Adding ‘ing’ to describe an action

Why is this important?
The present tense ‘ing’ is used following an action word to describe something that is happening now (e.g. ‘boy running’, ‘girl hopping’). This is important for the development of grammatical skills.

What to do

• Look at books together and talk about what people, animals, etc. are doing.
• Use phrases to help, e.g. ‘That boy is running, what about him, he’s …’
• Offer choices: ‘Is the boy running or walking?’
• If the child responds correctly, praise and repeat the sentence back, e.g. ‘Well done, the boy is walking.’
• If the child responds incorrectly (e.g. says ‘boy walk’), do the following:

- Praise for trying.
- Repeat the sentence emphasising the missed element (e.g. ‘Boy walking. Can you tell me what the boy is doing?’).

• Talk about what toys are doing during play and give choices relating to the child’s play, e.g.

Child playing with cars: ‘Is the car driving or walking down the road?’
Child playing in home corner: ‘Is teddy sleeping or washing?’