How does the author effectively build suspense in this passage? a) the old man and the narrator seem to like another b) the old man's eye is described as pale blue c) the narrator has announced that a crime will take place d) the narrator claims to have had an acute sense of hearing

the present continuous is a verb tense which is mainly used to indicates that an action is in progress at the moment of speaking.  

it is formed using: person + verb to be (am/is/are) +verb + - ing form  

example: i am studying at this moment .

in addition, the present continuous is also used in order to express things that will or will not happen in the near future.

example: i am having dinner with some friends tonight.

the speaker sometimes   uses it   to express that an action is repeated and it causes irritation on the part of the speaker

example: my sister is constantly complaining about everything.