February 2007: Present Progressive Tense

2007-02-06T15:15:00.000-02:00

Focus: Present Progressive Tense

Warm-up! Look at each picture. Read the question and then

describe the action you see.

Example
A: What is she doing? (play)
B: She is playing the guitar.

A: What are they doing? (dance)
B: _____________________________

A: What is he doing? (smile)
B: _____________________________

The Grammar Formulas for Present Progressive

Affirmative Statements: Subject + Be + Base Form of Verb + - ing .
I am reading .
You are reading .
He, She, It is reading .
We, You, They are reading .

Write your own examples with these verbs (drive, study, think): ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

Negative Statements: Subject + Be+ Not + Base Form of Verb + - ing .
I am not reading .
You are not reading .
He, She, It is not reading .
We, You, They are not reading .

Write your own examples with these verbs (eat, sleep, sing): ________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Yes/No Questions: Be + Subject + Base Form of Verb + - ing
Am I reading ?

Are you reading ?

Is He, she, it reading ?

Are We, you, they reading ?

Write your own questions with these verbs (cry, laugh, work): _________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

Short Answers
Yes, she is.

No, she isn’t.

Wh-Questions: Wh-Word + Be + Subject + Base Form of Verb + --ing

What are you reading now?

Where are you going now?

Who are you helping now?

Why are you studying now?

How are you feeling now?

When are you driving home? (used to express future aspect)

Write your own questions with these verbs (cook, pray, walk, travel, do, say): _______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Reading
These are journal entries by Brian, a Canadian exchange student studying in Argentina. FIND all the Present Progressive verbs – the verbs that describe what is happening NOW.

June 28: I’m sitting in a seat 10,000 meters above the earth en route to Argentina! I usually have dinner at this time, but right now I have a headache from the excitement. My seatmate is eating my food. She looks happy.

June 30: It’s 7:30. My host parents are still working. Carlos, my father, works at home. My little brother Ricardo is cute. Right now, he’s looking over my shoulder and trying to read my journal.

July 4: The weather is cold here. I usually spend the first weekend of July at the beach. Today I’m walking around in a heavy sweater.

August 6: I feel so tired tonight. Everyone else feels great in the evening because they take long naps in the afternoon.

Vocabulary

Exchange student -- swim -- do -- happening -- smile -- wait -- earth -- drink -- work -- en route -- ride -- talk -- headache -- dance -- take -- excitement -- play -- stand -- seatmate -- watch -- think -- cute -- eat -- come -- shoulder -- sing -- shake -- beach -- drive -- meet -- feel -- sleep -- travel -- heavy -- clean -- read -- tired -- make -- write -- naps -- walk -- build afternoon -- study -- pray

Speaking

Write your own conversation using the Present Progressive Tense -- statements and questions, and practice speaking aloud alone or with a friend.

Example:
A: Hi John, this is Carlos.
B: Hey Carlos. How are you?
A: I’m fine. How are you?
B: I’m great, thanks.
A: What are you doing right now?
B: I’m watching a movie on DVD.
A: That sounds interesting. What movie are you watching?
B: I’m watching “Mission Impossible”. Have you seen it?
A: No, I haven’t. Are you watching the movie alone?
B: No. My brother and his wife and here, too. What are you doing tonight?
A: I’m not doing anything. I’m bored.
B: Come join us! The movie just started. We are eating popcorn and drinking beer.
A: Fantastic! Thanks for the invitation. I’ll be there in a few minutes.
B: See you soon.
A: Ok. Bye.

Writing
Go outside in nature. Look around. What is happening? Write what you see using Present Progressive Tense. If you want, you can e-mail your composition to Jennifer at jen_summerhays@yahoo.com.

Example:
The sun is shining and the birds are singing. The wind is blowing and the boat is sailing on the river …

SMIC SPEAK: English for an International Community

February 2007: Present Progressive Tense