Present Continuous

1

I’m not having time to do sport these days.
I don’t have time to do sport these days.

I’m not knowing what I’ll do tomorrow.
I don’t know what I’ll do tomorrow.

Stative verbs describe states, not actions, so we do not normally use them in continuous tenses. Common stative verbs include know, believe, understand, want, need, own and belong.

Have is stative when it means possession or describes a state: ‘I have a car.’ ‘I don’t have time.’

It can be continuous when it describes an activity: ‘I’m having lunch.’ ‘We’re having a party.’

2

I’m seeing a very suspicious man now.
I can see a very suspicious man now.

The connection is better now. I’m hearing you clearly.
The connection is better now. I can hear you clearly.

When see and hear mean that we notice something with our eyes or ears, use can see and can hear, not the present continuous.

See can be continuous with a different meaning: ‘I’m seeing the dentist tomorrow.’ Here, see means ‘meet or visit’.