UNIT The Present Continuous Positive

Be
The present continuous negative
The present continuous question
The present continuous vs. the present simple

A Sample sentences
• At the m oment 70% of consumers are using the Internet to buy things.
• Prasad is currently preparing a business plan.
• At present I am eating my lunch.

B Form
The present continuous positive has tw o parts:
the present tense of to be + infinitive .. .ing

Long form Short form

Subject to be Infinitive .. .ing Subject + to be
I am presenting I'm presenting
you are making you’re making
he/she/it is calling he's/she's/it’s calling
the company/the department (= it) is preparing the company's preparing
the m anager/the boss (= he/she) is reading the manager's reading
we are meeting we're meeting
you are looking you're looking
they are visiting they're visiting
the companies/the departments are doing the companies're doing
(= they) (spoken only)
the managers/the workers are discussing the managers're discussing
(= they) (spoken only)

We often use the sh o rt fo rm s in spoken language; we som e tim e s use the m in in fo rm a l

w ritte n language:
W e're planning a new product for this year, (spoken and w ritte n )
At the moment the company's doing very w ell, (spoken)

C Uses
We use the present continuous to ta lk about:

1. activities at o r around the tim e of speaking:

They are building two nuclear power stations.

2 . te m p o ra ry activities in the present:

Bella, w hat are you doing? I'm reading a report.

Note
W ith C1 and 2, we can use the follow ing expressions:

at the/this m om ent currently at present now

but not

actually

P re -In te rm e d ia te Business G ra m m a r
TASKS

Exercise 1
Look at the email below. Underline five present continuous forms.

Exercise 2
Here is p a rt o f a telephone conversation. Complete the spaces with the correct form o f the word in
brackets. Use sh ort forms, where possible.

DL:Hello, Peter. Listen, I ‘m reading Ire a d lyo u r report. There’s a problem on page 50.
PT: Okay, I _[look] at it rig h t now. What’s the problem ?
DL: It says w e __________ (invest] $250,000 in research. That's wrong. I t ’s $25,000,
not $250,000.
PT: Okay I ’ll change that.
DL: Right. Remember, y o u __________ (meet] M r Lally and his colleagues today.
PT: Yes, I know. They__________ (come] here at 2.30.
DL: Fine. Good luck. See you tomorrow, then.

Exercise 3
Look at the graph below. It shows total company sales and sales for two products, A and B.
Write fou r sentences. Use the prom pts below.

1. Total sales (go up).

2. Product A (increase).

3. Product B (fall).

4. The com pany (stop)

production of Product B.

Transfer
Write fou r sentences about you, yo ur friends o ra local business o r institution. Include phrases
from the box.
now at the m oment currently at present

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UNIT The Present Continuous Negative
See also
Units 1,2 Be
Unit 3 The present continuous positive
Unit 5 The present continuous question
Unit 9 The present continuous vs. the present simple

A Sample sentences
• I am not working at the moment; I am looking for a job.
• The company is not growing quickly enough.
• M anagers are not dealing w ith the issue at the moment.

B Form
The present continuous negative has three parts:
the present tense of to be + not + infinitive .. .ing

Long form Short form

I am not presenting I'm not presenting

you are not making you're not or you aren ’t making

he/she/it is not calling he's not/she’s not/it's not calling
or he isn't/she isn't/it isn't calling
the organisation (= it] is not preparing the organisation isn't preparing
the director (= he/she) is not reading the director isn't reading
we are not meeting we're not or we aren't meeting

you are not looking you’re not or you aren't looking

they are not visiting they're not or they aren ’t visiting
the teams l= they] are not doing the teams aren't doing
the employees (= they) are not discussing the employees aren ’t discussing

C Uses
We use the present continuous to ta lk about:

1. activities at o r around the tim e of speaking:

The company is not/The company isn't investing enough to improve its network.

2 . te m p o ra ry activities in the present:

We are not starting/W e aren't starting the meeting yet because John isn't here.

P re -In te rm e d ia te Business G ra m m a r
TASKS

Exercise 1
Look at the text below. Underline four present continuous negatives.

We are not increasing our prices th is year. The m arket is not strong enough. We are

launching new products f o r th e domestic market. M ost o f our products are selling well at

home. A t present, we are not planning any new products fo r export. Sales are not

increasing in our e xpo rt markets. The company is not expecting improved sales th is year.

Exercise 2
Write sentences with a present continuous negative. Use short form s, where possible.

1. I/not visit/a cu sto m e r/in Rome

I'm not visiting a custom er in Rome.

2. W e/not spend/m uch tim e /in Milan

3. The com pany/not look at/n e w m a rke ts in southern Europe
4. At the m om ent many com panies/not invest/in new products
5. Our m a rketing e xperts/not ch an g e/o ur present sales strategy
6. You/not stay/in a hotel

Exercise 3
Make negative o r positive sentences fo r pictures 1-4 below. Use the words in brackets.

(this year/the com pany/do w e ll in the USA) (at p re sent/w e/present a good image

Transfer
Write six sentences about yo u r current activities. Use the present continuous tense, with some
positive and some negative sentences.
UNIT The Present Continuous Question

Be
The present continuous positive
The present continuous negative
The present continuous vs. the present simple
Questions

A Sample sentences
Yoshie: Henry, what are you doing?
Henry: I'm checking the figures. There is a mistake here. W hat is Janet doing
Yoshie: She is calling a taxi for you. Are you leaving now?
Henry: Yes, but Janet is staying.

B Form
The present continuous question has two parts:
the present tense of to be + infinitive .. .ing

We put the subject between part 1 and part 2:

( i g i Subject
am i presenting?
are you making?
is he/she/it calling?
is the computer (= it) analysing?
is the consultant (= he/she) reading?
are we meeting?
are you looking?
are they visiting?
are the specialists (= they) doing?
are the machines (= they) preparing?

C Uses
We use the present continuous question to ask about:

1. activities at o r around the tim e of speaking:

A: Why is he leaving the building?
B: Because he is going to a meeting.

2 . te m p o ra ry activities in the present:

A: W hat are you working on?
B: At the m oment we are developing new processes to speed up production.

P re -In te rm e d ia te B usiness G ra m m a r
TASKS

Exercise 1
Underline the mistakes in the following sentences. Then correct them.

1. Is you w o rkin g very hard? Are you working very hard?

2. At the m om ent they w o rkin g w ith Poland? __________________________

3. Is Leo and Sam planning the conference together? __________________________

4. W hat you th in k about? __________________________

5. Is raining in Bangkok? __________________________

Exercise 2
Make questions to complete the dialogue below. Use the words in brackets.

1. What's Mary doing ? She’s telephoning S ignor Fini.

(W hat/Mary/do?)

.? To invite him to the m eeting on Friday.

(W hy/call/him ?)

3. .? To ta lk about the La Paz report.

(W hy/we/have a meeting?)

.? Yes, I’m s till w o rkin g on it.

(You/work on/the re p ort now?)

5. .? No, I’m doing it alone.

(Anyone/help/you?)

6. .? No, they aren't.

(Kim and Ja m e s/co m e /to the meeting?)

Exercise 3
Make questions fo r the pictures 1-4. Use the words in brackets.

1. (w hy/com puter/not work) 3. (w hy/birds/die

4. (w hy/oil/leak)

Transfer
Write five questions about yo u r colleagues using the present continuous form.

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