How do you teach present continuous tense in a class?

Answer 1

Teach the form and the function.

Form = be verb + present participle. The be verb used depends on the subject:

am for I, is for he/she/it and are for we, they, you.

The functions of present continuous:

1.To talk about an activity that is happening now.

· He is watching TV.

· I am teaching you.

2. To talk about an activity that is happening around now, but maybe not happening right now.

· I am reading a good book.

· He is learning to play the guitar.

3.To talk about a temporary activity.

· We are feeding his cat while he is away.

4. To talk about a planned future arrangement.

· I'm having lunch with Xia tomorrow.

· We are meeting at 6:00pm.

Also you should teach about the spelling variations of present participles

Spelling of verb + ing.

1. Usually add -ing to base form of the verb.

go + -ing → going, wear + -ing → wearing, eat + -ing → eating.

2. Verbs that end in one -e, drop the e.

smoke → smoking, hope → hoping, come → coming, write → writing.

Verbs that end in -ee don't drop an e.

agree → agreeing, see → seeing.

3. Verbs of one syllable with one vowel and one consonant, the consonant is doubled.

stop → stopping, run → running, get → getting.

If the final consonant is -y or -w it is not doubled.

Play → playing, show → showing.

And then there are questions, form and function.

Answer 2

To teach present continuous tense, start with the structure "to be" verb + present participle (-ing form) of the main verb. Provide examples and practice activities where students can form sentences using the present continuous tense to talk about actions happening now. Use visual aids, games, and role-playing to make the lesson engaging and interactive. Offer opportunities for students to use the tense in real-life situations to reinforce learning.