In Action! Present Continuous English for Actions Happening Now

Learn English for describing what people are doing at the moment. This free A1 lesson for adult beginners begins the Out and About unit. Its 16 interactive slides include picture questions, discussion, two videos, vocabulary audio, a reading and listening conversation, grammar explanations, sentence-completion activities, and a short writing exercise.

What you will learn

• Use the present continuous to describe current actions.
• Discuss what people are doing at the moment.
• Describe photos by asking and answering questions.

Talking about what is happening now

Start with the picture warm-up. Look at each person or group and answer questions such as What is he doing?, What are they doing?, and What is your teacher doing?

The example answers include They are listening to music., He is studying now., She is teaching English now., and He is sleeping on the couch. Use a complete sentence to connect the person with the action.

The discussion asks What are you doing at the moment? and Are you learning English now? Practice I am learning English. and Yes, I am.

Action vocabulary and verb-ing forms

Listen to the vocabulary cards and repeat the action words. The cards introduce the question What are you doing?, the answer starter I am ..., and these verbs:

Many of these forms add -ing to the base verb: read becomes reading, and cook becomes cooking. For exercise, remove the final e before adding -ing: exercising. In studying, keep the y.

Watching the What Are You Doing? video

The first video shows Jack, Mike, Imma, and Susan asking about different activities. Listen for actions such as exercising, eating breakfast, going to work, cooking, reading, snowboarding, and studying Spanish.

Later scenes use questions about another person: What is Mike doing?, What is Jack doing?, and What is Susan doing? The activities change between scenes, so listen to the answer at each point in the video.

Watch once for the general meaning. After practicing the vocabulary, watch again with the quiz and choose the action you hear. Notice short forms such as I'm cooking., He's watching TV., and She's listening to music.

Reading and listening: Where Is Everyone?

Read the conversation between Daniel and Hana while listening to the audio. Daniel arrives and asks where the other people are. Hana explains that John is shopping for food, Emma is studying for an exam, Alex is preparing for the barbecue, and Marcus and Emily are playing.

Answer the comprehension questions by connecting each name with an activity. Practice reporting the actions in complete sentences: John is shopping., Emma is studying., and Marcus and Emily are playing.

How to form the present continuous

Use subject + am, is, or are + verb-ing to describe an action happening now. Choose the form of be that matches the subject.

• I + am: I am reading.
• He, she, or it + is: She is shopping.
• You, we, or they + are: They are talking.

The grammar video shows an affirmative sentence, a negative sentence, and a question. Watch how the form of be changes position in a question and how not is added in a negative.

Affirmative, negative, and question forms

Use not after am, is, or are to make a negative: She is not sleeping. and They are not working. Short forms include isn't and aren't.

For a yes-or-no question, move be before the subject: Are you working? or Is she coming? For more information, add a question word: What are they doing? or Where are they going?

Giving short answers

Use the correct form of be in a short answer. You do not need to repeat the action.

• Are you learning English? Yes, I am. / No, I am not.
• Is he working? Yes, he is. / No, he isn't.
• Are they helping you? Yes, they are. / No, they aren't.

Practice asking a question about a picture, giving a short answer, and then describing the action: Is she sleeping? No, she isn't. She is reading.

Choosing am, is, and are

The first grammar practice asks you to complete sentences with am, is, or are. Look at the subject before choosing an answer. My sister takes is, while my brothers and my dad and I take are.

Practice the lesson examples My sister is playing golf. and My brothers are swimming. Some sentences include two actions or a contrast: I am not playing football. I am playing cricket.

The next activity practices longer exchanges, such as What are you doing? I am looking for my keys. and Where are they going? They are going to work. Check both the form of be and the -ing ending.

Listening to a family conversation

Listen to Jack talking with his mum about what the family members are doing. In the dialogue, his dad is washing the car and listening to music, and his mum is learning Japanese.

Emily is watching TV, eating popcorn, and laughing. Daniel is making lunch, Anna is planting vegetables in the garden, and Jack is having tea and watching old family videos on his computer.

Listen for the name before identifying the action. Some people are doing more than one thing, so note the details you hear. Practice describing them with He is ... or She is ....

A short picture-description conversation

A: What is she doing?
B: She is reading a newspaper.
A: Is he reading too?
B: No, he isn't. He is listening to music.
A: What are the children doing?
B: They are playing football.

This model is for English practice. Choose a lesson picture, change the actions, and switch roles. Make one statement, one negative, and one question.

Completing six sentences about actions

The writing activity asks you to complete six sentences using singing, sleeping, drinking, playing, raining, and waiting. The completed action sentences are:

1. The birds are singing.
2. The dog is sleeping.
3. The cat is drinking milk.
4. The children are playing football.
5. It is raining.
6. We are waiting for a bus.

Use the clues in the activity to choose each word. Read the sentences aloud and check that every action has both a form of be and a verb ending in -ing.

Teachers can move from the picture warm-up to pair questions and the sentence-completion tasks. For self-study, repeat the vocabulary audio, watch the grammar video, and record descriptions of three pictures. Finish with the wrap-up quiz about actions and complete present continuous sentences.

Review community places and descriptions with where in Lesson 33, or explore more free A1 English teaching materials.