Use the progressive verb tenses

Key Notes :

Definition:

• Progressive verb tenses describe ongoing or continuous actions in the past, present, or future. They are also known as continuous tenses.

Formation:

• Progressive tenses are formed using a form of the verb “to be” (am, is, are, was, were, will be) + the present participle of the main verb (ending in -ing).

Types of Progressive Tenses:

• Present Progressive:
  • Describes an action happening right now or around this time.
  • Structure: am/is/are + verb-ing
  • Example: “She is studying for her exam.”
• Past Progressive:
  • Describes an action that was ongoing at a specific time in the past.
  • Structure: was/were + verb-ing
  • Example: “They were playing soccer when it started to rain.”
• Future Progressive:
  • Describes an action that will be ongoing at a specific time in the future.
  • Structure: will be + verb-ing
  • Example: “He will be traveling to New York next week.”

Usage:

• Use progressive tenses to emphasize the duration or ongoing nature of an action.
• Combine with simple tenses to show one action happening during another. For example: “She was cooking (past progressive) while they watched (simple past) a movie.”

Common Signal Words:

• Present Progressive: now, at the moment, currently, right now
• Past Progressive: while, when, at that moment
• Future Progressive: tomorrow, next week, in the future, by this time

Questions and Negatives:

• Questions: Invert the subject and the form of “to be”.
  • Example: “Are you studying now?”
• Negatives: Add “not” after the form of “to be”.
  • Example: “She is not sleeping.”

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing the use of present simple and present progressive.
  • Correct: “She is playing the piano now.” (ongoing action)
  • Incorrect: “She plays the piano now.”
• Forgetting to add the “to be” verb before the -ing verb.

Let’s practice!