Level One
Lesson 17
present continuous tense - negative
To make a verb in the present continuous tense negative, add the word “not.”
- Something is not happening right now.
- Something is not happening in your life.
- Something is not happening later in the future.
17a. making the negative ✍🏾
S + (be) + not + _____ing
singular
I am not watching TV.
You are not watching TV.
He is not watching TV.
She is not watching TV.
It is not watching TV.
plural
We are not watching TV.
You are not watching TV.
They are not watching TV.
Contractions can be made two ways:
You’re not watching TV. (S + V ) + not + main verb
You aren’t watching TV. S + (V + not) + main verb.
17a. Examples
They are not watching TV.
They are playing outside.
They’re not watching TV.
They aren’t watching TV.
17b. not happening now
When an activity is not happening now, the present continuous tense is used in the negative.
- I am not riding my bike right now. (I + am + not + ride + ing)
- You are not learning Spanish. (You + are + not + learn + ing)
- She is not playing at the park. (She + is + not + play + ing)
- They are going to work today. (They + are + not + go + ing)
17b. Examples ✍🏾
- She is not showing her face.
- She and her friends are not sitting inside a classroom.
- The sun is not shining. It’s starting to get dark.
17c. not happening in your life
The present continuous tense is used for activity that is not happening in your life at present. This is used for work, school, living arrangements, interests, hobbies, etc.
- I am not working for a large corporation. I’m working for a school district.
- The students I work with are not planning to go to college this fall. They might go the following year.
17c. Examples ✍🏾
- I”m not using a dryer for my clothes anymore.
- Prices for clothing are not going down right now. Customers are waiting for discounts.
17d. not happening in the future
The present continuous tense is used for activity that is not happening soon in the future.
- I’m not leaving for Chicago until next week.
- The store is not having a big sale this weekend.
- The car that Jeremy wants is not going on sale any time in the future.
17d. Examples ✍🏾
- A: When are you going on your trip?
- B: We’re not leaving until next week.
Learn to form questions in the present continuous tense in Lesson Eighteen.