Present Continuous: is happening now

Time for tense. The present continuous is the tense of right now. Not yesterday, not tomorrow. Right at this moment.

Every present continuous sentence is built from two pieces. A helper: am, is or are. And a verb with ing on the end. I am walking. She is reading. They are eating.

Match the helper to the person. I am. He, she and it is. You, we and they are. Never say I is or they is. That is the mistake I hear most often.

Spelling rules. Most verbs simply add ing: playing, reading. But short verbs double the last letter: run becomes running, sit becomes sitting. Verbs ending in a silent e drop it: make becomes making.

Here it is in action. Look, the baby is laughing because the dog is chasing its tail. Both things are happening while you watch them. That is the whole test: happening now.

So you can build am is are plus verb ing, pick the right helper for the person, and use it for things happening right now. Quiz time.