Unit 3 lessons 2-3

Unit 3

Lessons 2-3

Student’s Book pages 27-28

 

 

                                    GRAMMAR

The Present Continuous

● We use the Present Continuous to talk about what is happening now.

I am baking a cake.

 

● We use the Present Continuous with always, when we talk about repeated actions, to show annoyance.

Sami and Nabil are always arguing.

 

The present continuous is made from the present tense of the verb be and the –ing form of a verb:

I am	working
You are	playing
He is	talking
She is	living
It is	eating
We are	staying
They are	sleeping

 

We use the present continuous to talk about:

• activities at the moment of speaking:

Please be quiet. The children are sleeping.

 

Present continuous questions

We make questions by putting am, is or are in front of the subject:

Are you listening?
Are they coming to your party?
When is she going home?
What am I doing here?

 

Present continuous negatives

We make negatives by putting not (or n't) after am, is or are:

I'm not doing that.
You aren't listening. (or You're not listening.)
They aren't coming to the party. (or They're not coming to the party.)
She isn't going home until Monday. (or She's not going home until Monday.)

 

Stative verbs

We do not normally use the continuous with stative verbs. Stative verbs include:

• verbs of thinking and feeling:

believe dislike know like

love hate prefer realise

recognise remember suppose think (= believe)

understand want wish

• verbs of the senses:

appear feel

look seem

smell sound

taste

• others:

agree be

belong disagree

need owe

own possess

 

We normally use the simple instead:

I understand you. (NOT I am understanding you.)
This cake tastes wonderful. (NOT This cake is tasting wonderful.)