of the Present Continuous
The structure is:
am / is / are + verb + -ing
| Subject | Verb "to be" | Verb + -ing | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | am (’m) | driving | I’m driving. |
| He/She/It | is (’s) | working | She’s working. |
| We/You/They | are (’re) | doing | They’re doing homework. |
B. When Do We Use the Present Continuous?
1. Actions Happening Now
We use the present continuous when an action is happening at the moment of speaking.
Examples:
- Please don’t make so much noise. I’m working.
- “Where’s Margaret?” “She’s having a bath.”
- Let’s go out now. It isn’t raining anymore.
- (At a party) Are you enjoying the party?
- I’m tired. I’m going to bed now.
In these examples, the actions are happening right now.
2. Actions in Progress (But Not Exactly Now)
Sometimes the action is not happening at the exact moment of speaking, but it is still in progress.
Example:
Tom says:
“I’m reading an interesting book at the moment. I’ll lend it to you when I’ve finished.”
Tom is not reading the book at that exact moment, but he has started it and hasn’t finished it yet.
More examples:
- Catherine wants to work in Italy, so she is learning Italian.
- Some friends of mine are building their own house.
These actions are temporary and unfinished.
3. Temporary Situations Around Now
We also use the present continuous to talk about temporary situations happening around now (today, this week, this month, etc.).
- “You’re working hard today.”
- “Is Susan working this week?”
These are temporary situations, not permanent ones.
4. Changes Happening Around Now
The present continuous is also used for changes and developments.
- The population of the world is rising very fast.
- Is your English getting better?
- The cost of living is increasing.
- The economic situation is getting worse.
These sentences describe changes happening over time.
Exercise 1 – Fill in the Blanks
Complete the sentences using the correct form of the verb in brackets.
- She __________ (read) a book right now.
- They __________ (play) football in the park.
- I __________ (study) for my English test.
- We __________ (watch) a movie at the moment.
- He __________ (cook) dinner in the kitchen.
- The children __________ (sleep).
- It __________ (rain) outside.
- You __________ (learn) very fast.
- My mother __________ (work) today.
- I __________ (write) an email now.
Exercise 2 – Negative Sentences
Change the sentences into negative form.
- She is watching TV.
- They are working hard.
- I am listening to music.
- He is driving to school.
- We are playing basketball.
Exercise 3 – Make Questions
Rewrite the sentences as questions.
- She is cooking dinner.
- They are studying English.
- He is sleeping.
- You are using my phone.
- We are waiting for the bus.
Exercise 4 – Choose the Correct Answer
- She (is / are) talking on the phone.
- I (am / is) doing my homework.
- They (am / are) playing chess.
- It (is / are) getting dark.
- We (is / are) watching TV.
Exercise 5 – Correct the Mistakes
- She are reading a book.
- I is going to school.
- They am playing football.
- He are sleeping.
- We is studying English.
Exercise 6 – What Is Happening Now?
Example: (John / run) → John is running.
- (The baby / cry)
- (My parents / work)
- (The dog / bark)
- (We / clean the house)
- (Sarah / talk to her friend)
Exercise 7 – Short Answers
Example: Are you studying? → Yes, I am.
- Is she working?
- Are they sleeping?
- Are you watching TV?
- Is he driving?
- Are we winning?
Exercise 8 – Mixed Practice
Right now, I __________ (sit) in my room. I __________ (write) this exercise. My brother __________ (watch) TV and my parents __________ (cook) dinner. Outside, it __________ (rain), and the wind __________ (blow) strongly.
Summary
We use the present continuous (am/is/are + verb-ing) to talk about:
- Actions happening now
- Actions in progress (not finished)
- Temporary situations
- Changes happening around now
This tense helps us describe actions that are ongoing and not yet complete.
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