Grammar ~20 min of the core left

Say what is happening right now

After this lesson you can

I can say what I am doing right now and tell it apart from what I usually do.

Start the lesson Core 18–20 min · steps: 6 · optional: +2

Declared core time. Two of the core blocks carry no figure at all, so the real lesson is longer than this sum.

Grammar

4 min

An action at this very minute is said with two words: be + a verb with -ing.

I am reading. → I'm reading.	what I am doing at this moment
She is working. → She's working.	what she is doing at this moment
They are eating.	what they are doing at this moment
Is he working?	a question: is he doing it now?
I am not working. → I'm not working.	a negative: I am not doing it now

You already know the -ing form from lesson 19 — there it named an activity (I like reading), here it is part of a tense, the Present Continuous. The verb be shows the person and the number, and -ing never changes.

Two tenses side by side, and the difference is in one word:

now	usually
I am drinking tea now.	I drink tea every day.
She is working today.	She works on Monday.

Signal words: now, today, at the moment — for what is happening now; usually, every day, always — for what usually happens.

Common learner errors

written for your language

One tense instead of two

✗ I read now

✓ I am reading now

In many languages one present form covers both cases: German ich lese, French je lis, Swedish jag läser mean both "I read" and "I am reading". English makes you choose where your own language does not.

The lost be

✗ I reading now

✓ I am reading now

Chinese (zài), Vietnamese (đang) and Indonesian (sedang) show "now" with one small word before the verb, so learners put in only one word. The English continuous is TWO words, and the first one is the one most often lost.

The continuous where you need the simple present

✗ I am working every day

✓ I work every day

This happens to learners of every language just after they learn the new form: they use it everywhere. If it is a habit, the continuous does not fit.

Pronunciation

3 min

In fast speech be joins the subject: I'm /aɪm/, he's /hiːz/, they're /ðeə/. In conversation the full forms sound strong and even angry — I AM working.

-ing is the same nasal /ŋ/ from lesson 19, and in fast speech it is often reduced to /ɪn/: working → /ˈwɜːkɪn/. You need to recognise this; you do not need to copy it.

Text

3 min

I usually work in an office, but today I am working at home. My sister is sitting next to me. She is reading a book. Our cat is sleeping on my table. It always sleeps there. I'm drinking tea now. I drink tea every morning.

Reading aloud

Exercises

8–10 min

1. Gap fill.

I (read) now
She (work) every day
They (eat) at the moment
He usually (get up) at seven

Show the answers

am reading, works, are eating, gets up.

2. Multiple choice.

I am drinking tea — now / usually
I drink tea — now / usually

Show the answers

now; usually.

3. Error correction.

I reading now.
I read now.
I am working every day.

Show the answers

I am reading now. / I am reading now. / I work every day.

4. Matching.

now
at the moment
every day
usually

Show the answers

`now` and `at the moment` — continuous; `every day` and `usually` — simple present.

Summary

Covered

the Present Continuous in all its forms
the contrast "now — usually"

Next — lesson 26: the weather.

End of the core

The lesson counts as done once the exercises are done. Everything after this is optional.

Lesson 26

optional

Vocabulary for your deck

12 words

now /naʊ/ at this moment
today /təˈdeɪ/ on this day
at the moment /ət ðə ˈməʊmənt/ now, at this time
sleep /sliːp/ to rest at night with your eyes closed
sit /sɪt/ to be on a chair; to take a seat
stand /stænd/ to be on your feet
wait /weɪt/ to stay until someone comes or something happens
listen /ˈlɪsn/ to try to hear something
look /lʊk/ to turn your eyes to something
talk /tɔːk/ to speak with someone
wear /weə/ to have clothes on your body
still /stɪl/ even now; not stopped yet

Writing

Four sentences: what you are doing now and what you usually do at this time.

Example

I am sitting at my table now. I am drinking tea. I usually work in an office, but today I am working at home.

Checklist

does every continuous form have am, is or are?
does a habit have the simple present?

The draft is saved on this device

Practise this lesson in the other sections

Dictationbased on this lesson Write down what you hear. The check shows every word that differs, and how. Write the dictation Reading aloudbased on this lesson Read the lesson text aloud — speech recognition highlights the words it did not catch. Read the text aloud Reading and listeningA1–C1 Texts at every level with comprehension questions; the transcript opens after you answer. Try it

Got a feature idea?

Tell us what you'd like to see next — we read every message and ship suggestions weekly.

Send idea →