Language
Is doing and was doing
Say what is happening now and what was happening earlier using am, is, are, was and were with an -ing verb.
Some actions are caught in the middle. They are not finished — they are going on. English shows that with two words: a helping word, then the main verb with -ing on the end.
Happening now
Use am, is or are with the -ing verb. I am reading. She is reading. They are reading.
Was happening earlier
Use was or were with the -ing verb. I was reading. She was reading. They were reading.
Which helping word?
It depends on who is doing it. I takes am or was. He, she and it take is or was. We, you and they take are or were.
Spelling the -ing
Most verbs just add it: play becomes playing. A short verb ending in one vowel and one consonant doubles that consonant: sit becomes sitting. A verb ending in a silent e drops it: make becomes making.
Worked example
Fill the gap: "The rain ____ (fall) when we left the house."
Decide when it is happening. We left the house — that is over, so this is earlier.
The other half of the sentence tells you the time, not the gap itself.
Try it together
Let us build both tenses from one verb.
The verb is "cook" and the person is "she". Each answer is two words — a helping word and the -ing verb.
1.It is happening now. Write the two words: She ____ rice at the moment.
Have a go
Which sentence says something was going on earlier?
Ready to practice?
Eight questions on what you have just read. Nothing is timed, and you can play as many times as you like.