Present Continuous

Present Continuous Question Jar: Speaking Practice with Pictures

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Pull a question out of the jar

Open the jar, look at the picture and answer the question in a full sentence. Then check the suggested answer.
All questions and answers
  1. A woman baking
    • What is she baking? She is baking cupcakes.
    • Where is she baking? She is baking in the kitchen.
    • Who is baking? A woman is baking.
  2. A teacher at the board
    • What is she teaching? She is teaching maths.
    • Where is she standing? She is standing next to the board.
    • What is she holding? She is holding a book and a pencil.
  3. Children in a garden
    • What are the children doing? They are playing and laughing.
    • Where are they playing? They are playing in the garden.
    • Who is playing in the garden? A boy and a girl are playing in the garden.
  4. A cat on a table
    • What is the cat doing? The cat is sleeping.
    • Where is the cat sleeping? It is sleeping on the table.
    • What is sleeping on the table? A cat is sleeping on the table.
  5. Tom and a girl with a ball
    • What are they playing with? They are playing with a ball.
    • Where are they playing? They are playing in the park.
    • Who is the girl playing with? She is playing with Tom.
  6. Two people on the phone
    • What are they doing? They are talking on the phone.
    • Who is he talking to? He is talking to his friend.
  7. A boy on the stairs
    • What is the boy doing? He is sitting and waiting.
    • Where is he sitting? He is sitting on the stairs.
    • Who is he waiting for? He is waiting for Mr. Brown.
  8. A ghost at the door
    • What is the ghost doing? It is knocking on the door.
    • Where is the ghost standing? It is standing at the door.
    • Who is knocking on the door? A ghost is knocking on the door.
  9. Two children in a park
    • What are they eating? They are eating ice cream.
    • Where are they eating ice cream? They are eating ice cream in the park.
    • Who is eating ice cream in the park? A boy and a girl are eating ice cream in the park.
  10. A nurse and a girl in a hospital
    • What is the nurse doing? She is helping the girl.
    • Where is the girl lying? She is lying in bed in the hospital.
    • Who is helping the girl? A nurse is helping the girl.
  11. Two boys swimming
    • Where are the boys swimming? They are swimming in the pool.
    • What are the boys doing? They are swimming.
    • Who is swimming? Two boys are swimming.
  12. A man cooking
    • What is he cooking? He is cooking noodles.
    • Where is he cooking? He is cooking in the kitchen.
    • Who is cooking? A man is cooking.
  13. A cat and a capybara eating pizza
    • What are they eating? They are eating pizza.
    • Who is eating pizza with the cat? A capybara is eating pizza with the cat.
  14. Two children running to school
    • Where are they running? They are running to school.
    • What are they carrying? They are carrying school bags.
    • Who is running to school? A boy and a girl are running to school.
  15. A woman pushing a boy in a shopping cart
    • Where are they going? They are going to the supermarket.
  16. A teacher reading to children
    • What is the teacher reading? She is reading a picture book.
    • Where are the children sitting? They are sitting on the carpet.
    • Who is reading to the children? The teacher is reading to the children.
  17. A girl with an umbrella
    • What is she holding? She is holding an umbrella.
    • What is she wearing on her feet? She is wearing yellow boots.
    • Who is holding an umbrella? A girl is holding an umbrella.
  18. A child in a puddle
    • What is the child wearing? He is wearing a raincoat and orange boots.
    • Who is playing in the puddle? A little boy is playing in the puddle.
  19. A boy making sandwiches
    • What is he making? He is making sandwiches.
  20. A woman with headphones
    • What is she doing? She is listening to music.
  21. A woman in a pink dress
    • What is she wearing? She is wearing a long pink dress.
  22. Two children carrying a box
    • What are they carrying? They are carrying a big box.
    • Who is carrying the box? A boy and a girl are carrying the box.
  23. Boys playing football
    • What are they playing? They are playing football.
  24. A girl reading a book
    • What is she reading? She is reading a book about animals.
  25. A boy feeding the dog
    • Who is feeding the dog? A boy is feeding the dog.
  26. A woman with a dishwasher
    • What is she doing? She is putting the plates in the dishwasher.
  27. A girl hanging out the washing
    • What is she hanging out? She is hanging out a T-shirt and shorts.
  28. A man ironing
    • Who is ironing a shirt? A man is ironing a shirt.
  29. A child making the bed
    • What is the child doing? He is making the bed.
  30. A boy putting away clothes
    • What is he doing? He is putting away his clothes.
  31. Two children setting the table
    • What are they doing? They are setting the table.
  32. A boy taking out the rubbish
    • Who is taking out the rubbish? A boy is taking out the rubbish.
  33. A boy vacuuming his room
    • What is he vacuuming? He is vacuuming the carpet.
  34. A woman watering the plants
    • What is she watering? She is watering the plants.
  35. A cat and a capybara with shopping bags
    • What are they carrying? They are carrying shopping bags.
  36. A hand giving money at the till
    • What are you getting? I am getting my change.
  37. A man with a receipt
    • What is he getting? He is getting a very long receipt.
  38. Two people with phones
    • What are they doing? They are sending messages on their phones.
  39. A family riding bikes
    • Where are they riding? They are riding in the park.
  40. A customer paying by card
    • How is he paying? He is paying by card.
  41. A customer getting his change
    • How is he paying? He is paying in cash.
  42. People in a queue
    • Where are they standing? They are standing in a queue at the till.
Rule: Present Continuous ShowHide

am / is / are + -ing

For things that are happening now.

  • I am listening to music.
  • He is riding his bike.
  • They are climbing a tree.

now · right now · at the moment · Look! · Listen!

Negative and questions

  • I am not reading. She isn't sleeping. They aren't playing.
  • Is Nick standing behind the bench?
  • Are you listening? – Yes, I am. / No, I'm not.

Adding -ing

  • read → reading, sing → singing
  • ride → riding, dance → dancing (no e)
  • swim → swimming, run → running, sit → sitting

A speaking game for young learners. Press the button, watch the jar open and a paper fly out – on it there is a picture and a question in the Present Continuous: What is she baking? Where are the children playing? Who is feeding the dog?

Answer in a full sentence, then tap Suggested answer to compare: She is baking cupcakes. They are playing in the garden. Many pictures have two or three questions – what, where and who. There are 42 pictures in the jar: everyday actions, chores at home and shopping. The papers come out in random order and do not repeat until the jar is empty, so the game works well on a board with the whole class.

Games on Present Continuous

Ready-made games on this topic. Open one on the board and play in teams.

Open the Box · 15 boxesPresent Continuous team game (Primary)A team game for Primary: open a box and answer – Present Continuous.Play
Flashcards · 24 cardsPresent Continuous practice (Primary)Cards for Primary: answer, then flip the card to check – Present Continuous.Play
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