Grammar 4 You

There are three kinds of tenses like Present, Past and Future. Again these tenses are divided into four sub groups like Simple, Progressive, Perfect Progressive and Perfect. Let’s discuss about a short lesson on the Progressive form of present tense. Present progressive is a popular form of tense. In this series of knowledge on tense, let me discuss about the present progressive or continuous.

Am/is/are+ verb+ing or present participle.

The form indicates that an activity is going on now or at the very moment of speaking.

What are you doing? (Right now)
I'm writing a letter.
Let's go out. It is not raining any more.
Where's Harsh?
He is in the garden watering the plants.
Don't disturb me. I am trying to hear him carefully.

A series of actions has been started and is in progress (going on and around now) although the doer may not be performing the action himself at the time of speaking.

They're building a new house near the institution.
Simple is five years old and going to school.
A.P.J is writing a new novel.

A series of actions or a temporary situation is being performed temporarily. (Something which is true at the moment of speaking, but which may be true later.) It is concerned with habitual activity but habitual activity over a limited period of time.

We are staying in a makeshift house as our new house is under construction.
I am getting up at seven every day this week.
He goes to work in train but he is now going to work by car these days.

With Always/ Forever/ Constantly etc.

This form is sometimes used with Always (More rarely with Continually, forever etc. ) to emphasize the frequency with which an action is repeated: the speaker wishes to show that, in his opinion, this action occurs more frequently than normal, and the feeling is usually one of Surprise, Irritation or Criticism.