Table 2

Spelling rules

1 We can add -ing to most verbs without changing the spelling of their base forms:

beat/beating, carry/carrying, catch/catching, enjoy/enjoying, hurry/hurrying

2 If a verb ends in -e, omit the -e and add -ing.

come/coming, have/having, make/making, ride/riding, use/using

The exceptions are: to age/ageing, singe/singeing

But! This rule does not apply to verbs ending in double e:

agree/agreeing, see/seeing

3 A verb that is spelt with a single vowel followed by a single consonant doubles its final consonant:

hit/hitting, let/letting, put/putting, run/running, sit/sitting

4 With two-syllable verbs, the final consonant is normally doubled when the last syllable is stressed:

for'get/forgetting, pre'fer/preferring, up'set/upsetting

Compare: 'benefit/benefiting, 'differ/differing, 'profit/profiting

Note! 'label/labelling 'quarrel/quarrelling,'signal/signalling, 'travel/travelling (BrE) are exceptions to this rule.

Compare: labeling, quarreling, signaling, traveling (AmE)

5 -ic at the end of a verb changes to -ick when we add -ing:

panic/panicking, picnic'picnicking, traffic/trafficking

6 A verb having –ie at the end, changes -ie to –y and adds –ing:

lie/lying, die/dying, tie/tying

7 A verb having - p at the end doubles it, but only when the ending has the construction consonant+vowel+consonant.

Worship/worshipping

Main uses

1 We use the Present Continuous to describe actions or events which are in progress at the moment of speaking. To emphasize this, we often use adverbials like now, at the moment, just,at present, currently, still.

Someone's knocking at the door. Can you answer it?
What are you doing? - I'm just tying up my shoe-laces.
He's working at the moment, so he can't come to the telephone.

He's still talking to his girlfriend on the phone.