Form and use the progressive verb tenses, and use modal auxiliary verbs to convey conditions

Learning goal: Write complete sentences that demonstrate knowledge of conventions: form and use the progressive verb tenses (for example, she is talking, she was talking, she will be talking), and use modal auxiliary verbs to convey various conditions (for example, can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will and would). This lesson teaches Ohio's 2026 English language arts standard, first implemented in the 2027-28 school year.

Main verbs and helping verbs. The predicate of a complete sentence always contains a verb. Sometimes the verb is one word: "Rosa paints." Often it is a verb phrase, a main verb with one or more helping verbs in front of it: "Rosa is painting." "Rosa can paint." "Rosa will be painting." Helping verbs are also called auxiliary verbs. This lesson teaches two kinds: the forms of be that build the progressive tenses, and the modal auxiliary verbs. Another part of the same standard, using the relative pronouns who, whose, which and that, the relative adverbs where, when and how, and irregular possessive nouns, is taught in the companion lesson on complete sentences with relative pronouns and adverbs.

Part 1: The progressive verb tenses

What progressive means. A progressive tense shows an action that is in progress, still going on, at the time the sentence is about. It does not show the action as finished.

How to form the progressive tenses. Every progressive verb has two parts: a form of the helping verb be (am, is, are, was, were or will be), and the main verb ending in -ing. The helper shows the time.

- Present progressive: am, is or are + the -ing form. "I am talking." "She is talking." "They are talking." The action is in progress now.
- Past progressive: was or were + the -ing form. "She was talking." "They were talking." The action was in progress at a time in the past.
- Future progressive: will be + the -ing form. "She will be talking." "They will be talking." The action will be in progress at a time in the future.

The form of be must agree with the subject. Use am with I; is with he, she, it or one person or thing; are with you, we, they or more than one. Use was with I, he, she, it or one person or thing; were with you, we, they or more than one. Will be is the same for every subject.

Spelling the -ing form. Most verbs simply add -ing: talk → talking, play → playing. If the verb ends in a silent e, usually drop the e: write → writing, bake → baking. A few verbs keep it so they are not confused with another word: dye → dyeing (cloth), because dying comes from die. Check a dictionary for a verb you have not spelled before. (The e in see and be is not silent, so seeing and being keep it.) If a one-syllable verb ends in one vowel followed by one consonant, double that consonant: run → running, sit → sitting, swim → swimming. Do not double when the verb ends in two consonants or has a vowel team (jump → jumping, rain → raining), or when the last letter is w, x or y (snow → snowing, fix → fixing, play → playing). A few verbs that end in ie change it to y: tie → tying, lie → lying. Verbs with more than one syllable follow a rule about the stressed syllable (begin → beginning, but visit → visiting), so check a dictionary when you are unsure.

When to use a progressive tense. Compare the simple present with the present progressive. "Rosa paints after school" tells a habit, something that happens again and again. "Rosa is painting" tells what is in progress right now. It can also tell about something going on these days: "Our class is painting the set this week." The past progressive often works together with the simple past: the longer action was in progress when a shorter action happened. "Rosa was painting when the lights went out." The future progressive names an action that will be going on at a future time: "At four o'clock tomorrow, Rosa will be painting the fence."

Three cautions.

1. An -ing word by itself cannot be the verb of a sentence. "The dog barking at the gate." is a fragment. Add the helping verb: "The dog was barking at the gate."
2. Not every -ing word belongs to a progressive verb. In "the talking parrot," talking describes the parrot. In "Swimming is fun," swimming names an activity. A progressive verb always has a form of be as its helper.
3. Verbs that name a state instead of an action, such as know, like, want, own and belong, are not usually put into a progressive tense. Write "I know the answer," not "I am knowing the answer."

Part 2: Modal auxiliary verbs

The nine modal auxiliary verbs in Ohio's statement are can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will and would. A modal is a helping verb that comes before a main verb and conveys a condition on the action, for example whether it is possible, allowed, necessary, advised or certain. Compare "Rosa paints" with "Rosa can paint" (she is able to), "Rosa must paint" (she has to) and "Rosa should paint" (it is a good idea).

Rules of form.

1. The next verb after a modal is in its base form: no -s, no -ed, no -ing and no to. "She can swim," not "She can swims" or "She can to swim."
2. A modal never changes to match its subject. It does not add -s for he, she or it: "He must leave," not "He musts leave."
3. In formal writing, use one modal at a time: "We might be able to go," not "We might could go."
4. To make a modal negative, put not after it: should not, could not, will not, must not. Cannot is written as one word.

A modal can also come before be and an -ing form: "She might be sleeping." Rule 1 still holds, because the next verb after the modal is the base form be. That is exactly how the future progressive is built: the modal will, then be, then the -ing form.

What the modals convey. Many modals have more than one job, so read the whole sentence.

- Ability: can (now) and could (in the past). "Rosa can whistle." "At age three she could count to twenty."
- Possibility: may, might and could. "It may snow tonight." "It might snow." "It could snow." All three say that the event is possible and not certain. Might often sounds a little less sure than may.
- Permission: may (formal) and can (everyday speech). "May I sharpen my pencil?" "You may begin." In conversation many people ask "Can I ...?" In formal speaking and writing, use may for permission.
- Necessity: must. "Riders must wear helmets." Must not means that something is forbidden: "You must not run beside the pool."
- Advice, or what is expected: should. "You should stretch before the race." "The bus should arrive soon."
- The future, a promise or a plan: will. "I will return the book on Friday."
- A polite request, offer or suggestion: would and could (and shall for an offer or a suggestion; see the note below). "Would you hold the door?" "Could you repeat that?" "Would you like some help?" "I would like some water." These sound more polite than "Hold the door" or "I want water."
- An imagined result: would. "If I had a boat, I would row across the lake." The speaker has no boat; would shows that the rowing is only imagined.

A note on shall. In American English today shall is uncommon. It appears mostly in two places: in questions that make an offer or a suggestion with I or we ("Shall we begin?"), and in formal rules, where it conveys necessity, much as must does ("Each player shall take one turn").

Modals change the strength of a sentence. "It will rain" (the writer is certain), "It should rain" (the writer expects it), "It may, might or could rain" (it is possible). "You must wear a coat" (required), "You should wear a coat" (advised), "You may wear a coat" (allowed). Choosing the modal that matches the real condition is part of writing precisely.

Original model paragraph — Painting the Set (the class and the play are invented for this lesson)

Our class is painting the set for the spring play. Yesterday Mr. Dunn was hanging the curtain while we were mixing the paint. Everyone must wear an old shirt, and we should wash the brushes before lunch. I can reach the top of the castle wall from the step stool, but Mr. Dunn says I may not climb the ladder. The paint might dry by tomorrow. If it does, we will be rehearsing on the finished stage at this time next week.

Reading the model. Is painting is present progressive: the work is in progress now. Was hanging and were mixing are past progressive: two actions were in progress at the same past time, and was agrees with Mr. Dunn while were agrees with we. Must wear conveys necessity, and should wash conveys advice. Can reach conveys ability. May not climb refuses permission. Might dry conveys possibility. Will be rehearsing is future progressive: at this time next week the rehearsal will be going on. Says and does are simple present; they are neither progressive verbs nor modals.

Worked example 1 — Form all three progressive tenses. Subject the twins, verb practice. The subject is more than one, so use are and were; practice ends in a silent e, so drop it. Present progressive: "The twins are practicing." Past progressive: "The twins were practicing." Future progressive: "The twins will be practicing." Now subject he, verb swim. Swim has one syllable and ends in one vowel and one consonant, so double the m: "He is swimming." "He was swimming." "He will be swimming."

Worked example 2 — Simple or progressive? "Every Saturday Jamal (helps / is helping) at the library." Every Saturday signals a habit, so use the simple present: helps. "Shh! The baby (sleeps / is sleeping)." The action is in progress now: is sleeping. "I (read / was reading) when the phone rang." To show that the reading was already in progress when the shorter action, rang, happened, use was reading. ("I read when the phone rang" does not show this; it can even sound as if the reading began after the ring. Was reading makes it clear the reading was already underway.)

Worked example 3 — Correct a progressive verb. "The geese was flying south." Geese is more than one, so the helper is were: "The geese were flying south." "My brother washing the dog." There is no helping verb, so this is a fragment: "My brother is washing the dog." (or was washing, if it happened in the past). "I am knowing the answer." Know names a state, so use the simple present: "I know the answer."

Worked example 4 — Choose the modal for the condition. (a) You are able to lift the box: "I can lift this box" (ability). (b) You ask a teacher politely for permission: "May I get a drink?" (permission, formal). (c) A school rule: "Visitors must sign in at the office" (necessity). (d) A friend gives advice: "You should bring a jacket" (advice). (e) You are not sure what you will see: "We might see a deer on the trail" (possibility; may or could also fits). (f) You want the glue and want to be polite: "Would you pass the glue?" (polite request; could also fits). (g) You suggest that your group start: "Shall we begin?" (a suggestion).

Worked example 5 — Correct the form after a modal. "She cans ride a bike." A modal never adds -s: "She can ride a bike." "He should to study." No to after a modal: "He should study." "Lena must practiced." The main verb after a modal is the base form: "Lena must practice." "They might could come." One modal at a time: "They might come" or "They might be able to come."

Worked example 6 — Change the strength to match the facts. A forecast says there is a small chance of rain. "It will rain at the picnic" claims too much; "It might rain at the picnic" matches the forecast. A sign means that bikes are forbidden on the sidewalk. "You should not ride on the sidewalk" is only advice; "You must not ride on the sidewalk" conveys the rule.

Verb chart (representation task): Make a chart with two parts. In part 1, choose three verbs (one that just adds -ing, one that drops a silent e and one that doubles its last consonant) and write each in the present progressive, past progressive and future progressive with a subject of your choice. Circle the form of be and underline the -ing form. In part 2, list the nine modal auxiliary verbs, write the condition or conditions each one conveys, and write one sentence of your own for each.

Sentence practice: (1) Rewrite in the past progressive: "The band marches down Main Street." (2) Rewrite in the future progressive: "We plant tomatoes." (3) Add a modal to "Nadia finishes the puzzle" to convey ability, then possibility, then necessity. (4) Turn "Pass the markers" into a polite request with a modal.

Independent performance: Write a paragraph of seven to nine sentences about a class job, a team practice or a family project that is going on this week. Include at least one present progressive verb, one past progressive verb used with a simple past verb in the same sentence, one future progressive verb, and at least four different modal auxiliary verbs that convey four different conditions. Then trade with a partner, who labels each progressive verb with its tense and each modal with the condition it conveys. Success criteria: Every sentence is complete. Every progressive verb has a form of be that agrees with its subject and a correctly spelled -ing form. Each tense matches the time I mean. The next verb after every modal is in its base form (it may be be before an -ing form), with no added -s and no to. Each modal conveys the condition I intended, and my partner named the same condition I did.