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Progressive Verb Tenses
Progressive Verb Tenses
The progressive verb tense shows us a continuous action that is ongoing. They are also known as Continuous Verb Tenses.
They tell us exactly when an ongoing action will be occurring in time.
What are the Progressive Verb Tenses?
There are three different Progressive Verb Tenses in the English language - past progressive, present progressive, and future progressive.
Here are examples of each:
Infinitive | Past Progressive | Present Progressive | Future Progressive |
---|---|---|---|
to run | I was running. | I am running. | I will be running. |
to think | He was thinking. | He is thinking. | He will be thinking. |
to eat | We were eating. | We are eating. | We will be eating. |
How Do You Form Progressive Verb Tenses?
Forming progressive tense is quite easy!
There are two parts: TO BE verb form and base word + -ING
TO BE forms
As a refresher, here are the forms of TO BE
Person | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
First | I am | We are |
Second | You are | You (all) are |
Third | He/she/it is | They are |
Suffix -ING
All you need is the suffix -ING and you can form a progressive tense.
Here are some examples:
to draw | draw + | -ING = | drawing |
to hear | hear + | -ING = | hearing |
to sleep | sleep + | -ING = | sleeping |
HINT! Be sure to follow spelling rules for suffixes when using -ING!
Conjugating Progressive Verb Tenses
Present Progressive - am, is, & are
Present Progressive tells us what is happening right now as a continuous action.
Person | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
First | I am walking. | We are walking. |
Second | You are walking. | You (all) are walking. |
Third | He/she/it is walking. | They are walking. |
Past Progressive - was & were
Past Progressive tells us what was happening before as a continuous action.
Person | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
First | I was walking. | We were walking. |
Second | You were walking. | You (all) were walking. |
Third | He/she/it was walking. | They were walking. |
Future Progressive - will be
Future Progressive tells us what will be happening in the future as a continuous action.
Person | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
First | I will be walking. | We will be walking. |
Second | You will be walking. | You (all) will be walking. |
Third | He/she/it will be walking. | They will be walking. |