present progressive - form

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how you build the present progressive:

positive and negative statements:

the present progressive is always made up of 2 words: form of “be” + present participle

present participle = verb + ing

e.g. I am working/I‘m working.

He is not working/He isn’t working.

They are working/They‘re working.

questions:

you put the form of “be” at the beginning of the question

e.g. Am I working?

Isn’t she working?

Are you working?

short answers:

if the answer is “yes”, you will answer with the long form (am, is, are)

if the answer is “no”, you will answer with the short form (‘m not, isn’t, aren’t)

e.g. Are you working? – Yes, I am.

Is he working? – No, he isn’t.

Are they working? – Yes, they are.

!!! Attention !!! There are some exceptions in the spelling of the present participle (ing) !

after a short vowel, the last consonant is doubled

sit > sitting

swim > swimming

run > running

if you don’t pronounce the “e” at the end of a verb, it will be dropped

simle > smiling

prepare > preparing

argue > arguing

These verbs are the so-called stative verbs and don’t express actions. Here are some of the most common non-progressive verbs:

feelings: like, love, hate, prefer, want, wish

senses: see, taste, smell, feel, hear

thinking: think, believe, imagine, know, understand

I think (glauben) you’re right. > What are you thinking? (nachdenken)

I guess (annehmen) you like that. > Come on, you‘re only guessing. (raten)

These oranges taste (schmecken) sweet. > Mary is tasting (probieren) the dessert.