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White Structure

CONTINUOUS TENSES

The Present Continuous

 

Uses

1.Actions that occur at the moment of speech. The action starts before the moment of speech, continues at the moment of speech and will probably keep on going after the moment of speaking.

It is raining at the moment.

Sarah is working out right now.

 

2.It expresses a present action, which may or may not be occurring at the moment of speaking.

I´m reading a book which has over one thousand pages.

3.It describes situations that are constantly repeated. In these cases, the adverb always is often used and is positioned between the verb to be and the main verb.

People are always complaining about something

4. Planned actions that will take place in the near future:

The kids are traveling to Canada next weekend.

Structure

SUBJECT + TO BE (PRESENT) + VERB + ING

Affirmative

 MY FRIENDS ARE HAVING A CLASS NOW.

THE WEATHER IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING.

Negative

 MY FRIENDS AREN’T HAVING A CLASS NOW.

THE WEATHER ISN’T CONSTANTLY CHANGING.

Interrogative

 ARE YOUR FRIENDS HAVING A CLASS NOW?

IS THE WEATHER CONSTANTLY CHANGING?

The Past Continuous

Uses

 

1.It describes an action in progress at a specific time in the past:

Ruben was watching tv at 8pm last night.

2.     Narrating the circumstances of a past situation:

 Yesterday was a perfect day because the sun was shining, and the kids were playing in the yard.

3.It describes actions in progress simultaneously.

My dad was cooking dinner while my siblings were doing their homework when I arrived home.

4.     It  indicates a habitual action that occurred in the past. Frequency adverbs are usually used: constantly, often, always between the simple past of the verb to be and the main verb:

Raul was constantly getting into fights during his high school years.

Structure

SUBJECT + TO BE (past) + VERB + ING

Affirmative

 I was speaking on the phone when you called me yesterday

Two men were fighting outside around midnight last night.

Negative

 I wasn’t speaking on the phone…

Two men weren’t fighting outside…

Interrogative

 Were you speaking on the phone...?

Were two men fighting outside…?

The Future Continuous

 

Future Progressive basically expresses actions that will be taking place at some point in the future.

 

A construction company will be building a tower near my house for the next two years.

Structure  - WILL X TO  BE GOING TO

 SUBJECT + WILL + TO BE  + VERB + ING

SUBJECT + TO BE GOING TO BE + VERB + ING

Affirmative

 Sarah will probably be arriving  from NYC in about two hours.

Peter is going to be waiting for Sarah..

Negative

 Sarah won’t be arriving…

Peter isn’t going to be waiting…

Interrogative

 Will Sarah be arriving …?

Is Peter going to be waiting…?

ADDING THE SUFFIX ING

 SPELLING RULES

Most verbs

We simply add the suffix ‘ing’ to the verbs

 

Working – calling – talking  – founding– reporting – recording – playing – staying - enjoying

Verbs ending in letter “E”

We remove the “ e “ and add ing

Hoping – facing – loving – changing – believing

Exceptions – being – seeing – glueing – agreeing

Lie = Lying – tie =  tying -  die = dying

One-syllable verbs  and verbs whose last syllable is stressed ending in consonant + vowel + consonant

We need to DOUBLE the last consonant then add “ING”

Stopping – dropping – robbing – planning – shopping  ( 1 syllable)

Permitting – omitting – preferring – occuring– admitting

 except verbs enging in X, W and Y

Fixing – waxing–snowing - showing – playing -  obeying

 

 

•If the verb ends in “L”, we need to doulble  the “L” in British English.

Travelling (Br.) – traveling (Am.) – cancelling (Br.) – canceling (Am.)

Verbs ending in C+V+C whose last syllable ISN’T stressed, we simply add “ing” to the verb.

 

Listening – visiting – developing – suffering – offering - wondering

Non-continuous Verbs

Non-continuous verbs are verbs that we do not normally use with continuous tenses. These "stative" verbs are about state, not action, and they cannot express the continuous or progressive aspect. Here are some of the most common non-continuous verbs:

•feelings: hate, like, love, prefer, want, wish

•senses: appear, feel, hear, see, seem, smell, sound, taste

•communication: agree, deny, disagree, mean, promise, satisfy, surprise

•thinking: believe, imagine, know, mean, realize, recognize, remember, understand

•other states: be, belong, concern, depend, involve, matter, need, owe, own, possess, have

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