Present continuous and present simple 2 (I am doing and I do)

We use continuous forms (I’m waiting, it’s raining etc.) for actions and happenings that have started but not finished.

Some verbs (for example, know and like) are not normally used in this way. We don’t say ‘I am knowing’, ‘they are liking’. We say ‘I know’, ‘they like’.

The following verbs are not normally used in the present continuous:

think

When think means ‘believe’ or ‘have an opinion’, we do not use the continuous:

When think means ‘consider’, the continuous is possible:

see hear smell taste look feel

We normally use the present simple (not continuous) with see/hear/smell/taste:

You can use the present simple or continuous to say how somebody looks or feels now:

but

am/is/are being

You can say he’s being …, you’re being … etc. to say how somebody is behaving now:

(being selfish = behaving selfishly now)

Compare:

(= he is selfish generally, not only now)

We use am/is/are being to say how a person is behaving (= doing something they can control) now. It is not usually possible in other situations: