If we are talking about the most used tenses in English, then the first place rightfully belongs to the Simple group. Although, using only this group of times, even the UK will not be able to get there, and therefore it is necessary to work on expanding the capabilities of the language. Here we are well served by the second most used group of times - Continuous. Just like the rest of the group, it consists of the past, present and future tenses.
Value
How to deal with all these real times, are they all "real"? Great difficulty arises in distinguishing Present Simple and Present Continuous, but everything is not as complicated as it might seem at first glance.
We use Present Continuous when an action is performed directly at the moment of speech, we can observe the process of action itself.
Here is an example:
- A shark eats a man. - A shark eats a man.
Comment: in principle, a shark eats people, say, this is its “usual” occupation, which it does with some frequency (maybe every day, every week, every month, etc.). Now let's turn to Present Continuous:
- The shark is eating a man. - A shark eats (eats) a person.
Comment: a shark eats a person right in front of us (we can see this because we are standing on the shore and are horrified by the picture unfolding in front of our eyes). It is in the process of human absorption, so we use Present Continuous. Time marker words can also help here: at the moment (at the moment), now (now).
Education
So, we pass to education. To get Present Continuous, we need to use:
To be - the auxiliary verb "to be, to be," is consistent with different subjects and takes on the forms am, is, are in the present tense. V - the verb you need, ing - the end of this verb expressing a long process.
Talking about our plans
Now that we know how Present Continuous is formed, let's turn to the rule with going to. It will be extremely useful if you want to tell what you are going to do.
Here are the rules and examples for be going to, this time taking an example without a shark.
- The monkey is going to eat a banana. - The monkey is going to eat a banana (if there were a lot of these monkeys, then replace is with are).
Comment: she hasn’t eaten it yet, she only has plans to do it (if the monkeys can plan, of course).
This is a fairly simple form of future tense - the going to rule. You can also transfer this design to the past time plan to indicate that someone was planning to do something. For instance:
- The monkey was going to eat a banana. - The monkey was about to eat a banana (again, if there were a lot of hungry monkeys, then we changed was to were).
The was / were going to rule is used in the same way, only indicates the elapsed time.
Attention! Do not forget that in English, the go / goes rule (Present Simple form) does not mean the same meaning!
- Jack goes to the park every day. - Jack goes to the park every day.
Comment: not a day has passed without Jack going to the park.
- Jack is going to go to the park. - Jack is going to go to the park.
Comment: He planned to go to the park. The going to go rule applies in the sense of "going to go (going) somewhere."
The meaning of future tense
Surprisingly, Present Continuous can mean more than just the present. In addition to the going to rule and the expression of the action at the time of speech, it is used to indicate the future tense. How does it differ from the simple future of Future Simple? Let's look at an example.
- I'm going to the party tomorrow. “I'm going to the party tomorrow.”
Comment: I have definitely decided that I will go to the party tomorrow, nothing will change my plans, because I planned to do it.
- I'll go to the party tomorrow - I'm going to the party tomorrow.
Comment: I’m going to a party, but that’s not yet accurate. I can come, but I can not come (depending on how boring the party promises to be).
What conclusion can be made? Present Continuous in the meaning of the future tense we use when we have definitely decided to do something. For instance:
- I'm watching "America's Next Top Model" this Monday this Monday.
If we doubt whether an event will occur or not, that is, we are not completely sure, we can change plans at any time:
- I'll go to the dentist this Monday - I'll go to the dentist this Monday.
Other values
In addition to the above functions, I would like to draw attention to a few useful values of Present Continuous. This section is for those who decided to plunge into the "pool" of the English language with their heads and who do not have enough three meanings for a long time.
- It is also suitable for describing an action that is constantly repeated and annoying one of the interlocutors. In these sentences, you will always see either the word "constantly", or "all the time" (all the time), or "always" (always).
Example:
- Ann is always smoking in the house! It's unsupportable! “Ann always smokes in the house!” It is unbearable!
Comment: Anne smokes so often in the house that it annoys everyone. To express our irritation or dissatisfaction with the constantly occurring action, we use not Present Simple, but Present Continuous (to enhance the emotional load of the phrase).
- Present Continuous is used when an action lasts for a certain period of time. Went to London for a couple of months? Or on vacation for a couple of weeks? Or will you attend painting courses for a couple of days? Then use Present Continuous!
Example:
- We're staying in Washington for a couple of days - We will be in Washington a couple of days.
- We can turn to Present Continuous if we want to describe an object that is constantly changing, not standing still. The process is ongoing, and the emphasis on the extent of the action over time reflects exactly Present Continuous.
For instance:
- Your son is growing quickly. - Your son is growing rapidly (he does not stop growing, no matter what).
- Life is changing so fast! - Life is changing so fast (it is constantly changing, it is impossible to disagree with this).
- This time can also serve to describe a temporary state or event. Usually, the words until (not yet), during (during), for (during) are used to convey this value.
For instance:
- Emily is working as a waitress until she moves to London. “Emily works as a waitress until she moves to London.”
Comment: she will not work as a waitress all her life, this is her temporary work only until she moves to London. If we said she works as a waitress, we would mean that she works as a waitress on an ongoing basis (what she does in life).
Conclusion
Present Continuous rules are not as complicated as in other times. We tried to explain in the most accessible way in our article what was what. We hope that this helps you to understand at least a little the wilds of the English language.