Grammar › Present Continuous

Present Continuous: negative sentences

450 fill-in-the-gap exercises, 45 tests of ten

Not goes between be and the -ing form. Do and does never appear.

The pattern

The negative slots not into the middle of the verb phrase:

She is not working. → She isn’t working.

The -ing form is untouched. The whole negative lives on the auxiliary.

Choosing the short form

For is and are both contractions are correct and mean the same thing:

• he isn’t coming or he*’s not** coming*
• we aren’t ready or we*’re not** ready*

The version with not separate puts a little more weight on the denial.

For am there is only one: I*’m not***.

Saying what is happening instead

A negative in this tense often comes with the correction attached:

I am not ignoring you, I am trying to finish this.

Both halves stay in the Continuous, which keeps the contrast clean.

State verbs stay simple

Because state verbs do not take -ing, their negative uses the Present Simple even when you mean right now:

I don’t understand. — not I am not understanding.

All forms

Examples

Taken from the 450 sentences in this drill. The answer is highlighted.

• My brother isn't studying for his exams at the moment.
• You aren't going the correct way.
• They aren't studying for their exams at the moment.
• They aren't having dinner at the restaurant tonight.
• She isn't going to the party tonight.
• I am not going to the party later.
• You aren't watching TV shows during weekdays.
• The children aren't playing in the garden at the moment.
• He isn't taking the bus to work.
• She isn't doing her homework now.
• They aren't cooking dinner at home tonight.
• They aren't taking their dog for a walk this evening.

Mistakes to avoid

Quick choices from this form

Other forms of Present Continuous