How to form the Present Continuous Tense
Put the helping verb 'be' before the verb in -ing form: 'be' + verb-ing.
When adding -ing to a verb, there are some general spelling rules:
1. If a verb ends in an -e which is not pronounced (as in 'make'), you should drop the -e, and add -ing:
- make + ing: I am making dinner. (not 'makeing')
However, if a verb ends in -ee, -oe, or -ye, just add -ing:
- see + ing: Are you seeing what I see?
- dye + ing: Are you dyeing your hair?
2. If a verb has more than one syllable and ends with one vowel + one consonant (as in 'begin'), and has the stress at the end of the word, then double the final consonant:
- begin + ing: Hurry up, the class is beginning! (not 'begining')
3. If a verb has one syllable, ends with one vowel + one consonant (as in 'sit'), then double the final consonant:
- sit + ing: He's sitting on the floor. (not 'siting')
- put + ing: They're putting the clothes in the laundry machine.
