Present Progressive

Today, I am telling my students that they are creating their own stories. They are choosing their topics and writing stories about them. I know my student Dara will ask if we are going to be coloring. I will respond by saying, "Yes. We are illustrating our stories in addition to writing them." My other student, Daniel, is always very curious. I know that he will ask, "What are you thinking about for your story, Ms. Goldberg?" I have definitely thought about what I am going to write about. Currently, I am pondering my favorite type of animal. I think I'll write about puppies to give students an example of what the book should look like. "Boys and girls," I will say, "you are using my book as an example." Later on, I will go around to each table to see what work they have accomplished. 

Grammar Point

In the paragraph above, I spoke briefly about an activity that I did with my class. Throughout the paragraph, I used verbs to express the actions that were taking place, such as telling, creating, choosing, etc. These verbs were used in the present progressive tense. The present progressive tense is used to express something that is currently happening. Verbs in this tense typically end in -ing. They also begin with a form of "to be," such as am, is, or are. 

Example: I am throwing the ball. 'Am' is a form of 'to be,' which is followed by the present progressive verb, 'throwing.'

Activity Time!

Activity 1
Fill in the blanks by changing the given words into the present progressive form.

1. Sasha is ________ (practice) piano.
2. Jeremy is _______ (bake) a cake.
3. Dina is ________ (kick) the soccer ball.
4. Ally likes _______ (make) necklaces.
5. Derek and Cara are _______ (cook) dinner.
6. I am _______ (brainstorm) ideas for my paper with Nina.
7. We are _________ (listen) to music. 
8. They are ______ (act) very silly.

Once you are finished, take three of the given words and create sentences of your own using the present progressive tense.

1. _____________________________________________.
2. _____________________________________________.
3. _____________________________________________.

Words to Know...

1. Create - To make something.
2. Brainstorm - A group discussion to come up with ideas.
3. Ponder - To think about something before making a decision.
4. Briefly - To speak about something quickly, or using few words.
5. Accomplished - The past tense of accomplish, which means to complete something.
6. Definitely - To be sure of something.

Activity 2
Questions 1-3
Use the words from the "Words to Know..." section to fill in the blanks below. Change all of the words from the present simple to the present progressive tense. 
Ex: Think -> I am thinking about it.

1. I am _________ (ponder) what dress I should wear later.
2. Jean and Clark are _________ (brainstorm) ideas for the school play.
3. She is _______ (create) a masterpiece for the art show.

Questions 4-6
Use the words from the "Words to Know..." section to fill in the blanks below.

4. I spoke ______ with Diane about lunch plans tomorrow.
5. Michelle said she likes chocolate more than strawberry. We are _______ getting her a chocolate cake for her birthday.
6. She has been listening to music all day; I don't think she's _________ much work today.

For more information on how to use the present progressive tense...

Answer Key

Activity 1
1. practicing
2. baking
3. kicking
4. making
5. cooking
6. brainstorming
7. listening
8. acting

Activity 2
1. pondering
2. thinking
3. creating
4. briefly
5. definitely
6. accomplished

Adverbs

I always go to dinner with my friends on Thursdays. We make sure to carefully choose a restaurant so that we are all happy. Once we get there, we make sure to order our food quickly. My friends and I are always starving as soon as we get out of work! I am currently running late, so I'll have to tell my friends that I'll be there soon. I know that my friends will be waiting for me to order; they will be very hungry. We'll have to order a lot of food to make up for my lateness!

Grammar Point

In the paragraph above, I explained that I go to dinner with my friends on Thursdays. Certain words within the paragraph were bolded. These words are known as adverbs. The commonly known definition of an adverb is, a word that is used to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. However, the definition of an adverb is more complex than that. Therefore, instead of defining an adverb, it is more appropriate to explain the different categories that adverbs can fall into. These categories are:

Manner

These types of adverbs show how an action is carried out.
Ex: We ate quickly. 
Tip: These adverbs can be identified by asking the question, "how..."
Ex: "How did we eat?" Quickly

Frequency

These types of adverbs show how much we do things or how much things occur.
Ex: We always go to dinner on Thursdays.

Time and Place

These types of adverbs show time and place.
Ex: I need to go to the bathroom now. (Time)
Ex: Lexi went outside. (Place)

Relative Time

These types of adverbs give information about when an action or occurrence took place in relation to another point in time.
Ex: Zoe is currently staying in the city.

Degree

These types of adverbs are known as intensifiers or mitigators/downtoners.
Intensifiers make adjectives and other adverbs stronger, whereas mitigators/downtoners make them weaker.
Ex: The boys are very tired. (Intensifier)
We ate rather quickly. (Mitigator/downtoner)

Quantity

These adverbs are used to show quantity (how much or how little of something).
Ex: Layla ate a lot. 

Focusing

These types of adverbs are used to refer to something in particular, to express restriction, or to give certain information.
Ex: Everyone got an A, even Chloe. (Information)
Jared was just asking Shari to borrow a pencil. (Restriction)
I need the answers to the English homework and also the math homework. (Referring to info in particular)

Attitude Markers

These types of adverbs are used to express how we feel about events we describe.
Ex: Clearly, we want to invite you to the party tomorrow night.

* It is important to note that the meanings behind adjectives and adverbs are very close, but do not get confused.
Ex:  She's a beautiful writer. (Adjective)
She writes beautifully. (Adverb)
In the first sentence, "beautiful" is an adjective because it is describing the noun, "writer."
In the second sentence, "beautifully" is an adverb because it is describing the verb, "writes."

Activity Time!

Activity 1
Using the word box, fill in the blanks with the correct adverbs.

Word Box
obviously, even, a lot, very, currently,
now, outside, quite, usually, slowly

1. Kendal worked ______ yesterday. (Quantity)
2. Josh is ______ working in the city. (Relative Time)
3. Everyone got a ticket, ______ Mark. (Focusing)
4. Keira felt _____ sore after her workout. (Degree)
5. Lonnie is ______ tall. (Degree)
6. _________ we want you to come to dinner. (Attitude Marker)
7. Tara played tennis _______. (Place)
8. I'm starving; we need to eat _____. (Time)
9. He jogged ______. (Manner)
10. We _______ eat together on Fridays. (Frequency)

Now choose three adverbs and create sentences of your own!
1. ________________________________________________.
2. ________________________________________________.
3. ________________________________________________.

Words to Know...

1. Starving - Very hungry.
2. Jogged - The past tense of jog, which means to run slowly.
3. Referring - To mention something.
4. In particular - A term used to show that a statement applies to one person or thing more than another.
5. Modify - To change.
6. Currently - At the present time.

Unscramble the words to fill in the blanks.
Hint: The words that you are unscrambling are taken from the "words to know" section above.

1. Karen couldn't wait to eat dinner. She was ________ (ingstavr).
2. Intensifiers are used to ______ (yifmod) verbs.
3. I am ________ (crruenlty) working on our history homework.
4. Aaron didn't want to run, so he ________ (ggojed).
5. Out of all of her friends, Maya is closest with one _______ (ni larticparcu).
6. Laurel was ________ (ingferrer) to her math worksheet when she was explaining the homework.

Answer Key

Activity 1
1. a lot
2. currently
3. even
4. very/quite
5. very/quite
6. obviously
7. outside
8. now
9. slowly
10. usually

Activity 2
1. starving
2. modify
3. currently
4. jogged
5. in particular
6. referring

Verbs

Yesterday, I drove to the grocery store. I discussed what I needed to buy with my mother. She was depending on me to buy exactly what was needed. I knew that we needed apples, bananas, carrots, tomatoes, and milk. I enjoyed the drive to the grocery store because I was able to listen to my favorite music. When I arrived at the dairy isle, I could not find the brand of milk that I was looking for. After I searched for a few minutes, I found the correct brand that I was searching for. 

Grammar Point

The short story above describes my visit to the grocery store. All of the words that are bolded help you (the reader) to see what I did during my visit. These words are commonly known as verbs. There is at least one verb in every sentence. Verbs describe actions, as well as express existence, mental conditions and processes, and relationships.
Examples:
Action verbs: drove, discussed, looking, buy, find, searched
Verbs expressing existence: was
Verbs expressing mental conditions and processes: enjoyed
Verbs expressing relationships: depending

Types of Verbs

Main Verbs

• These verbs do not usually need to be accompanied by other verbs and convey the key meaning in any group of verbs.
• Ex: I drive to the beach.
• I broke the glass.
• However, when they do need to be accompanied by another verb, they are followed by objects or complements.
• Object Ex: Jamie ran a mile.
• "Ran" is the verb, followed by "a mile," which is the object.
• Complement Ex: We are late.
• "Are" is the complement verb, which is used to connect the subject (we) to the complement (late).
• Main verbs can also be used to describe events or states.
• Event verbs are used to refer to events that begin/end at a definite time.
• Ex: I broke the plate.
• State verbs are used to refer to existence, possession, or long-term mental states.
• Ex: The shirt belongs to Jenny. (Possession)
• Ex: I don't know her name. (Mental state)
• Ex: You have a pretty necklace. (Existence)

Auxiliary Verbs

•  Auxiliary verbs are used to create phrases containing two or more words (ex: has been sleeping)
• Common auxiliary verbs: am, is, are, was, were, being, been, have, has, had, do, does, and did.
• Ex: The boys are having dinner.
• Subject: "The boys"
• Auxiliary: "are"
• Main verb: "having"

Try It Yourself!

Activity 1 - Main Verbs

Choose from the verbs below and fill in the blanks. Once you are finished, use the same verbs to create sentences of your own!

Word Box
shot, ate, packed

1. I ______ dinner.

2. I ______ the basketball.

3. He _____ his suitcase.

Activity 2 - Object and Complement Verbs
Choose from the verbs below and fill in the blanks. Once you are finished, use the same verbs to create sentences of your own!

Word Box

scratched, stepped, felt, is, was

1. I _______ sad. (Complement)

2. John _______ his knee. (Object)

3. Sally _______ tired. (Complement)
4. Andrew ______ late. (Complement)
5. Bella _______ on the bug. (Object)

Activity 3 - Event and State Verbs
Choose from the verbs below and fill in the blanks. Once you are finished, use the same verbs to create sentences of your own!

Word Box
described, broke, belong, know, has

1. Sheana ______ a nice bracelet. (State)
2. Kyle doesn't ______ her name. (State)
3. The shoes ______ to Maria. (State)
4. She ______ the glass. (Event)
5. Luke ______ the movie to his mom last night. (Event)

Activity 4 - Auxiliary Verbs
Choose from the verbs below and fill in the blanks. Once you are finished, use the same verbs to create sentences of your own!

Word Box
has, is, are

1. The boys _____ being childish.
2. Ariana _____ been outside all day.
3. Kayla ______ acting silly.

Words to Know...

1. Discussed - the past tense of discuss, which means to talk about something.

2. Depending - the continuous tense of depend, which means to rely on.

3. Arrived - the past tense of arrive, which means to show up at a location.

4. Searching - the continuous tense of search, which means to look for.

5. Accompanied - the past tense of accompany, which means to go somewhere with someone.

6. Convey - to make a thought known or understandable.

Activity 5

Complete the following activity by unscrambling the words.

Hint: the words that are being unscrambled are taken from the "words to know" section above

1. Hilary _______ (ccaompieand) George on the bus to school.

2. The teacher tried to ______ (eyoncv) her thoughts to the class.

3. After an hour of driving, they finally ______ (devarri) at the mall.

4. Theo spent all afternoon _______ (ingchsear) for his math book.

5. Oliver called Nicole yesterday. They ________ (eddissscu) the issue they were having.

6. Ally was ______ (penddeing) on Carl to pick her up.

Answer Keys

Activity 1

1. ate

2. shot

3. packed

Activity 2

1. felt

2. scratched

3. is/was

4. is/was

5. stepped

Activity 3

1. has

2. know

3. belong

4. broke

5. described

Activity 4

1. are

2. has

3. is

Activity 5

1. accompanied

2. convey

3. arrived

4. searching

5. discussed

6. depending

References

Parrott, M. (2010). Grammar for English language teachers (2 nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.