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My Christmas: present continuous of -ar, -er, -ir verbs

Learning outcomes

I can use the present continuous to talk about my Christmas.

I can recognise the different ways the sounds [ce] and [ci] are pronounced.

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New
New

My Christmas: present continuous of -ar, -er, -ir verbs

Learning outcomes

I can use the present continuous to talk about my Christmas.

I can recognise the different ways the sounds [ce] and [ci] are pronounced.

Link copied to clipboard

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. The sound-symbol correspondence [ce] is pronounced as in the word 'centro' and [ci] as in the word 'decir'.
  2. The present simple of -AR verbs is used to talk about habits and routines, e.g. 'trabajo', 'trabajas', 'trabaja'.
  3. The present continuous of -AR verbs is formed with the verb 'estar' + present participle (-ando).
  4. The present continuous of -ER verbs is formed with the verb 'estar' + present participle (-iendo).
  5. When describing a photo we can include information such as who is in the photo, what they are doing and where they are.

Keywords

  • Simple present - verb form that describes habitual actions and routines, e.g. 'I read'

  • Present participle - verb form that forms the present continuous, together with the auxiliary verb 'estar'

  • Present continuous - verb form that describes actions happening at the moment, e.g. 'I'm reading'

Common misconception

To form the present continuous we just need to remove the -ar/-er/-ir from the infinitive and add -ando or -iendo.

To form the present continuous we need to use the correct form of the verb 'estar' and then the present participle which is formed by removing the -ar/-er/-ir from the infinitive and adding -ando or -iendo.

The teacher might want to bring some Christmas related photos to the classroom for students to describe and practise the present simple and present continuous.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which word means 'behind'?
adelante
apoyo
aprender
así que
Correct answer: atrás
Q2.
Match the Spanish and English.
Correct Answer:deber,to must, have to

to must, have to

Correct Answer:poder,to be able to, can

to be able to, can

Correct Answer:querer,to want, wanting

to want, wanting

Correct Answer:saber,to know, knowing

to know, knowing

Correct Answer:ver,to see, seeing

to see, seeing

Correct Answer:vivir,to live, living

to live, living

Q3.
Match the Spanish and English.
Correct Answer:ánimo (m),encouragement

encouragement

Correct Answer:paso (m),step

step

Correct Answer:pena (f),pity

pity

Correct Answer:rabia (f),anger

anger

Correct Answer:tristeza (f),sadness

sadness

Correct Answer:vergüenza (f),shame

shame

Q4.
Order the words to say: 'you tell the truth but he does not answer'.
1 - dices
2 - la
3 - verdad
4 - pero
5 - no
6 - responde
Q5.
Write in English: 'el grupo pide un ejemplo'.
Correct Answer: The group asks for an example.
Q6.
Write in Spanish: 'I discover his intention'.
Correct Answer: Descubro su intención., Yo descubro su intención.

5 Questions

Q1.
Which Spanish words include the [ce] or [ci] sound?
food
Correct answer: to do, doing
to organise, organising
Correct answer: translation
to discover, discovering
Q2.
Which sentence is in the present continuous tense?
Como.
Comiendo.
Correct answer: Estoy comiendo.
Comí.
Voy a comer.
Q3.
Which sentence is in the simple present tense?
Correct answer: Bebo.
Bebiendo.
Estoy bebiendo.
Bebí.
Voy a beber.
Q4.
Write in Spanish: 'you are writing'.
Correct Answer: Estás escribiendo., Tú estás escribiendo.
Q5.
Write in Spanish: 'she is speaking'.
Correct Answer: Está hablando., Ella está hablando.

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Lesson appears in

UnitSpanish / Places: -ar, -er, -ir verbs 1st and 3rd person

Spanish