Form
affirmative | negative | question | |
---|---|---|---|
I | I am playing. | I am not playing. | Am I playing? |
he, she, it | He is playing. | He is not playing. | Is he playing? |
you, we, they | You are playing. | You are not playing. | Are you playing? |
Exceptions in Spelling
Exeption | Example |
---|---|
silent e is dropped before ing (but: ee is not changed) | come - coming (but: agree - agreeing) |
final consonant after short, stressed vowel is doubled | sit - sitting |
final consonant l after vowel is always doubled (in British English) | travel - travelling |
ie becomes y before ing | lie - lying |
Short Forms
positiv | negativ |
---|---|
I am playing. - I'm playing. | I am not playing. - I'm not playing. |
He is playing. - He's playing. | He is not playing. - He's not playing. / He isn't playing. |
We are playing. - We're playing. | We are not playing. - We're not playing. /We aren't playing. |
Use
Use | Example |
---|---|
actions taking place at the moment of speaking (now) | He is playing football. |
arrangements for the near future | I'm going to the theatre tonight. |
actions taking place only for a limited period of time | Jim is helping in his brother's firm this week. |
actions taking place around now (but not at the moment of speaking) | I'm studying for my exams. |
development, changing situations | The population of China is rising very fast. |
Typical Signal Words
- at the moment
- now / just now / right now
- Listen!
- Look!