Patina · Grammar

Is  ·  Is Studying  ·  Is Going to Study

present  ·  present continuous  ·  going to

In Class 3 you compared two of these. Here is the third. The little verb — am, is, are — is the same in all three, and it never changes. What comes after it is what moves the sentence in time: nothing, a verb-ing, or going to + a verb.

★ three ways to talk about time  ·  ★★ how to build it  ·  ★★★ which one is it, then choose the form  ·  ★★★ say it later, then fix it

Download the PDF PDF · 4 pages

For the teacher · In class

give one subject and one verb — "Nadège, study" — and call a time word. "At the moment!" / "Tomorrow!" / "Always!" The room says the whole sentence back, and the argument to have out loud is which one, not am/is/are.  ·  For Which one is it?, read the time word aloud and let the class call the answer back together — nobody has to tap anything.

Unit 10 teacher's key (PDF)

★ Three ways to talk about time

Three ways to talk about time. The little verb is the same in all three. Only what comes after it changes.

Am, is and are never change. What comes after them moves the sentence in time.

Present

always

am / is / are + a word

Present continuous

now

am / is / are + verb-ing

Going to

later

am / is / are + going to + verb

Your language already has a word for later. English uses two: going to, and then the plain verb with nothing added.

★★ How to build it

The subject still chooses am, is or are. That is the same skill in all three times.

Start with the subject. The tree gives you the little red word. It is the same word in all three times.

★★★ Which one is it?

Which one is it: present, present continuous, or going to?

  1. right now
  2. tomorrow
  3. always
  4. next week
  5. at the moment
  6. every day

Now choose the form

Look at the last words. They tell you which form to use. Type the form, then put the whole sentence in the chat.

  1. 1Nadège a student.isis studyingis going to study
  2. 2Nadège at the moment.isis studyingis going to study
  3. 3They teachers.areare teachingare going to teach
  4. 4They at the moment.areare teachingare going to teach
  5. 5Farid hungry.isis eatingis going to eat
  6. 6Farid lunch at the moment.isis eatingis going to eat

★★★ Say it later

Write the same sentence again with going to, for later.

  1. 1Nadège is studying.
  2. 2They are teaching.
  3. 3Farid is eating lunch.

Fix the sentence

Each sentence is broken in one place. Keep every word and change only what is broken.

  1. 1Nadège is study at the moment.Now needs the -ing.
  2. 2They going to teach.Do not drop are.
  3. 3Farid is going to eating.After going to, no -ing.
  4. 4He is going to reads.After going to, no -s.

For the teacher · Answer key

Which one is it: right now → present continuous  ·  tomorrow → going to  ·  always → present  ·  next week → going to  ·  at the moment → present continuous  ·  every day → present.    Choose the form: 1 is  ·  2 is studying  ·  3 are  ·  4 are teaching  ·  5 is  ·  6 is eating.    Say it later: Nadège is going to study.  ·  They are going to teach.  ·  Farid is going to eat lunch.    Fix the sentence: Nadège is studying at the moment.  ·  They are going to teach.  ·  Farid is going to eat.  ·  He is going to read.