Present Continuous
El Present Continuous (también conocido como Present Progressive) se utiliza para describir acciones
que están ocurriendo en este momento o situaciones temporales. A continuación, exploraremos su uso,
formación, estructuras gramaticales, y reglas para los gerundios (-ing forms).
Usos del Present Continuous
Acciones que ocurren ahora mismo (en el momento de hablar):
Ejemplo:
1. I am writing an explanation.
2. She is watching TV right now.
3. They are playing soccer in the park.
Acciones temporales:
Ejemplo:
1. I am staying at my friend's house this week. (solo por unos días).
2. She is working on a big project at the moment.
Planes o decisiones futuras cercanas (ya organizadas):
Ejemplo:
1. We are meeting our friends for dinner tonight.
2. I am traveling to Japan next month.
Acciones repetitivas con sentido emocional (a menudo negativas):
Ejemplo:
1. He is always complaining about everything!
2. They are always arriving late.
Formación del Present Continuous
La estructura básica del Present Continuous es:
Sujeto + Verbo to be (am/is/are) + Verbo principal en gerundio (-ing).
Afirmativa:
1. I am studying English.
2. She is eating lunch.
3. They are playing video games.
Negativa:
1. I am not studying English.
2. She is not (isn’t) eating lunch.
3. They are not (aren’t) playing video games.
Interrogativa:
1. Am I studying English?
2. Is she eating lunch?
3. Are they playing video games?
Reglas para formar el gerundio (-ing form)
Regla básica:
Para formar el gerundio, añade -ing al verbo base.
Ejemplo:
1. Play → Playing
2. Watch → Watching
3. Eat → Eating
Reglas ortográficas especiales:
Verbos que terminan en -e muda:
Quita la -e y añade -ing.
Ejemplo:
1. Make → Making
2. Write → Writing
3. Come → Coming
Verbos de una sílaba que terminan en consonante + vocal + consonante:
Duplica la consonante final antes de añadir -ing.
Ejemplo:
4. Run → Running esto ocurre solo con las silabas fuertes
5. Sit → Sitting
forGET - forgetting
6. Swim → Swimming VIsit - visiting
Verbos terminados en -ie: en inglés (en 90% de los casos)
Cambia -ie por -y y añade -ing. si tenemos una i en medio de una palabra y
Ejemplo: Time una e al final, la i se pronuncia como /ai/
Fine
7. Lie → Lying Dine
8. Die → Dying
Tie - Tying
Verbos terminados en -y o -w:
No cambian, simplemente se añade -ing.
Ejemplo:
9. Play → Playing
10. Snow → Snowing
Palabras y expresiones clave del Present Continuous
El Present Continuous se usa comúnmente con:
Now (ahora):
o I am reading now.
At the moment (en este momento):
o She is cooking at the moment.
Today (hoy):
o We are cleaning the house today.
This week/month/year (este/a semana/mes/año):
o He is working from home this week.
Look!/Listen! (¡Mira!/¡Escucha!):
o Look! The dog is running.
o Listen! Someone is singing.
Diferencia entre el Present Continuous y otros tiempos
El Present Continuous NO se usa para:
Acciones permanentes o hábitos. Para eso se usa el Present Simple:
o Incorrecto: She is living in Paris forever.
o Correcto: She lives in Paris.
Verbos que indican estado (state verbs). Algunos verbos como know, like, love, hate, believe
suelen usarse en Present Simple, no en Present Continuous.
Ejemplo:
o Incorrecto: I am knowing the answer.
o Correcto: I know the answer.
Ejemplos detallados por contexto
Acción en curso:
o I am eating dinner right now.
o The children are playing outside.
Acción temporal:
o She is staying with her cousin for a few days.
o He is studying a new language this year.
Futuro planificado:
o We are visiting the museum tomorrow.
o I am meeting my teacher after class.
Acciones repetitivas (quejas):
o He is always leaving his dirty dishes in the sink!
o You are always forgetting your keys!
Errores comunes al usar el Present Continuous
Omitir el verbo to be:
o ❌ She cooking.
o ✅ She is cooking.
Usar verbos de estado incorrectamente:
o ❌ I am loving chocolate.
o ✅ I love chocolate.
Confundir usos con Present Simple:
o ❌ She is going to school every day. (hábitos)
o ✅ She goes to school every day.
Práctica y ejercicios
Completa las oraciones:
o Right now, I ___ (read) a book.
o They ___ (not play) soccer today.
o ___ (she/work) at the moment?
Cambia a negativa:
o He is studying Japanese. → ___
o We are watching TV. → ___
Escribe ejemplos en:
o Una acción que sucede ahora mismo.
o Un plan futuro.
o Una acción temporal.
