--- title: "Progressive and Continuous Tenses" description: "Form and use the progressive (continuous) verb tenses — past progressive (was walking), present progressive (am walking), and future progressive (will be walking) — to convey ongoing actions at differ" canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/progressive-and-continuous-tenses-mt_mkDqmejLMw source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/progressive-and-continuous-tenses-mt_mkDqmejLMw.md retrieved: 2026-10-19 --- > **Agent view.** This is the Markdown twin of the page, for tools and assistants. > When to use this site, and the call that answers each job: https://lightmysky.com/agent-instructions.md > API description (OpenAPI 3.1): https://lightmysky.com/openapi.json · Authentication: https://lightmysky.com/auth.md > Pricing: https://lightmysky.com/pricing.md · Catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms.txt · Full catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms-full.txt > Every machine-readable file on this domain: https://lightmysky.com/.well-known/ai-catalog.json > Ask for Markdown with `Accept: text/markdown`, a `.md` address, or `?mode=agent`. # Progressive and Continuous Tenses Form and use the progressive (continuous) verb tenses — past progressive (was walking), present progressive (am walking), and future progressive (will be walking) — to convey ongoing actions at different times Subject: English · Area: Grammar & Punctuation · Ages 9 to 10 Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/progressive-and-continuous-tenses-mt_mkDqmejLMw ## Ready when they can - Write sentences using past progressive to describe an action that was ongoing at a particular time, e.g. 'She was reading when the phone rang' - Distinguish present progressive from simple present, e.g. 'I am eating lunch' (right now) vs 'I eat lunch at noon' (habitual) - Form the future progressive using 'will be' + present participle to describe an action that will be ongoing, e.g. 'Tomorrow at 3pm I will be travelling' ## Lesson: Progressive and Continuous Tenses A progressive tense tells about an action that is still going on, not finished yet. You build it with a form of the verb 'be' plus the main verb plus -ing, like 'was walking' or 'will be walking'. *(drawing: Same action, walking, wearing three different helper verbs: was for the past, am for now, will be for later.)* **Example.** Present progressive tells what is happening right now. 'James eats breakfast at 7 every day' is a habit, so it uses simple present. 'James is eating breakfast right now' shows the action in progress, so it uses present progressive. **Example.** Past progressive tells what was happening at a certain past moment, often when something else interrupted it. 'She was reading when the phone rang' means the reading was already going on when the ringing interrupted it. Future progressive works the same way, but at a future moment. 'Tomorrow at 3pm, Mia will be swimming' means the swimming will already be going on at that exact time. Match the helper verb to who is doing the action. For right now, use 'am' with I, 'is' with he, she, or it, and 'are' with you, we, or they. For the past, use 'was' with I, he, she, or it, and 'were' with you, we, or they. Watch the spelling when you add -ing. Usually you just add it: walk becomes walking. If a verb ends in a silent e, drop the e first: dance becomes dancing, and write becomes writing. If a short verb ends in one vowel and one consonant, double the last letter: swim becomes swimming, and sit becomes sitting. **Tip.** To spot the tense, look at the helper verb. Was or were means past, am, is, or are means present, and will be means future. The main verb always ends in -ing. **Recap.** Progressive tenses pair a form of be with a verb ending in -ing to show an action that was, is, or will be in progress. ## Practice 24 questions on this page, each with its working shown. ## Needs first - [Past, Present and Progressive Tense](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/past-present-and-progressive-tense-mt_enj1sMcfOT) - [Simple Past, Present and Future](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/simple-past-present-and-future-mt_Of-WsrRQ8B) ## Opens up - [Choosing Tenses for Precise Meaning](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/choosing-tenses-for-precise-meaning-mt_mpktt3wj1M) - [Consistent verb tense](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/consistent-verb-tense-mt_npRaYRhU2V)