match
throw
kickNow, usually or a quick event?
A report needs both present forms. Am/is/are + -ing describes something in progress at this moment; words like “Look!” and “at the moment” point to it. The present simple describes habits; words like “usually” and “every week” point to it.
Commentators also use the present simple for short actions that start and finish in a second: “She takes the ball, she runs, she scores!” So in a report, a present simple verb does not always mean “usually”. Test: quick and finished, present simple; still going on, -ing.
- Now: “Look! The fans are singing.” “Our goalkeeper isn’t moving!”
- Usually: “The team practises twice a week.” “She usually scores from there.”
- Quick event: “Number 7 throws the ball, and it goes in.” “Hillview score first.”
Listen: a school match, live
Students are filming a school basketball match for a live stream; one is the commentator. Listen for the -ing forms and one habit (“usually scores”). With a team name, British English often uses “are”.
Zara We're live! Hi, everyone. We're in the school sports hall, and the match is starting.
Theo Look at the fans. They're singing already!
Zara Kai, you're the commentator. What's happening?
Kai Amara is running down the court with the ball. She usually scores from there!
Theo Yes! Two points! Harbour Park are winning!
Sports words: play, go or do, and the score
Use at least three sports words that fit your sport.
- “play” with ball games and games: play football, play tennis, play chess
- “go” with -ing activities: go swimming, go sailing, go skateboarding
- “do” with exercise and sport in general: do exercise, do sport
- Actions and people: throw, catch, kick, hit, jump; player, team, coach, fan, commentator
- Results: win a match, beat a team, lose to a team, score a goal
- The score: “The final score is 2–1.” (say “two–one”); 1–1 is “one all”; in British football, 0 is often “nil”.
A model report, sentence by sentence
Our own example: about 75 words under a headline with the score. Each sentence has one job.
- “Riverside 2, Hillview 1” → headline.
- “It’s Saturday afternoon, and our school football team, Riverside, is playing Hillview in the town park.” → 1: when, where, who.
- “Hillview score first, but our players are running hard and the fans are singing.” → 2: first event, scene with -ing.
- “In the second half, Mia kicks the ball from the middle of the pitch, and it’s a goal!” → 3: the big moment.
- “Ten minutes later, our number 4 scores another goal, and the final score is 2–1.” → 4: the score.
- “We usually lose to Hillview, so everyone is very happy today.” → 5: the ending, with a habit.
Typical mistakes and how to fix them
Many languages use one present form for “now” and “usually”, so check every verb (mistake, then fix):
- “Look! The fans sing.” → “Look! The fans are singing.”
- “She running with the ball.” → “She is running with the ball.”
- “My brother play tennis.” → “My brother plays tennis.”
- “We play swimming on Sundays.” → “We go swimming on Sundays.”
- “We won Hillview.” → “We beat Hillview.” (you win a match, but you beat a team)
- “The match is very excited.” → “The match is very exciting.” (the fans are excited)
- “runing”, “swiming” → “running”, “swimming”
Your 15-minute routine
Twice a week, write about a match you played, watched or invented.
- Minutes 1–3: watch a minute of any match and commentate out loud: “Now number 10 is running…”
- Minutes 4–5: note the teams, the score and three sports words.
- Minutes 6–12: write five sentences, one job each.
- Minutes 13–15: check the score, is/are + -ing for the scene and the -s with he, she and it.
What comes next
The A2 Key Reading and Writing paper ends with a short story about three pictures (35 words or more); describing a match in clear steps trains the same skill. In Speaking, you may talk about sports and hobbies, so use -ing after enjoy, love, hate and don’t mind: “I don’t mind playing chess, but I love swimming.”