Present Continuous Negative Sentences Practice Tests A1 Grammar Rules & Examples

Present Continuous: Negative Sentences

Welcome to this lesson! Today we are going to learn how to make negative sentences in the present continuous.

We use the present continuous to talk about something that is happening right now, at this moment.

A negative sentence tells us that something is not happening. For example:

• It is raining outside. → It is not raining outside.
• She is sleeping. → She is not sleeping.
• They are playing football. → They are not playing football.

Let us look at a simple situation first. Then we will learn the rule step by step.

A Simple Story

This is Tom. Tom is sitting in a café. It is 10 o'clock in the morning.

His friend asks: "Are you working right now?"

Tom says: "No, I am not working. I am drinking coffee!"

Tom used a present continuous negative sentence: "I am not working."

He added the word not to say something is not happening.

What Is the Present Continuous?

Before we learn the negative, let us quickly remember how the present continuous works in a positive sentence.

A positive present continuous sentence has two parts:

Subject + am / is / are + verb + -ing

For example:

• I am eating.
• She is reading.
• They are running.

The words am, is, and are are different forms of the verb "to be". We use different forms for different subjects (I, you, he, she, it, we, they).

A subject is the person or thing doing the action. For example, in "She is reading", the subject is she.

How to Make a Present Continuous Negative Sentence

To make a negative sentence in the present continuous, we add not after am, is, or are.

The rule is simple:

Subject + am / is / are + not + verb + -ing

Let us see this with an example:

• Positive: I am watching TV.
• Negative: I am not watching TV.

• Positive: He is sleeping.
• Negative: He is not sleeping.

• Positive: We are eating lunch.
• Negative: We are not eating lunch.

Easy! We just put not after am, is, or are.

Rule Breakdown: Which Form Do I Use?

We use different forms of "to be" for different subjects. Here is the rule for each subject:

I → am not
You → are not
He → is not
She → is not
It → is not
We → are not
They → are not

Full Pattern Table

Subject	am / is / are + not	Verb + -ing	Full Sentence
I	am not	working	I am not working.
You	are not	listening	You are not listening.
He	is not	cooking	He is not cooking.
She	is not	sleeping	She is not sleeping.
It	is not	raining	It is not raining.
We	are not	playing	We are not playing.
They	are not	running	They are not running.

Contractions: Short Forms

In English, we often use short forms called contractions. A contraction is when we join two words together and use an apostrophe (') to show where letters are missing.

For present continuous negative sentences, we have two ways to make contractions.

Option 1: Shorten "am / is / are"

We can shorten am, is, or are:

I am not → I'm not
You are not → You're not
He is not → He's not
She is not → She's not
It is not → It's not
We are not → We're not
They are not → They're not

Option 2: Shorten "not" (isn't / aren't)

We can also shorten is not to isn't and are not to aren't:

You are not → You aren't
He is not → He isn't
She is not → She isn't
It is not → It isn't
We are not → We aren't
They are not → They aren't

Important: We do not say I amn't. This form does not exist in English! For I, we always say I'm not.

Contractions Table

Full Form	Contraction 1	Contraction 2
I am not	I'm not	— (no second option)
You are not	You're not	You aren't
He is not	He's not	He isn't
She is not	She's not	She isn't
It is not	It's not	It isn't
We are not	We're not	We aren't
They are not	They're not	They aren't

Both contractions are correct. In everyday speaking and writing, we use contractions very often.

More Examples in Real Situations

Here are some everyday situations to help you understand present continuous negative sentences.

At Home

• My mum is not cooking dinner. (She is watching TV instead.)
• My brother isn't doing his homework. (He is playing video games.)
• We're not eating right now. (We are waiting for dad.)

At School

• The teacher isn't talking. (The students are reading.)
• I'm not writing. (I am listening.)
• They aren't sitting down. (They are standing.)

Outside

• It isn't snowing. (It is sunny today.)
• The dog isn't running. (It is sleeping in the garden.)
• She's not wearing a coat. (It is warm outside.)

Important Differences and Special Cases

Not vs. No

Some students use no instead of not. This is a mistake! Always use not after am, is, or are.

❌ She is no sleeping.
✅ She is not sleeping.

Using "not" in the Right Place

The word not always goes after am / is / are and before the verb + -ing. Do not put not at the end of the sentence or before am / is / are.

❌ He is eating not.
✅ He is not eating.

❌ She not is running.
✅ She is not running.

Remember the Verb + -ing

Even in a negative sentence, we still need -ing on the verb. Do not forget it!

❌ I am not eat.
✅ I am not eating.

❌ They are not play.
✅ They are not playing.

Common Mistakes

❌ I amn't watching TV.
✅ I'm not watching TV.

❌ She not is sleeping.
✅ She is not sleeping.

❌ He is not sleep.
✅ He is not sleeping.

❌ They are no running.
✅ They are not running.

❌ We not are working.
✅ We are not working.

❌ It is eating not.
✅ It is not eating.

❌ You not listening.
✅ You are not listening.

Present Continuous Negative Sentences: Quick Summary

Here is everything you have learned in this lesson:

• We use the present continuous to talk about things happening right now.
• To make a negative sentence, we add not after am, is, or are.
• The structure is: Subject + am / is / are + not + verb + -ing
• Use am not with I.
• Use is not with he, she, and it.
• Use are not with you, we, and they.
• We can use contractions: I'm not, isn't, aren't.
• Do not say I amn't — it does not exist!
• Always keep -ing on the verb, even in negative sentences.

Now practise present continuous negative sentences in the exercises below.