PRESENT CONTINUOS

CONSTRUCTION

Analyze the following sentences.

I AM WORKING at UNAM.
He IS STUDYING Engineering.
They ARE TAKING a German course.
We ARE PUTTING the decorations.

Notice that we are using the verb TO BE and adding “ING” at the end of the following verb.

The verb TO BE is in the SIMPLE PRESENT form , that is why this is called PRESENT continuous.

The following verb takes the ING to express continuity or duration.

The spelling of the verbs adding ING varies according to the ending sound of the verbs.

Work - WORKING
Study- STUDYING ( see the contrast with the third person form in simple present)
Take- TAKING ( Notice we eliminate the “e”)
Put- PUTTING (Double the last consonant)*

*In English when you need to add a suffix and at the end of the word there is ONE VOWEL and
ONE CONSONANT you DOUBLE THE LAST CONSONANT.

swIM - swiMMing
rUN - ruNNing
plAN - plaNNing

See Grammar Bank Unit 1- 1C page 126 for spelling rules.

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE PRESENT CONTINUOS IS TO BE.

I am working at UNAM. (CORRECT)

I working at UNAM. (WRONG!!)

We just mentioned that TO BE is the most important thing in the present continuous, because
of that, we use TO BE to ask questions and to form the negative.

QUESTION FORM

ARE you WORKING at UNAM?

IS he STUDYING Engineering?
ARE they TAKING a German course?
ARE we PUTTING the decorations
Remember LONG and SHORT answers? (See review of PRESENT SIMPLE)

We do the same here:

ARE you WORKING at UNAM?

Yes, I am working at UNAM. / No, I am not working at UNAM. (CORRECT)

ARE you WORKING at UNAM?

Yes, I am./ No, I am not. ( Notice we use TO BE as the auxiliary verb.) (CORRECT)

ARE you WORKING at UNAM?

Yes, I am working./No, I am not working. (WRONG!!)

NEGATIVE FORM

I AM NOT WORKING at UNAM.

He IS NOT STUDYING Engineering.
We ARE NOT TAKING a German course.

USE
We USE the PRESENT CONTINUOS to talk about thing that are happening AT THE MOMENT OF
SPEAKING.

I AM DRINKING a cup of coffee. (NOW, AT PRESENT)

He IS STUDYING for his exams. (NOW, AT PRESENT)
They ARE SWIMMING in the pool. (NOW, AT PRESENT)

NOTE : The word ACTUALLY means IN FACT. It has nothing to do with the present continuos.
This is a FALSE COGNATE.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/diccionario/ingles/actually

We USE the present continuous for things that are happening AROUND NOW.

I AM WORKING in a bookstore. (THIS SUMMER)

She IS TAKING French at school. (THIS SEMESTER)
They ARE LIVING in an apartment (THIS YEAR)

We USE the present continuous to DESCRIBE A PHOTO OR A PICTURE.

In this photo, my mother IS SITTING next to my older brother, my father IS CLAPPING his hands
and we ARE SMILING....

In the book they talk about clothes to exemplify this, clothes are something you WEAR today but
tomorrow you might possibly change them, it is not a constant.

What IS the boy in the picture WEARING?

An orange polo shirt.

See basic vocabulary on clothes on page 151 and expand as much as you can.
CONTRAST BETWEEN SIMPLE PRESENT AND PRESENT CONTINUOS.
There is a small difference between the two tenses when we are talking about ACTION VERBS.

Remember this?

I WORK at UNAM. (General Truth)

I AM WORKING at UNAM. (Now, At present)

The two division of verbs are ACTION VERBS and STATE VERBS (other names: STATIVE VERBS
and NON- ACTION)

ACTION VERBS obviously, describe an action:

Work, Play, Study. Walk, Talk, etc.

There is a process or sequence in the nature of action verbs:

If you walk, you follow a sequence of steps to get to another place.

If you study, you are in the process of acquiring the knowledge.

STATE VERBS describe something that does not follow a process or sequence.
See the contrast:

I study French. ( You are in the process of acquiring the language)

I know French. ( There is no process, you posses the knowledge)

KNOW is a STATE VERB

STATE VERBS can be organized in various forms:

For example, what do you think these state verbs have in common?

Know, Believe, Understand, Think*

They all have to do with the MIND or cognition.

See how they organized them in this chart.

* Think is a verb that can be both an action or state verb but with a change in meaning.
See below.

There is a number of STATE VERBS and YOU HAVE TO LEARN THEM. (You can start with some
now and get more as you go into higher levels)

See Grammar Bank UNIT 1-1C page 126

The relevance of this, is because STATE VERBS CAN NOT TAKE THE CONTINUOS FORM. They
are only used in the SIMPLE FORM

THIS APPLY TO ALL CONTINUOS TENSES. (Past, Future, Perfect etc.)

ACTION VERB
I STUDY Engineering. (CORRECT)
I AM STUDYING Engineering. (CORRECT)

STATE VERB
I KNOW French. (Correct)
I AM KNOWING French. (WRONG!!)

Some verbs can be both STATE VERBS or ACTION VERBS but with a DIFFERENT MEANING.

See the difference:

ACTION VERB
I HAVE a sandwich for lunch. (Eating)

STATE VERB
I HAVE a cat at home. (Possession)

Can you say this?

I AM HAVING a cat.

Not really, because the meaning of this is that you are EATING a cat!

ACTION
I AM THINKING about my exams. (Mental Process)

STATE
I THINK hamsters are good pets. (Opinion)

You will learn more about this in higher levels, the important thing is that you understand the
concept and see how it works.

See Grammar Bank UNIT 1-1C page 126

http://eoimarbella.es/semi/EOI_IN3_U1_T1_Contenidos_v10/42_stative_and_dynamic_verbs.ht
ml
https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/stative-verbs.html (Download the list, do the
exercise and watch the video)
THERE IS -THERE ARE

In English, the only way you can express existence is with the use of THERE IS - THERE ARE.

THERE IS

We use it for singular nouns.

In the Kitchen, there is a kettle, there is a pot, there is a stove, there is a sink, there is a table,
there is a bookcase (?).

In the living room, there is a window, there is a large vase with flowers, there is a rug, there is a
coffee table, there is a sofa.

THERE ARE

We use it for plural nouns.

In the Kitchen, there are two shelves, there are eight books, there are two plates , there are three
cups, there are two chairs.

In the living room, there are two cushions, there are two curtains, there are two pictures.

You can not say that something exists in a certain place or time without THERE.

In the kitchen is a kettle. WRONG!!!

In the living are pictures. WRONG!!!

In the kitchen there is a kettle. RIGHT

In the living there are pictures. RIGHT
So , what is the equivalent in Spanish of there is or there are? HAY.

See how it can be used:

Once upon a time, THERE WAS a princess....

How do you say this in Spanish?

Había una vez una princesa...