Present Continuous
Prueba tu comprensión
Formación del "present continuous"
El "present continuous" de cualquier verbo se compone de dos partes: el
presente del verbo to be + el "present participle" del verbo principal.
(Para formar el "present participle": raíz+ing, e.g. talking, playing, moving,
smiling)
Afirmativa
Sujet + to be + raíz
o + ing
She is talking.
Negativa
Sujet + to be + + raíz
o not + ing
She is not (isn't) talking
Interrogativa
to be + sujeto + raíz
+ ing
Is she talking?
Ejemplos: TO GO, "present continuous"
Afirmativa Negativa Interrogativa
I am going I am not going Am I going?
You are going You aren't going. Are you going?
He, she, it is going He, she, it isn't going Is he, she, it going?
We are going We aren't going Are we going?
You are going You aren't going Are you going?
They are going They aren't going Are they going?
Nota: contracciones de las formas negativas: I'm not going, you're not going,
he's not going etc.
Funciones del "present continuous"
Como ocurre con todos los tiempos verbales del inglés, la actitud del
hablante es tan importante como el momento en que ocurre la acción o el
evento. Al emplear el "present continuous", nos estamos refiriendo a algo
que no ha terminado o está incompleto
El "present continuous" se utiliza:
para describir una acción que está teniendo lugar en este
momento: You are using the Internet. You are studying English
grammar.
para describir una tendencia o una acción que está sucediendo en la
actualidad: Are you still working for the same company? More and
more people are becoming vegetarian.
para describir una acción o evento futuros que ya están
programados: We're going on holiday tomorrow. I'm meeting my
boyfriend tonight. Are they visiting you next winter?
para describir una situación o evento temporales: He usually plays the
drums, but he's playing bass guitar tonight. The weather forecast was
good, but it's raining at the moment.
con "always, forever, constantly", para describir y enfatizar una
sucesión de acciones repetidas: Harry and Sally are always
arguing! You're constantly complaining about your mother-in-law!
¡CUIDADO! Hay algunos verbos que no suelen emplear la forma progresiva
Verbos que no suelen emplear la forma progresiva
Los verbos de la siguiente lista suelen utilizar la forma simple porque hacen
referencia a estados, más que acciones o procesos.
Sensación / Percepción
to feel*
to hear
to see*
to smell
to taste
Opinión
to assume
to believe
to consider
to doubt
to feel (= pensar)
to find (= considerar)
to suppose
to think*
Estados mentales
to forget
to imagine
to know
to mean
to notice
to recognise
to remember
to understand
Emociones / deseos
to envy
to fear
to dislike
to hate
to hope
to like
to love
to mind
to prefer
to regret
to want
to wish
Medidas
to contain
to cost
to hold
to measure
to weigh
Otros
to look (=parecerse a)
to seem
to be (en la mayoría de los casos)
to have (cuando significa "poseer")*
Excepciones
Los verbos de sensación y percepción (see, hear, feel, taste, smell) suelen utilizarse
con can: I can see... Pueden tomar la forma progresiva pero, en este caso, su
significado suele variar.
This coat feels nice and warm. (percepción de las cualidades del abrigo)
John's feeling much better now (está mejor de salud)
She has three dogs and a cat. (posesión)
She's having supper. (está tomando)
I can see Anthony in the garden (percepción)
I'm seeing Anthony later (tenemos intención de vernos)