present progressive
- noun
- /ˈprɛzənt prəˈɡrɛsɪv/
- Specialized
:
pretérito progresivo
- Students practice identifying sentences in the present progressive to better understand ongoing actions.
Examples
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The English verbs were presented in the present progressive form, and the Spanish verbs were presented in the infinitive form.
Academic text (2012) -
The passage begins with two present progressives ("are making," "are quitting") denoting ongoing curative activities, which are part of the scene described but do not advance the plot.
Academic text (1992) -
-- Auxiliary verb + present progressive "-ing" appears.
Academic text (2004) -
Using present progressive verb forms (i.e., "he is eating").
Academic text (2004) -
The last verb is again in the present progressive ("is writing"), indicating Rochester's backgrounded actions.
Academic text (1992) -
In contrast, the conversational sampling used by Rice et al. (1998) is likely to have created more contexts for the present progressive and past tense and the consequent judging of bare verb use as incorrect in those contexts.
Academic text (2012) -
The teacher explained that the present progressive tense is used to describe actions happening right now.
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In English, the present progressive form is often constructed using the verb 'to be' followed by a verb ending in '-ing'.
Synonyms
A verb form that shows an action happening now
Antonyms
- Specialized
A verb form that shows an action happening at a certain time in the past
- Specialized
A verb tense that shows an action will be happening at a future time
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a tense for actions happening now' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'present' (current time) with 'progressive' (action in progress). This is a standard grammatical composition found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituent terms should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Present progressive comes from the words present, meaning 'now', and progressive, meaning 'in progress' or moving forward, creating a picture of something happening and continuing. So the name helps you remember that this tense shows actions that are happening right now and still going on.
