30.1 Être en train de
English uses special progressive forms such as "I am walking" or "they were studying" to emphasize an action in progress. French does not have a separate progressive tense. Instead, the regular French present can often express either a general action or one happening right now:
Je travaille.
I work. / I am working.
When you want to emphasize that an action is currently in progress, you can use être en train de + infinitive.
Il est en train d'organiser sa collection de musique.
He is organizing his music collection right now.
En train de is similar to saying "in the middle of" or "in the process of" doing something.
30.2 Using Être en train de
Here are a few more examples of être en train de in everyday situations:
Les professeurs sont en train de rencontrer les candidats pour les postes de recherche.
The professors are meeting the candidates for the research positions.
Je suis en train de m'habiller.
I'm getting dressed right now.
La ville est en train de reconstruire ses pistes cyclables.
The city is in the process of rebuilding its bike lanes.
One Other Important Point
Although it is especially common in the present, être en train de can be used in other tenses as well. Simply conjugate être for the time you want to describe.
J'étais en train de dormir.
I was sleeping.
Je serai en train de travailler.
I will be working.
French uses être en train de + infinitive when you want to emphasize that an action is in progress. The only verb you need to conjugate is être.