The Progressive Tenses

The Progressive Tenses

We use Progressive Tenses to describe an action in progress. They are sometimes called the Continuous Tenses.

Compare these two sentences:

I study Chemistry.                                                           

(fact, seen as permanent)

I am studying reactions with Nitrogen.                                                  

(in progress, possibly temporary)

Form

 Progressive Tenses are made up of the auxiliary verb BE with the Present Participle (Verb+ing).

 TENSE                                   FORM

Present Progressive:      I am writing / He is writing

Past Progressive:            I was writing

Future Progressive:        I will be writing

Look at these sentences from the text. All these actions are in progress:

1. When teachers are planning a CLIL lesson, there are five things to think about (1).

 2. In traditional teaching, teachers prepared a lesson around a logical development of the area the students were working on already, and also prepared the ground for what they were going to study next (2).

3. In the past, students learned a lot of lesson content while they were listening to the teacher talk (4).

4. Instead, students learn together while they are working in groups and talking to each other, using as much of the new language as they can (6).

5. These are the skills which the students will be using when they start working in the real world (7).

6. Students see that what they learn is not just a school subject, but can be something that will be useful in the real world, perhaps when they are building a career (8).

We can see from these sentences that an action can be in progress:

Around NOW:

Students learn together while they are working in groups.

Around A TIME IN THE PAST:

In the past, students learned a lot of lesson content while they were listening to the teacher talk.

Around A TIME IN THE FUTURE:

These are the skills which the students will be using when they start working in the real world.

Use

We use Progressive Tenses for:

1.     An action still in progress, and not yet finished:                

        Countries all over the world are trying to use CLIL.

        Before they were using more traditional approaches.

        By using CLIL, students will be learning both Content and Language in context.

2.    An action which has a start and a finish, and so is temporary:

       When the muscles are exercising, they often build up excess lactate or lactic acid. 

       If you feel you are getting cramps, you should stop the strenuous exercise.  

3.    Describing changing or developing situations:

       The test tube is becoming hot, showing an exothermic reaction.

       The temperature is rising.

       The colour is changing, showing the production of another compound.

4.     Describing the background to an event in the present/past/future:

        While some schools use CLIL, others are still teaching content subjects separately from language.

        When  changes in education were taking place, some countries stuck to traditional methods.

        In the future, many schools will be testing students on their thinking skills, while others will test more traditional skills and competences. 

Note some special uses of Progressive Tenses: 

5.     Describing future arrangements:

        Our school is introducing IWBs into all classrooms next year.

        We are taking certain classes on field trips this year. 

6.     Habits seen  as “incessant and never-ending” (often with always, constantly, forever)

        The teacher is always asking us whether we have understood the lesson.

        Certain students were constantly leaving their homework at home.

        Stalin was forever looking out for Russia’s interests.

IMPORTANT:

For something to be in progress, it has to be an ACTION - not a STATE. This is why we do not often use Progressive Tenses with verbs that describe a state (stative verbs).

Stative Verbs can be:

• Relational verbs                               eg be, belong, have, consist, cost, state, own, possess

• Verbs of cognition                            eg know, think, understand, recognize

• Verbs of liking/disliking                   eg like, dislike, hate, detest, love, want

• Verbs of appearance                        eg seem, look, sound, etc

• Verbs of involuntary perception      eg see, hear, hear, smell, taste feel

These verbs cannot be ‘in progress’, as they do not describe any action.

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