Present Progressive Tense + Aspect: Introducing the ... · Shakira Bates Georgia State University. PRESENT PROGRESSIVE TENSE + ASPECT 2 Synthesis of Present Progressive Tense + Aspect

Running head: PRESENT PROGRESSIVE TENSE + ASPECT 1

Present Progressive Tense + Aspect:

Introducing the features to an ELL classroom

Shakira Bates

Georgia State University

PRESENT PROGRESSIVE TENSE + ASPECT 2

Synthesis of Present Progressive Tense + Aspect

The progressive aspect is the most commonly used grammatical feature in conversation and fictional

writings (Biber, Conrad, & Leech, pg.163, 2002). Within these conversations, present tense is

preferred when using progressive verb phrases. Therefore, it is important to teach these elements to

English speakers of other languages.

Uses and Function (conversation, examples,

The present progressive form is identified by the verb phrase be + -ing. This form is a

complex finite verb phrase, as it contains more than one word and is marked for the present tense

by its auxiliary verb (Biber, Conrad, and Leech, 2002, pg. 150).The present progressive can also be

described as the present continuous use. This grammatical feature can take on two tenses, present

and future. After reviewing several grammar texts, this feature can be used in multiple ways. (1) The

present progressive can be used to refer to events that are currently in progress or happening at the

moment of speaking, even if they are only for a moment. (i.e. I’m working at the moment. or She’s

having a bad time right now.) (2) It is also used to describe events that are repeated or regular, but are

either temporary or can be judged as temporary based on the context. (i.e. I’m living in London for a

few weeks. or I’m reading a really great book.) This function can compare to simple present that

describes permanent situations that are believed will continue for a long period of time. (i.e. I live in

London.) (3) Another use of this feature is for temporary or new habits often used with expressions

like, “these days” or “at the moment.” (i.e. He’s eating a lot these days. or She is swimming every morning.

← insinuating that the subject didn’t do this before.) (4) Another present continuous use is for

habits that are not usual, but unfortunately happen very often. This use is often used with an

adverbial phrase that shows frequency of the event, like always or forever. (i.e. Jackie’s always falling!

or You’re forever losing your keys!) (5) The last use of this function can be seen with events revealing

gradual processes of change. In the example, “He’s been in the hospital for three weeks but is improving


steadily” the gradual change is shown with his health. When this grammatical feature is used in the

future tense, it describes definite events that plan to happen in the future. For example, We’re going

to the beach tomorrow. or I’m leaving at 4 o’clock, show the action of certain future plans using the

present progressive form.

When using this grammatical feature, the form must be taken into account. The subject and

verb must agree, regardless if the subject is a noun or a personal pronoun. For instance, when using

the personal pronoun “I” you would use the form of be, “am.” When using singular noun forms or

the personal pronouns she, he, or it, the conjugated form of be that should be used is, “is.” Lastly,

when using plural forms of nouns or personal pronouns they, you, we, the be verb will agree with the

use of “are.” Using this form can also be said following these three sentence types; affirmatively,

negatively, or in question (interrogatively). All three still possess the present progressive verb phrase,

but may add “not” in between the verb phrase or switch around the form and change of

punctuation.

The idea of semantics and context are also important when using the present progressive

feature in conversation or in writing. Since the progressive aspect is most commonly used, it is

important to take notice of dynamic and stative verbs, as they include some of those commonly used

lexical verbs. Dynamic and stative verbs can take on the progressive aspect, but stative verbs are less

likely to need the progressive aspect because they can act as simple present verbs. Stative verbs can

describe relationships between people, such as the verb own, and some describe emotions of states

of mind. It is appropriate to say, “I own ten acres of land.” opposed to “I am owning ten acres of land”

(Biber, Conrad, & Leech, pg.163, 2002).

Form

The auxiliary verb be is used as the marking to determine the present tense, while the -ing

present participle is constructed with a lexical verb taking on the progressive aspect and displaying


the continuing progress of the event. The first part of this complex finite verb phrase is be. This verb

has a multitude of uses in the English language. In this form, the auxiliary verb takes on one of two

distinct grammatical functions of progressive aspect, present or past. Because it is used as an

auxiliary verb, be is always paired with another verb creating a complete complex verb phrase. This

phrases can then be singular or plural, present or past. If there is a negation needed, adding the word

“not” in between the auxiliary verb be and the present participle -ing is the standard construction.

The second part of this complex finite verb phrase is, the present participle, -ing. The present

participle is the progressive aspect displayed in the form of base word + the suffix -ing (Folse, 2009,

p.103). The present participle is a constant part of all continuous verb forms, i.e. past, present,

future, etc., while the auxiliary verb be indicates the tense, as stated before. (Folse, 2009, p.118) To

form present participles of regular verbs, the rules are the same for both present and past tense.

There are three main rules to constructing this form. (1) If the basic form of the verb ends in a

consonant or a vowel other than e, add the ending -ing with no substitutions or changes, i.e.

know=knowing/see=seeing. (2) If the verb ends with the vowel e, drop the e before adding -ing, i.e.

love=loving or take=taking. (3) If the base word ends with a y, just add the -ing to its ending, i.e.

lay=laying or say = saying. After researching a classroom grammar book, another spelling rule was

also mentioned in terms of creating the progressive aspect. Thus, (4) If the last syllable of the verb is

written consonant, vowel, consonant, and is stressed, double the final consonant before adding the

inflectional suffix of -ing, i.e. beg=begging versus enter=entering (Grammar for Writing, p.353,

2008). In review, the present participle is what we know as the progressive aspect and the

combination of the present tense of the verb be and the progressive aspect of the main verb

complete the present progressive grammatical feature.

One last form that is important to mention is the conjugation form of the auxiliary verb be.

When building sentences, the form of this verb phrase is very important, regardless of speaking or


writing. The subject and verb agreement is vital. The form of the auxiliary verb be can conjugate to

is, am, or are depending on the inflectional suffix, changing singular nouns to plural. Therefore, the

form will look as followed:

Personal Pronoun + form of be + lexical verb-ing

I am walking

You are walking

He/She/It is walking

We/You/They are walking

The Students

The students in this ESL classroom are 6th grade, high-beginner leveled, and taught in a sheltered-

instruction environment at Tucker Middle School (TMS). The classroom is very diverse, with very

little Spanish speakers, compared to what one may assume. TMS has to comply with a class size

regulation for ESOL sheltered classrooms, resulting in a small class size of 14 students. All the

students have come from the International Student Center of Dekalb, in which, they receive a lot of

basic instruction of the English Language. Therefore, all the students have some basic background

knowledge of nouns/subjects, verbs, verb phrases, verb forms, and conjugation of verb forms. The

students sit in groups of three with one group of two. They are also heterogeneously grouped to

promote meaningful interactions in the English language and assistance from another peer. We meet

everyday for an hour and ten minutes, 70 minutes, where we practice the usage of the language as

much as possible due to their inabilities to do so at home. Most of the students are the only English

speakers in their homes and this lesson will make sure they can do so correctly. This lesson is

created to enhance the students’ writing and speaking skills related to the forms and functions of the

complex finite verb phrase following both the present tense and the progressive aspect. This lesson

focuses on using the form and how it functions in order to build sentences including making the


subject and verb agree. Listed below are the structures for how the linguistic structure activities will

be presented, how the focused and communicative practices will be executed, and an incorporation

of teacher feedback and corrections involving forms, functions, and conjugation before students

leave.

Presentation

This presentation opens with an activity to activate the students’ prior knowledge of understanding

the actions of people. The next activity will combine two strategies to promote and prepare

communication amongst peers; first, with direct instruction, collaborative learning, and think-pair-

share. PowerPoint presentations with photos or videos, sentence starters/stems, and personal

interactive composition notebooks will all be used to promote this lesson.

Activity 1 (10 minutes)

Students will read the bell-ringer on the board. The bell-ringer practices the present progressive

before actually introducing the topic without the association of the gigantic word, just yet. The

students are asked to discuss within their group what is common between everybody in their group

at the moment. I will model the activity first, expressing what another student and I have in

common, i.e. We are wearing red. We are talking about what we have in common. They will have to make

complete affirmative statements using the sentence stems listed below.

“We are _______________.”

“They are _________________.”

They will discuss within their small groups for five minutes and write down three statements about

their commonalities and make sure everyone is prepared to speak, as I will randomly select one

person from each group to read their sentences. We will spend about another five minutes on the

small presentations of the student’s sentence and then move on to introducing the academic term.

Direct Instruction w/ Presentation (20 minutes)


Cloze notes will be passed out to help guide the students through the direct instruction. In the slides,

I will discuss what the present progressive is in its most basic form. On their cloze notes worksheet,

the definition will be blank in which the students need to write in, and I will use this definition,

“describes what is going on now,” and provide 5 examples as well:

Ms. Bates is wearing black boots.

He is walking to school now.

We are watching the television.

They are dancing to jazz music.

It is crawling across the floor.

I will ask the students what is currently going on within those statement. Hopefully, the students can

respond by saying Ms. Bates is wearing her black boots right now or they are dancing right now.

This will allow time to make any necessary corrections as well. Once we complete the whole group

discussion of the examples, I will go over how to identify the parts of what makes a statement

“present progressive.” Their cloze notes will have blanked parts of the sentences about the auxiliary

verb be showing the tense of present and any normal action verb with an -ing ending marks the

progressive, continuing action.

Once we complete the simple cloze notes, the students will use yellow highlighters to

identify the present form of be and color pencils to acknowledge the progressive -ing verbs. They will

use the five examples we already went over to then identify the parts. If some get done quicker than

others, I will challenge their memory to identify the subject as well. The students will work in their

groups to help clarify instruction amongst peers and also communicatively use the form. I choose

not to use the terms tense and aspect, because I think those are too heavy of terms to introduce with

at the beginning. It may read as too much to take in all at once.


We will continue filling in the cloze notes as we discuss the singular and plural conjugations

to the auxiliary verb be. Within these notes, the students will also have the rules of how to add the -

ing suffix to specific verbs. These notes will be cut, glued, and stored in their resource notebook for

the classroom. It can serve as a constant resource for the students if they ever feel they need more

assistance.

Focused Practice


As a continued part of my visual Powerpoint presentation and leading into the focused

practice, the students will be provided a vivid Where’s Waldo photo, set in a small busy town

(Appendix A). Students will create their own present progressive sentences about subjects in the

photo. All students will be responsible for building their own sentences and should be quietly and

independently working on their sentences. They are responsible for conjugating the auxiliary verb be

correctly, so that it agrees with the subject. This will help students understand the structure of the

form and how it is used in writing. Ex. The man is cleaning the windows. The man is swimming in the

fountain. After about 10 minutes, students will share their ideas to the whole group and will allow

students to correct each other to better understand where each other are making the mistake.

Students will also need to explain why the correction provided is right, as it will also provide

understanding to the reasoning.

Communicative Practice


This activity includes the students interacting with each other and myself as I facilitate the

conversations while walking around. The students will practice all three of Celce-Murcia processes

of communication, information gap, choice, and feedback (Celce-Murcia et al., p.128, 1999). This

activity is similar to the concept of inference. Because my students are aware of the literary term


already, they should understand what is meant of the assignment. Using an interactive world map

(https://www.timeanddate.com/time/map/) that displays the current times, each student group will

anonymously pick a country out of a jar. Once they receive their country, I will display the

interactive world map (See Appendix A). The students will need to describe what is possibly

happening there now without saying the country’s name. I will purposely include all the countries, in

which my students are from, to bring forth a cultural relevance to the classroom. For example, They

are sleeping in their bunk beds. They are eating tacos and wearing sombreros. The country’s sentences should

match the culture of the country along with the time in that place at the moment. The students will

create the sentences as a group, engaging in communication as to what the people in their

perspective countries are doing at the moment. As the next day’s bell-ringer, I will use their hints as

the opening the next day. Students can try to a) guess the country and b) identify the present tense

auxiliary verb be and the progressive aspect of the -ing main verb. As I facilitate the assignment, I will

check for corrections and provide one-on-one feedback.

Teacher Feedback and Correction

As mentioned throughout my exercise, feedback will be given during every step of the

lesson. Feedback will not only be given by me, the teacher, but also by their peers to provide a sense

of confidence. I want students to metacognitively think about their use of this form and why they

are using a certain form over the other, instead of being spoon-fed the answers. Also, I believe it is a

great idea to use their responses to Activity 3 as a reinforcing lesson for the next day. With this

lesson, they will also be given a homework assignment (See Appendix A) to supplement their

learning and also allow personal one-on-one corrections and feedback for each student. For this

assignment, students will create sentences for each action silhouette using the present progressive

form. If there is a clear issue of majority of the class understanding the concept, I will revisit the

lesson with more practice and instruction.

https://www.timeanddate.com/time/map/


References

Biber, D., Conrad, S., & Leech, G. (2002). Longman student grammar of spoken and written

English. London: Longman.

Carter, R. & McCarthy, M. (2006). Cambridge grammar of English : a comprehensive guide : spoken and written

English grammar and usage. Cambridge England New York: Cambridge University Press.

Celce-Murcia, M., Larsen-Freeman, D., & Williams, H. A. (1999). The grammar book : an ESL/EFL

teacher's course. Boston : Heinle & Heinle, c1999.

Folse, Keith S. (2009). Keys to teaching grammar to English language learners : a practical

handbook. Ann Arbor :University of Michigan Press.

Grammar for writing. (2008). Evanston, Ill: McDougal Littell/Houghton Mifflin.


Appendix A

Photo 1

Interactive Map Examples


Homework 1 Directions: Make 14 sentences, in your composition notebooks, about each small photos using the present progressive form.

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Present Progressive Tense + Aspect: Introducing the ... · Shakira Bates Georgia State University. PRESENT PROGRESSIVE TENSE + ASPECT 2 Synthesis of Present Progressive Tense + Aspect