THE

PRESENT PROGRESSIVE

(CONTINUOUS) TENSE

The treacherous tense

PART ONE: Introduction

The present progressive tense is not difficult to construct; it is the present tense of ‘to be’ plus the present participle (gerund) of the verb you wish to use.

For example, ‘to look’:  I am looking, you are looking, he is looking, she is looking and so on.

It should not be difficult to use.

But the present progressive tense is full of risks for the student.

The BIGGEST RISK in learning the present progressive is that the

student can get the idea that ‘to be’ is a necessary part of other verb tenses.

I have met students who seem unable to form the simple present tense of other verbs without using ‘to be’. They say things like –

I’m prefer, he’s think, you’re read, I’m buy, she’s go.

These are terrible mistakes and I believe they arise because some teachers of English as a second language (ESL) teach the present progressive tense too soon, too often and with too much emphasis.

It seems to me that the present progressive in English is taught with an enthusiasm and urgency that it doesn’t deserve.

The result is that the student hears far too much of ‘to be’ and becomes almost addicted to its use, so the mistake of carrying it into other tenses is at least understandable.

The risks are:

1. Using ‘to be’ in other tenses where it as no place.

2. Saying something foolish – see PART TWO for examples.

3. Implying that something is temporary when you don't mean that.

You might think that someone’s mood is a temporary thing but in English the logic is that if you’re happy, sad, bored, tired it is taken for granted that this is temporary and there is no need to express it.

Thus we should never say ‘I am being happy, sad, tired.’ This is very bad English and we must use the present tense.

Although the present progressive tense is used quite often in English, it is wrong to think that it is a principal tense in English. Its use is restricted to temporary circumstances: present continuing events – something that is happening at this moment.

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