How to Use Progressive Verbs

When writing, you use progressive verbs to show an event that is currently happening, happened in the past or will happen in the future. To understand how to use progressive verbs correctly, you must first understand the verbs they accompany.

Instructions

1. Distinguish between dynamic and static verbs. A dynamic verb is one that is capable of change and includes an ongoing action through activity, process, sensation, transition and repetition. For example, "The dog is chasing the car," suggests that the dog has not yet finished his pursuit. A static verb identifies a completed action. For example, you would say correctly, "I detest liver and onions," as opposed to, "I am detesting liver and onions."

2. Determine if the verb is a voluntary or inert action. For example, it is correct to say, "I am mixing the batter," because you have a choice to either perform or not perform the action of mixing. However, it is incorrect to say, "Snow is being cold." You know that snow is cold no matter what; therefore, you would say, "Snow is cold."

3. Form a progressive verb by combining a form of "be," the verb and "-ing." For example, in the sentence, "The baby was crying," "was crying" is the past progressive of the verb "to cry." The verb "was" is the past tense of "be."

4. Look for clues within the sentence to help you identify the progressive form of a verb. Words such as, "yesterday," "every day" and "tomorrow" suggest when the action takes place.