present continuous

continuous aspect Both tenses have a continuous form. These continuous tenses are formed with the verb be and the –ing form of the verb:

We use continuous aspect:

for something happening before and after a given time. He’s getting on the train. [before and after the moment of speaking] It was quarter past ten. We were watching the news on television.

for something continuing before and after another action: Mother will be cooking the dinner when we get home. We were waiting for the bus when it started to rain.

for something continuing for some time: Everybody will be waiting for us. They had been working hard all day.

for something happening again and again: They’ve been doing that every day this week. The children were always shouting. He will be practising the piano every night.

for something temporary: We are renting an apartment until our house is ready.. He was working in a garage during the vacation.

for something new: We have moved from Birmingham. We’re living in Manchester now. He had left university and was working in his father’s business.

to describe something changing or developing: Everything has been getting more difficult. He was growing more bad-tempered every day.