Grammatical Rules
Form
To form the present continuous, we must use the auxiliary verb “to be”, as well as the verb+ing.
| Subject | Auxiliary (to be) | Verb+ing |
|---|
| I | am | talking , eating, learning, doing, going}… |
| he, she, it | is | talking, eating, learning, doing, going… |
| you, we, they | are | talking , eating, learning, doing, going… |
Structure
Subject + auxiliary verb (to be) + verb+ing.
Subject + auxiliary verb (to be) + negative auxiliary (not) + verb+ing.
3. Interrogative Sentences
Auxiliary verb (to be) + subject + verb+ing?
Uses
1. The present continuous is used to speak about something that is happening at the moment in which we are speaking. Time expressions such as “now”, “right now” or “at the moment” are indicators of the present continuous.
| | He’s eating at the moment. |
2. We can also use the present continuous to talk about something that is happening now, but not necessarily at the moment when we are speaking. In this case, time expressions such as “currently”, “lately” or “these days” might be used.
| | They’re learning English. |
| | She’s currently looking for a job. |
| | Are you working much lately? |
3. The present continuous may also be used to talk about something already decided in the near future. The use of the present continuous indicates that the future event is quite certain to happen.
| | I’m going to the party tonight. |
| | He’s not [He isn’t] coming to class tomorrow. |
| | Are you working next week? |
Note: There are some verbs which may not be used in the continuous tenses. Further explanation, as well as a list of such verbs that cannot be used in the continuous tenses, can be found in the lesson on the
continuous verb tenses. The following verbs cannot be used in the continuous tenses:
be, want, need, know, prefer, remember,
understand, care, see, hear, smell, believe,
belong, cost, seem, exist, own, like, dislike,
love, hate, fear, envy, mind… David is needing a new car.
Note: There are some verbs which may not be used in the continuous tenses. Further explanation, as well as a list of such verbs that cannot be used in the continuous tenses, can be found in the lesson on the continuous verb tenses.
be, want, need, know, prefer, remember,
understand, care, see, hear, smell, believe,
belong, cost, seem, exist, own, like, dislike,
love, hate, fear, envy, mind… David is needing a new car.
Grammatical Rules (Reglas gramaticales)
Form (Forma)
Para formar el presente continuo se utiliza el verbo auxiliar “to be” y el verbo+ing.
| Sujeto | Auxiliar (to be) | Verbo+ing |
|---|
| I | am | talking, eating, learning, doing, going… |
| he, she, it | is | talking, eating, learning, doing, going… |
| you, we, they | are | talking , eating, learning, doing, going… |
Structure (Estructura)
1. Affirmative Sentences (Frases afirmativas)
Sujeto + verbo auxiliar (to be) + verbo+ing.
Ejemplos:
| | I’m talking.(Estoy hablando.) |
| | He’s eating.(Está comiendo.) |
| | They’re learning.(Están aprendiendo.) |
2. Negative Sentences (Frases negativas)
Sujeto + verbo auxiliar (to be) + auxiliar negativo (not) + verbo+ing.
Ejemplos:
| | I’m not talking.(No estoy hablando.) |
| | He’s not [He isn’t] eating.(No está comiendo.) |
3. Interrogative Sentences (Frases interrogativas)
Verbo auxiliar (to be) + sujeto + verbo+ing?
Ejemplos:
| | Are you talking?(¿Estás hablando?) |
| | Is he eating?(¿Está comiendo?) |
| | Are they learning?(¿Están aprendiendo?) |
Uses (Usos)
1. El presente continuo se utiliza para hablar sobre algo que está pasando en el momento en el que hablamos.
Ejemplos:
| | I’m studying now.(Estoy estudiando ahora.) |
| | He’s eating at the moment.(Está comiendo en este momento.) |
| | Is it raining?(¿Está lloviendo?) |
2. También lo usamos para hablar de algo que está sucediendo en la actualidad pero no necesariamente cuando hablamos. En este caso, se utilizan expresiones de tiempo como “currently”, “lately” o “these days”.
Ejemplos:
| | They’re learning English.(Están aprendiendo inglés.) |
| | She’s currently looking for a job.(Actualmente está buscando un trabajo.) |
| | Are you working much lately?(¿Estás trabajando mucho últimamente?) |
3. Usamos el presente continuo para hablar de algo que está ya decidido que se hará en el futuro próximo. Su uso indica que es bastante seguro que lo planificado sucederá.
Ejemplos:
| | I’m going to the party tonight.(Voy a la fiesta esta noche.) |
| | He’s not [He isn’t] coming to class tomorrow.(No viene a la clase manaña.) |
| | Are you working next week?(¿Trabajas la semana que viene?) |
Nota: Hay unos verbos que no solemos usar en los tiempos continuos. Puedes consultar la lección sobre
los tiempos continuos para una lista de los verbos y una explicación completa. A continuación tienes una lista de verbos que no se usan en tiempos continuos.
be (ser/estar), want (querer), need (necesitar),
know (saber/conocer), prefer (preferir), remember (recordar),
understand (comprender), care (cuidar), see (ver), hear (oír), smell (oler), believe (creer), belong (pertenecer),
cost (costar), seem (parecer), exist (existir), own (poseer),
like (gustar), dislike (desagradar), love (amar), hate (odiar),
fear (temer), envy (envidiar), mind (importar)… Ejemplos:
| | David needs a new car.(David necesita un coche nuevo.) |
David is needing a new car.
Nota: Hay unos verbos que no solemos usar en los tiempos continuos. Puedes consultar la lección sobre los tiempos continuos para una lista de los verbos y una explicación completa.
be (ser/estar), want (querer), need (necesitar),
know (saber/conocer), prefer (preferir), remember (recordar),
understand (comprender), care (cuidar), see (ver), hear (oír), smell (oler), believe (creer), belong (pertenecer),
cost (costar), seem (parecer), exist (existir), own (poseer),
like (gustar), dislike (desagradar), love (amar), hate (odiar),
fear (temer), envy (envidiar), mind (importar)… Ejemplos:
| | David needs a new car.(David necesita un coche nuevo.) |
David is needing a new car.
