PRESENT CONTINUOUS
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 | ||
| Sujeto | + to be | + raíz + ing |
| She | is | talking. |
| Negativa | ||
| Sujeto | + to be + not | + raíz + 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!
