Present continuous uses and examples

Let&look at the different ways we can use the present continuous tense in English. 1) To describe something that is happening right now. We use the present continuous in order to describe an event that is happening at that specific moment, right before our very eyes. It is the most immediate of tenses, as it deals in the here and the now. Although different time frames can be implied in the present continuous, this first use is the most commonly used and, arguably, the most important of the three. In conversation, this tense is often used with heightened expression or excitement. Examples: • He is stealing the car! • They are winning the game! • The tires are losing air! • Jimmy is walking to school. Notice the punctuation in the first three of the above examples; the exclamation point strengthens the tone of immediacy which is contained in the present continuous. 2) Something we think to be temporary. When we know or believe that a certain reality will last for a pre-determined or finite period of time, that is, something we know will not be true for forever, we use the present continuous. This way we can describe different stages in our lives, what we are working on at the current moment and how things will be in the foreseeable future. Examples: • Jane is working in Mexico this summer. • I am living in Wisconsin for the winter. • Willie Nelson is touring for a while. • Jane and Alex are hiking in the Appalachian Mountains for two months. In each case there is a...