A set of present progressive tense flashcards with words reading, writing, laughing, singing, dancing, crying, walking, and running.

Free Present Progressive Flashcards

These present progressive tense flashcards are designed to help students practice -ing verbs. Each card features a simple illustration and a verb in the present continuous form, such as reading, dancing, or eating. You can use these in lessons focused on describing actions happening right now or for building full sentences like She is singing or They are running.

A preview of present progressive tense flashcards showing walking and running.
Present Progressive Flashcards

About These Flashcards

There are 16 flashcards in this set, all showing everyday actions in the -ing form. The verbs included are:
reading, writing, laughing, singing, dancing, crying, walking, running, painting, drawing, eating, drinking, sleeping, cooking, thinking, and shouting. Each flashcard comes in two sizes: large (for class presentations or display) and small (ideal for student pair work and speaking games).

Present Progressive Flashcard Game Ideas

Once students are familiar with the vocabulary, try these fun games to reinforce the present progressive tense:

  • Act It Out
    Choose one student to come to the front. Shuffle the flashcards and select one without showing the class. Show the card only to the student at the front, who must act out the action (e.g., running in place for running). The class guesses the action using the target language: “He is running.” or “She is dancing.”
  • Hot Seat Variation
    Divide the class into two teams. One student from a team sits in the “hot seat” facing their teammates, with their back to the teacher. Hold up a flashcard behind them so only their team can see it. The team must silently act out the action together, and the student in the hot seat must guess using the sentence structure: “They are eating.” Give each team 30 seconds to guess as many actions as they can. Then switch teams.

Additional Present Progressive Teaching Resources

For more lesson materials for teaching the present progressive tense in English, check out these related resources:

All Flashcards