Present continuous - Are you doing?

The present continuous (also called present progressive) describes actions that are happening now, temporary activities, and planned near-future arrangements. Questions with 'Are you ...?' use the auxiliary verb 'be' + subject + verb-ing to ask what someone is doing at this moment or what they are planning.

• Use for actions in progress: 'Are you writing the report now?'
• Use for temporary situations: 'Are you living in London this month?'
• Use for planned future arrangements: 'Are you meeting the client tomorrow?'

To make a present continuous question, place the correct form of 'be' before the subject, then use the verb with -ing:

• Use: Be (am/is/are) + subject + verb-ing — Are you working?
• For third person singular: 'Is he/she/it + verb-ing?' — Is she joining?
• Use contractions in speech: 'Are you' → 'Are you' or 'You're?' (in fast speech)

Think: invert 'be' and the subject to form the question (Are + you + doing?).

Watch out for these universal errors when using the present continuous:

• Using the simple present instead of present continuous for actions in progress: 'I work on the report now.' (wrong) vs 'I am working on the report now.' (correct)
• Forgetting the auxiliary verb 'be' in questions: 'You coming?' (wrong) — must be 'Are you coming?'
• Omitting the -ing ending: 'Are you meet the client?' (wrong) — must be 'Are you meeting...?'
• Using present continuous with stative verbs that normally don't take -ing (know, like, want) unless meaning changes
• Incorrect word order in questions (subject before auxiliary): 'You are joining?' (wrong) — invert to 'Are you joining?'

Check: be + subject + verb-ing and whether the verb can take continuous form.