I Swear English › Verb Tenses › Conditional Continuous
How to form the conditional continuous
How To Form The Conditional Continuous:
Take a subject (I, the people etc) then put the auxiliary verb would (I would..., the people would...) then use the infinitive of the verb to be (I would be... the people would be...) then you put the present participle of the verb you want to use. (I would be relaxing, the people would be spending). The would can be contracted to 'd To form negatives put not after the auxiliary would. I would not be relaxing, the people would not be spending. I would not can be contracted to wouldn't. I wouldn't be relaxing, the people wouldn't be spending. To make questions change the positions of the subject and the auxiliary verb would. Would I be relaxing? Would the people be spending? If you wish you can add a question word at the beginning of the sentence. Where would I be relaxing? How much money would the people be spending?
The table set out below shows how it works:
| Affirmative | Negative | Interrogative |
|---|---|---|
| I would be earning | I would not be earning | Would I be earning? |
| You would be earning | You would not be earning | Would you be earning? |
| He would be earning | He would not be earning | Would he be earning? |
| She would be earning | She would not be earning | Would she be earning? |
| It would be earning | It would not be earning | Would it be earning? |
| We would be earning | We would not be earning | Would we be earning? |
| You would be earning | You would not be earning | Would you be earning? |
| They would be earning | They would not be earning | Would they be earning? |
The following video explains how to form the conditional continuous:
When to use it
- An imagined action in progress. If I were on holiday now, I would be lying on a beach.
- Hypothetical continuous situations. Without you, I would still be looking for the answer.
Signal words & time expressions: if, would, right now, at this moment, still
Watch the video lesson
Video transcript
Common mistakes to avoid
| Not quite… | Better |
|---|---|
| If I weren't working, I | … I would be relaxing right now. — use would be + -ing for an action in progress. |
| I | I would be travelling. — the form is would be + -ing. |
Frequently asked questions
How is it formed?
would be + verb-ing: I would be working, they would be waiting.
When would I choose it over the conditional simple?
When you want to stress that the imagined action would be in progress, not just a fact: I would be lying on the beach vs I would go to the beach.
Continue the course
This lesson is part of our free English Verb Tenses course — work through it in order or jump to what you need next.