EnglishGrammar & PunctuationAges 9–10

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

Lesson

Set out your lesson

Use past, present and future progressive forms to describe actions in progress at stated times.

Before teaching

Use this short check, then start teaching.

Activity

Ask for a sentence about an action yesterday, a usual action and an action tomorrow. If simple tense choice is not clear, revisit Simple Past, Present and Future first. Check the learner can find the whole verb group, not just the -ing word.

Policy

Check readiness directly. Prerequisite availability is not attainment.

Printer, credit, and teaching notes

Check readiness directly. Prerequisite availability is not attainment.

Use paper and the three supplied time captions. The adult can move a finger along the captions to show when an action is in progress. No clock, phone call or actual journey is required. Put all examples aside for Try. Read the active prompt on screen and write on plain paper; no printer, cutting or purchase is needed. An adult may read instructions without naming target forms. Record reading help, verb hints and scribing separately. Oral answers can show language choices but do not show independent written composition or handwriting. Pause or split the lesson if needed. Adult-only. Keep all keys and scripts off learner pages. Share only the active Show solution. Put Show and Guided examples aside before Try. Do not show a future-stage key. Use invented characters and ordinary paper. Do not collect names, home-language samples or private family events. All rules, clubs and events are fictional.

Use the complete materials on screen or print only the current sheet. Keep adult guidance out of learner view.

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Use past, present and future progressive forms to describe actions in progress at stated times.

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Learning resources

Extra practice links — they do not replace Gakuva’s teaching approach.

BBC Bitesize · Practice link — not the full lesson

KS2 English

Open practice(new tab)

Before you open · source notes

KS2 English supports Progressive and Continuous Tenses. An adult previews and guides; this is a learning page, not a scored quiz.

Free educational page, no sign-in required for the tested path.

Before you open

Ask the learner one fact they learned and one question they still have.

Opening this link does not save learning or assess mastery.

Source, access and review notes

Public BBC Bitesize page. An anonymous GET on 2026-11-12 returned HTTP 200 with no login or payment prompt for this URL. Opening the link does not save practice or assess mastery. An adult should preview and guide the learner.

BBC Bitesize. “KS2 English.” External page; Gakuva does not copy, host, embed, or redistribute materials.

Unknown — link only

Check understanding

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'

“If your child wants to describe an action that was happening over a period of time in the past — like "I was reading when the phone rang" — can they write the verb in the right ongoing-past form?”

Curriculum record

Type: Procedural
Subject: English
Domain: Grammar & Punctuation
Age range: Ages 9–10

Standards

acara-v9:AC9E4LA09ccss-ela:L.4.1b