🏁 To make verbs that end in ‘ing’, like running or making, we double a consonant e.g. run → running, or remove the vowel ‘e’ first, e.g. make → making.
We often use verbs with -ing endings when we want to say that something is still going on, e.g.
I am writing a letter.
You are going to work.
We are eating our dinner.
Just remember to make sure that if you are using any extra words, like am/are etc, that they go with who or what you are writing about, e.g. you would say I am going, not I is going.
📲 💻You can use this link to a Google Form so you can test yourself.
🔆 If you get it, go to Skill 33.
🛠 Need more? Read on.
If we add another verb, the present form of the verb ‘to be,’ together with the ‘ing‘ form of the other verb, we can say that something is still going on. To write all this with a verb ending in ‘e‘ we usually just take off the -e ending and add ‘-ing,’ e.g.
I take/I am taking.
You make/You are making.
We bake/We are baking.
To write this way using a verb that ends with a consonant, we often double it, e.g.
We run/We are running.
They sing/They are singing.
Some verbs end in a consonant but don’t have it doubled, e.g.
He shoots/He is shooting.
Some already have a doubled consonant so nothing else is added:
She crosses the ball/She is crossing the ball.
We can also use this form for the past if we change the ‘to be’ first part from the present to the past, e.g.
We were running.
They were singing.
He was shooting.
She was crossing.
We can even use it for the future if we use ‘will be’ and the -ing form of the verb:
We will be running tomorrow.
They will be singing on Thursday.
He will be shooting in next week’s competition.
🚦 Time for more?
🎯 💻 Want to try another test? This one checks you know how to write about things that are happening at the moment:
https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verb-tenses_present-continuous_quiz.htm
🎓 The real term for verbs like these is the continuous or progressive form. Some verbs are never or rarely used in this form. You can find a guide here if you’re interested:
https://www.ef.co.uk/english-resources/english-grammar/present-continuous/