Present Continuous ESL Games, Worksheets & Activities

ESL Present Continuous Game - Grammar and Speaking: Matching, Forming Sentences - Pair Work Here is a rewarding present continuous matching game to help students practice forming affirmative present continuous sentences to describe what is happening in pictures. The aim of the game is to find matching pairs of cards that show the same activity. Students need to remember the position of the pictures to help them win the game. In pairs, students take turns turning over a card and making a present continuous sentence about the picture, e.g. 'He's riding a bicycle.' Students use 'He is...', 'She is...' or 'They are...', depending on the picture. The student then turns over another card and makes a present continuous sentence about the second picture. If the two cards match, the student keeps the pair. If the cards do not match, the student turns them back over, keeping them in the same place. It's then the other student's turn to play. Play continues until all the cards have been matched. The student with the most pairs of cards at the end of the game wins. show less

ESL Present Continuous Game - Grammar and Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, Matching, Freer Practice - Group Work In this free present continuous game, students play a Go Fish-style card game where they ask and answer present continuous yes/no questions to collect pictures that match sentences on their game board. In groups, students take turns asking another group member for a picture that matches a sentence on their game board by making a present continuous yes/no question using: 'Is he/she verb-ing...?', e.g. 'Is she watching TV?' The group member checks their picture cards and answers: 'Yes, he/she is.' or 'No, he/she isn't.'' If the group member has the matching picture card, they give it to the student. The student then puts the picture on the matching sentence. If not, the student must wait until their next turn to ask another student the question or ask a different question. Play then passes to the next student. The first student to get all the pictures for their game board wins the game. show less

ESL Present Continuous Yes/No Questions Game - Grammar and Speaking: Guessing, Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled Practice - Pair Work In this fun present continuous game, students ask and answer yes/no questions about what a person is doing and wearing to guess the person their partner is thinking of. In pairs, one student chooses a person on the worksheet without telling their partner who it is. The other student then finds out who it is by asking present continuous yes/no questions with 'Is he/she +ing...?' The student asks about what the person is doing first, e.g. 'Is she watching TV?' Their partner responds, 'Yes, he/she is.' or 'No, he/she isn't.' When their partner replies 'yes', the student asks about what the person is wearing, e.g. 'Is she wearing jeans?' The student can ask up to six yes/no questions and then must make one guess. If the student guesses correctly, they score a point, and both students cross off the person. If not, the student who chose the person scores a point, and the person is not crossed off. Students then swap roles. The first student to get eight points wins the game. show less

ESL Present Continuous Game - Grammar: Drawing, Guessing, Forming Sentences - Group Work In this entertaining present continuous game, students race to guess present continuous sentences from drawings. One student from Team A comes up to the board and receives a present continuous sentence card. The student then reads the sentence and draws it on the board. The student is not allowed to speak, write anything or do any actions. Team A then has one minute to try to guess the present continuous sentence. If Team A guesses the correct sentence, they score one point. If Team A does not guess correctly after one minute, Team B has one chance to guess the sentence. A student from Team B then comes to the board, and so on. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. show less

ESL Present Continuous Game - Grammar and Reading: Sentence Completion, Matching - Pair Work In this engaging present continuous game, students complete sentence starters with 'am', 'is' or 'are' and the -ing form of the verb, then match the starters with sentence endings to make full sentences. First, in pairs, students complete gaps on sentence starter cards in the present continuous by writing the correct form of be (am, is, are) and the -ing form of the verb in brackets. Next, students take turns turning over a sentence ending card and matching it to a sentence starter card to make a present continuous sentence, e.g. 'I am eating a pizza.' If the other student agrees that the match is correct, the student keeps the pair of cards. If not, the ending card is placed at the bottom of the pile. The student with the most pairs of cards at the end of the game wins. Afterwards, check the answers as a class by having pairs read out their sentences. show less

ESL Present Continuous Worksheet - Grammar and Vocabulary Exercises: Word Search, Gap-fill In this free present continuous worksheet, students find 20 action verbs in a word search and then use them to complete affirmative and negative present continuous sentence pairs. First, students find 20 verbs in a word search and write them in the spaces provided. Students then use the verbs to complete positive and negative present continuous sentence pairs. The first sentence of each pair is negative and the second sentence is positive. Finally, elicit the correct answers from the class. show less

ESL Present Continuous Worksheet - Grammar and Writing Exercises: Gap-fill, Rewriting Sentences, Writing Sentences and Questions - Speaking Activity - Pair Work Here is a useful present continuous worksheet to help students learn how to form affirmative and negative sentences, and question and answer forms in the present continuous. First, read through how to form the present continuous with the class. Students then complete sentences by writing 'am', 'is' or 'are' and the -ing form of the verb. Next, students rewrite present continuous sentences in their negative form. After that, students write present continuous yes/no questions using prompts. Students then complete a conversation with the present continuous form of the verbs in brackets. Following that, students write short answers to present continuous yes/no questions using prompts. Next, students complete a table about what five people are doing with words from a box. Finally, in pairs, students ask questions to their partner about what the people are doing and write present continuous sentences about their answers in the last column. show less

ESL Present Continuous Activity - Grammar Exercises: Writing Sentences from Prompts - Speaking Activity: Asking and Answering Questions, Freer Practice - Pair Work In this productive present continuous activity, students ask and say what people are doing using the present continuous. First, students write 12 present continuous sentences to describe what people in pictures are doing. In pairs, students then take turns pointing to a picture and asking their partner what the person or people in the picture are doing. Finally, students take turns asking and answering questions about what other people in the class are doing. show less

ESL Present Continuous Game - Grammar: Miming, Guessing, Forming Sentences - Group Work This lively present continuous miming game can be used with pre-intermediate students. The aim of the game is for the students in the teams to guess present continuous sentences from mimes. All the sentences are present continuous affirmative sentences beginning with 'You are...'. A student comes from one of the two teams comes to the front of the class and is given a present continuous sentence card. The student asks the class 'What am I doing?' and then does the mime on the card. When a member on either team thinks they know what the student is doing, they call out their answer by making a present continuous sentence. If it is correct, the student scores a point for their team. Then, a student from the other team comes to the front of the class, and so on. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. show less

ESL Present Continuous Activity - Grammar, Reading and Writing: Writing L1 and L2 Sentences, Matching In this intriguing present continuous activity, students write present continuous sentences in English and their native language and then try to find matching translations that other students have written. Students imagine that there is a woman in a big and exciting city. Students then write ten reasons why she is there in the present continuous, e.g. 'She is visiting the city on holiday.' Students write the first reason in English. The second reason is in the student's native language. The third is in English, and so on. Next, students cut their sentences into strips. The students' task is to find accurate translations or semi-translations of what they have written. Students go around the class reading their sentences to each other. When two students find they have an accurate translation or semi-translation of a sentence, they write the other student's name down on the strip. The student with the most accurate translations or semi-translations wins. Afterwards, students go through the sentences and match translations as a class and discuss any differences in meaning. show less

ESL Present Continuous Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Forming, Asking and Answering Questions from Prompts, Controlled and Freer Practice - Group and Pair Work In this interesting present continuous speaking activity, students practice forming, asking and answering present continuous conversation questions. First, in two groups, students complete each present continuous question with the verb in brackets. Next, students pair up with someone from the other group and take turns asking and answering the present continuous conversation questions with their partner. Afterwards, students share what they found out about their partner with the class. show less

ESL Present Continuous Worksheet - Grammar Exercises: Gap-fill, Categorising, Matching, Unscrambling, Writing Sentences This comprehensive present continuous worksheet helps students learn how the present continuous tense is used to describe temporary situations, unfinished actions happening now and future plans. Students start by completing sentences with the present continuous form of the verbs in brackets. Students then sort the sentences into columns, according to what each sentence describes. Next, students match the sentences with corresponding pictures. After that, students unscramble present continuous sentences. Lastly, students create true present continuous sentences about themselves to describe the three uses of the present continuous. show less

ESL Present Continuous Role-Play - Grammar and Speaking Activity: Role-Play, Gap-fill, Asking and Answering Questions from Prompts, Table Completion - Group Work In this enjoyable present continuous role-play activity, students assume the identity of someone at a party and talk about their current activities. Students begin by answering questions on a role card about what they are doing at a party and how they are feeling using the present continuous. Students then walk around and speak to the other partygoers in their group. Students ask each other the questions from the role card and write the answers down in a chart on a worksheet using the third person singular. When everyone has finished, students report back to the class on the people they met at the party. show less

ESL Present Continuous Board Game - Grammar, Writing and Listening: Writing Sentences, Identifying Errors - Group Work In this insightful present continuous board game, students try to recognize errors in present continuous affirmative and negative sentences. In groups of four, students write six present continuous affirmative and negative sentences. Three sentences must be grammatically correct and three must contain errors. The four students then put their sentences together to come up with a definitive set of 24 sentences, marked right or wrong, and all the students write them down. Students then regroup. A pair from one group joins with a pair from another group to make two opposing teams. The players then take turns rolling the dice and moving their counter along the board. The opposing team then reads one of their present continuous sentences and the player guesses whether it's right or wrong. If the player guesses correctly, they stay on the square. If they guess incorrectly, they go back two squares. The first team to have both players reach the finish wins the game. show less

ESL Present Continuous Game - Grammar and Speaking: Drawing, Asking and Answering Questions, Guessing, Controlled and Freer - Group and Pair Work Here is an entertaining present continuous drawing game to help students practice present continuous yes/no questions and short answers. In teams, students draw pictures on cards, according to the present continuous sentence shown on each card. Teams then take turns guessing what another team has drawn on one of their cards. Team A chooses one of their picture cards and tells Team B who is in the picture, e.g. 'It is a picture of a woman.' Team B then has one minute to ask present continuous yes/no questions to determine what is happening in the picture, e.g. 'Is she moving?' 'Is she watching something?' Team A replies with short answers as appropriate. If Team B successfully guesses what is happening in the picture within one minute, they score one point. If not, Team A is awarded a point. The teams then swap roles. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. show less

ESL Present Continuous Activity - Speaking: Information Gap, Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled and Freer Practice - Pair Work In this free present continuous speaking activity, students ask and answer questions about a partner's plans for next week to find their free times. Tell the students that it's the start of the summer holidays and that you need some people to help you prepare for next Sunday evening's summer school fair. To decide who will help you, students play a game where they must find all four of their partner's free times in a timetable of their plans for next week. In pairs, students then take turns asking their partner about their plans for next week using the present continuous, e.g. 'What are you doing on Wednesday afternoon?' Their partner looks at their timetable for that day and time, and replies by making a present continuous sentence, e.g. 'I'm working at the cafe.' The student then writes their partner's response in the blank timetable. The first student to find all their partner's free periods wins. The loser has to spend their free time with the other students helping the teacher prepare for the school fair! show less

ESL Present Continuous Worksheet - Grammar and Reading Exercises: Gap-Fill, Writing Sentences, Identifying, Error Correction, Answering Comprehension Questions In this classroom-themed present continuous worksheet, students practice present continuous verb forms and sentences. First, students complete 12 sentences with verbs from a box in their present continuous form. Next, students write present continuous sentences about what students are doing in pictures. Students then read a story, underline all the present continuous mistakes in the text, and correct them. Lastly, students answer comprehension questions about the story using the present continuous. show less

ESL Present Continuous Game - Grammar and Speaking: Completing and Reading Clues, Guessing - Group Work In this creative present continuous game, students write clues to describe what is happening in a particular place. Their classmates then listen to the clues and try to guess where they are. First, students write clues in the present continuous tense to describe what's happening in the place on their card. The first clue should be difficult to guess and the last clue should be easy. Students then take turns reading their clues to the group who listen and guess where they are. The first student in the group to guess the place wins and keeps the card. The student with the most cards at the end of the game wins. show less

ESL Present Continuous Game - Grammar: Describing, Guessing, Forming Sentences - Group Work In this free present continuous game, students describe present continuous sentences for others to guess, without saying the sentence or using certain words. A student from Team A comes to the front of the class and is given a taboo card. The student then describes the present continuous sentence to their team, without saying the sentence or using the three words on the card. If Team A successfully guesses the sentence within two minutes, they score a point. If they are unsuccessful, Team B has one chance to guess the sentence and steal the point. A student from Team B then comes to the front, and so on. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. show less