Unit 4

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
SIGNAL WORDS
Sujeto + to be + raíz + ing
EVERY DAY NEVER
She is talking.

SOMETIMES
Negativa

ALWAYS
Sujeto + to be + not + raíz + ing

OFTEN
She is not (isn't) talking

Interrogativa
USUALLY

to be + sujeto + raíz + ing EJEMPLOS: TO GO, "PRESENT

CONTINUOUS"
Is she talking? Nota: contracciones de las formas negativas: I'm
not going, you're not going, he's not going
etc.
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? FUNCIONES DEL "PRESENT
CONTINUOUS"
They are going They aren't going Are they going? 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!

¡CUIDADO! Hay algunos verbos que no suelen emplear la forma progresiva

VERBOS QUE NO SUELEN EMPLEAR LA FORMA PROGRESIVA

Los verbos de la siguiente lista suelen utilizar la forma simple porque hacen referencia a estados, más que acciones o procesos.
 to forget  to want
SENSACIÓN / PERCEPCIÓN  to imagine  to wish
 to know
 to feel*
 to mean
MEDIDAS
 to hear
 to notice
 to see*
 to recognise  to contain
 to smell
 to remember  to cost
 to taste
 to understand  to hold
 to measure
OPINIÓN  to weigh
EMOCIONES / DESEOS
 to assume
 to envy
OTROS
 to believe
 to fear
 to consider
 to dislike  to look (=parecerse a)
 to doubt
 to hate  to seem
 to feel (= pensar)
 to hope  to be (en la mayoría de los
 to find (= considerar)
 to like casos)
 to suppose
 to love  to have (cuando significa
 to think*
 to mind "poseer")*
 to prefer
ESTADOS MENTALES  to regret

EXCEPCIONES
Los verbos de sensación y percepción (see, hear, feel, taste, smell) suelen utilizarse con can: I can see... Pueden tomar la forma progresiva
pero, en este caso, su significado suele variar.

 This coat feels nice and warm. (percepción de las cualidades del abrigo)
 John's feeling much better now (está mejor de salud)
 She has three dogs and a cat. (posesión)
 She's having supper. (está tomando)
 I can see Anthony in the garden (percepción)
 I'm seeing Anthony later (tenemos intención de vernos)
1. Put the verb in brackets into the PRESENT SIMPLE or PRESENT CONTINUOUS tense!

Dear Mum, I _______________________________ (JUST WRITE) to tell you how much I

_______________________________ (APPRECIATE) the money you have sent me, and to tell you how I
__________________________ (GET) on in my first term at university. In fact, I _______________________________
(REALLY ENJOY) myself. I ____________________________ (STUDY) quite hard as well, but at the moment I
_______________________________ (SPEND) a lot of time making new friends. I _______________________________
(STILL STAY) with my friend Jill and I ______________________________ (LOOK) for some place to live on my own. Only a
small number of first year students __________________________ (LIVE) in college here and I
___________________________ (SEEM) to be spending a lot of time travelling. I _______________________________
(ATTEND) lectures every morning, and most afternoons I _______________________ (STUDY) in the library. In fact, I
_______________________________ (WRITE) this letter right now instead of an essay on Shakespeare. I think I’ll buy
some new clothes with the money you’ve sent me. Everything ___________________________ (COST) a lot here, and I
_______________________________ (SAVE) to buy a coat for the winter months. It ___________________ (GET) really
cold here in the evenings. I now _______________________________ (KNOW) some other students and we
____________________________ (HAVE) quite a good time. I _______________________________ (ALSO LEARN) to
drive. University students _________________ (GET) a refund if they take their tests here. I
_______________________________ (LOOK) forward to coming home next month. See you soon. Kate

2. Present Tense – Simple or Progressive: Fill in the correct form.

1. You can’t see Tom now. He _________________ a bath. (have)

2. He usually _________________ coffee, but today he _________________ tea.(drink, drink)

3. I won’t go out now because it _________________ and I _________________ an umbrella.(rain, not have) 4. In
Spain women usually _________________ hats.(not wear)

5. Who _________________ that terrible noise? It is John. He _________________ his nose.(make, blow)

6. My dentist always keeps _________________ me to clean my teeth. I hate that. (tell)

7. He never _________________ to the theatre. (go)

8. I _________________ this weekend in Eastbourne. I _________________ there nearly every week. (spend, go)
9. My wife always keeps _________________ for more money at the end of the week.(ask)

10. Who _________________ to on the phone? (you speak)

11. Anne ______________ all her clothes. At the moment she _____________ a dress for herself. (make, make)
 12. What’s that smell? Something _________________ in the kitchen. (burn)

13. I _________________ overtime this month because I _________________ up to buy a new car. (work, save) 14.
He ___________ thirty cigarettes a day but at the moment he __________ very hard to stop. (smoke, try)

15. The sun _________________ in the east and _________________ in the west. (rise, set)

16. She usually _________________ languages very fast but she _________________ problems with Chinese at the
moment. (learn, have)

17. He never _________________ to the theatre. (go)

18. Do _________________ television every night? (you watch)

19. He always _________________ his bills on time. (pay)

20. My father usually _________________ his breakfast at eight. (eat)

21. How long _________________ to get to the office? It _________________ me half an hour. (it take, take)

22. The boat _________________ Victoria Station at 9. (leave)

23. _________________ how old I am? (you know)

24. Jane’s husband _________________ . (not smoke)

25. It _________________ in Egypt. (not often rain)

26. Florence _________________ on the river Arno. (lie)

27. He usually _________________ so quickly that I _________________ him. (speak, not understand)

28. How _________________ to work? – I usually _________________ by car but tomorrow I _________________ in
Tom’s car. (you get, go, go)

29. Why _________________ on your raincoat? – I _________________ for a walk. – _________________ to come
with me? (you put, go, you want)

30. I always _________________ lottery tickets but I never _________________ .(buy, win)

31. _________________ him? – I _________________ him, but I _________________ him. (you love, like, not love)

32. _________________ him tonight? – Yes, I always _________________ to him on his birthday.
_________________ to send him a message? (you write, write, you want)

33. That car _________________ a very strange noise. _________________ it’s all right? – Oh yes, that noise
_________________ . It always _________________ a noise like that. (make, you think, not matter, make)

34. The plane that you _________________ at now _________________ for Paris. (look, take off)

35. What _________________ to his car now? – I think he _________________ it. (he do, polish)

PAST SIMPLE

FUNCIONES DEL "SIMPLE PAST"

El "simple past" se utiliza para hablar de una acción que concluyó en un tiempo anterior al actual. La duración no es
relevante. El tiempo en que se sitúa la acción puede ser el pasado reciente o un pasado lejano.
EJEMPLOS
 John Cabot sailed to America in 1498.
 My father died last year.
 He lived in Fiji in 1976.
 We crossed the Channel yesterday.
Siempre se utiliza el "simple past" para referirse a cuándo ocurrió algo, de modo que va asociado a ciertas
expresiones temporales que indican:
 frecuencia: often, sometimes, always
I sometimes walked home at lunchtime.
I often brought my lunch to school.
 un tiempo determinado: last week, when I was a child, yesterday, six weeks ago
We saw a good film last week.
Yesterday, I arrived in Geneva.
She finished her work atseven o'clock
I went to the theatre last night
 un tiempo indeterminado: the other day, ages ago, a long time ago People lived in caves a long time ago.
 She played the piano when she was a child.
Nota: el término ago es útil para expresar distancia temporal en el pasado. Se coloca después del periodo de tiempo
de que se trate: a week ago, three years ago, a minute ago.

Cuidado: el "simple past" del inglés puede parecerse a un tiempo verbal de tu propio idioma y, sin embargo, su
significado puede ser distinto.

FORMACIÓN DEL "SIMPLE PAST"

FORMACIÓN DEL "SIMPLE PAST" CON VERBOS REGULARES
Afirmativa

Sujeto + raíz + ed

I skipped.

Negativa

Sujeto + did not + infinitivo sin to

They didn't go.

Interrogativa

Did + sujeto + infinitivo sin to

Did she arrive?

Interrogativa negativa

Did not + sujeto + infinitivo sin to

Didn't you play?

TO WALK "SIMPLE PAST" DE LOS VERBOS TO BE, TO HAVE, TO DO

Afirmativa Negativa Interrogativa

Sujeto Verbo

I walked I didn't walk Did I walk?

Be Have Do

You walked You didn't walk Did you walk?

I was had did

He walked He didn't walk Did he walk?

You were had did

We walked We didn't walk Did we walk?

He/She/It was had did

They walked They didn't walk Did they walk? NOTAS

We were had did
SOBRE LAS
You were had did
CONSTRUCCIONES:
AFIRMATIVA
La forma afirmativa del "simple past" es sencilla. They were had did
 I was in Japan last year
 She had a headache yesterday.
 We did our homework last night.
NEGATIVA E INTERROGATIVA
Para las formas negativa e interrogativa del "simple past" del verbo "do" como verbo ordinario, se emplea como
auxiliar "do", e.g. We didn't do our homework last night.
La forma negativa del verbo "have" en "simple past" suele construirse utilizando el auxiliar "do", aunque en
ocasiones solo se añade not o la contracción "n't".
La forma interrogativa del verbo "have" en "simple past" suele emplear el auxiliar "do".
EJEMPLOS
 They weren't in Rio last summer.

 We didn't have any money.

 We didn't have time to visit the Eiffel Tower.

 We didn't do our exercises this morning.

 Were they in Iceland last January?

 Did you have a bicycle when you were young?

 Did you do much climbing in Switzerland?

Nota: para construir las formas negativa e interrogativa de todos los verbos en "simple past", se utiliza siempre el
auxiliar 'did''.

"SIMPLE PAST": VERBOS IRREGULARES

Algunos verbos hacen el "simple past" de forma irregular. Estos son los más comunes.
TO GO
 He went to a club last night.
 Did he go to the cinema last night?
 He didn't go to bed early last night.
TO GIVE
 We gave her a doll for her birthday.
  They didn't give John their new address.
 Did Barry give you my passport?
TO COME
 My parents came to visit me last July.
 We didn't come because it was raining.
 Did he come to your party last week?

PAST CONTINUOUS

FUNCIONES DEL "PAST CONTINUOUS"

El "past continuous" describe acciones o eventos situados en un tiempo anterior al presente, cuyo comienzo se sitúa
en el pasado y que todavía no ha concluido en el momento de hablar. Dicho de otro modo, expresa una acción
incompleta o inconclusa del pasado.
Se utiliza:

 Con frecuencia, para describir el contexto en una historia escrita en pasado, e.g. "The sun was shining and
the birds were singing as the elephant came out of the jungle. The other animals were relaxing in the shade
of the trees, but the elephant moved very quickly. She was looking for her baby, and she didn't notice the
hunter who was watching her through his binoculars. When the shot rang out, she was running towards the
river..."
 para describir una acción incompleta que se vio interrumpida por otra acción o evento, e.g. "I was having a
beautiful dream when the alarm clock rang."
 para expresar un cambio de opinión: e.g. "I was going to spend the day at the beach but I've decided to get
my homework done instead."
 con 'wonder', para formular una petición muy educada: e.g. "I was wondering if you could baby-sit for me
tonight."

EJEMPLOS

 They were waiting for the bus when the accident happened.

 Caroline was skiing when she broke her leg.

 When we arrived he was having a bath.

 When the fire started I was watching television.

Nota: con los verbos que no suelen conjugarse en "past continuous" se emplea normalmente el "simple past".

FORMACIÓN DEL "PAST CONTINUOUS"

Afirmativa Negativa Interrogativa

I was playing I was not playing Was I playing?

You were You were not Were you playing?

playing playing
El "past continuous" de cualquier verbo
He was He wasn't Was he playing?
está compuesto de dos partes: el pasado
playing playing
del verbo "to be" (was/were) y la raíz del
verbo principal +ing.
We were We weren't Were we playing?
Sujeto was/were raíz + ing playing playing

They were watching They were They weren't Were they playing?
playing playing
Afirmativa
TO PLAY, "PAST CONTINUOUS"
She was reading

Negativa

She wasn't reading

Interrogativa

Was she reading?

Interrogativa negativa 3.Past Tense – Simple or Progressive: Fill in the correct form.
1. George ________________ off the ladder while he ________________ the ceiling.
Wasn't she reading? (fall, paint)

2. Last night I ________________ in bed when I suddenly ________________ a

scream. (read, hear)

3. ________________ TV when I ________________ you? (you watch, phone)

4. Ann ________________ for me when I ________________ . (wait, arrive)

5. Maisie ________________ up the kitchen when John ________________ her to marry him. (clean, ask)

6. The house ________________ £ 150,000 in 2003. (cost)

7. The fire _______________________ at six in the morning. (still burn)

8. My brother ________________ a new job a week ago (get).

9. Columbus ________________ America over 500 years ago (discover)

10. She ________________ not interested in the book because she ________________ it (be ,not understand)

11. ________________ at school yesterday? (you be)

12. We ________________ in a house near the sea last summer (live)

13. She ________________ the piano very well when she ________________ young (can play, be)

14. She ________________ the office very early last night (leave).

15. I ________________ a friend while I ________________ the shopping (meet, do)

16. I ________________ for my things when I ________________ someone call my name (pay, hear)

17. I ________________ around and ________________ Judy. (turn, see)

18. She ________________ a bright yellow dress when I ________________ her last (wear, see)
 19. We ________________ to have a cup of tea. (decide)

20. While the waiter ________________ up the pieces of glass he ________________ his finger (pick, cut)

21. Then we ________________ the cafe and ________________ good bye (leave, say)

22. I ________________ the fire at six and it ________________ brightly when Tom came in at seven. (light, still burn)

23. My dog ________________ along quietly when Mary’s Pekinese ________________ him. (walk, attack)

24. When I ________________ she ________________ lunch. She said she always ________________ lunch at 12:30.
(arrive, have, have)

25. What ________________ of his last book? –I ________________ it a lot (you think, like)

26. He suddenly ________________ that he ________________ in the wrong direction. (realize, travel)

27. He ________________ guitar when someone ________________ the window and ________________ out a bucket of
water. (play, open, throw)

28. He ________________ us to go out in the boat yesterday because a strong wind ________________ (not allow, blow)

29. The next day, as they ________________ that the police ________________ for them, they ________________ the
coats in the woods and _____________ off in different directions. (know, look, hide, go)

30. When I ________________ home they ________________ around a fire. Jack ________________ a crossword puzzle,
Judy ________________ and the others ________________ . Mother ________________ at me and said : “ Come and sit
down” (come, sit, do, knit, read, smile)

4.Choose the correct form.

1. I ...... a letter now.

a) write b) am writing c) am writting

2. Susan ...... the garden at the moment.

a) is diging b) digs c) is digging

3. Jane ...... to bed at 10 o'clock on weekdays.

a) goes b) is going c) go

4. I am in London this summer. I ..... English.

a) learn b) am learning c) learning

5. We ...... our friends very often.

a) are seeing b) seeing c) see

6. My brothers ...... letters every week.

a) writes b) are writing c) write

7. The bus sometimes ...... in the morning.

a) is arriving b) arrive c) arrives

8. James is a student. But he ...... this week.

a) works b) work c) is working

9. Lions ..... in Africa.

a) are living b) live c) is living

10. Our train ...... the platform.

 a) just leaves b) just leave c) is just leaving

11. Sue ...... with Greg.

a) is going out b) goes out c) gos out

12. My parents ...... TV now.

a) are watching b) watch c) watching

5. Make questions.

Example: (where/work/you)

Where do you work?

1. (make/lunch/Joyce/at the moment) ......................................................................................................... ?

2. (travel/London/every week/they) ......................................................................................................... ?

3. (you/what/do/right now) ......................................................................................................... ?

4. (where/your brother/work) ......................................................................................................... ?

5. (want/you/some cake) ......................................................................................................... ?

6. (help/teacher/your/need) ......................................................................................................... ?

7. (Simon/why/now/cry) ......................................................................................................... ?

8. (just/my parents/come) ......................................................................................................... ?

9. (go out/your friends/at weekends) ......................................................................................................... ?

10. (do/at the moment/you/anything) ......................................................................................................... ?

6.Make these sentences negative.

Example: I like chocolate. I don't like chocolate.

1. Susan looks very good.

.................................................................................. very good.

2. Why do you read such magazines?

Why ................................................................ such magazines?

3. I'm doing housework at the moment.

......................................................... housework at the moment.

4. We go swimming on Tuesdays.

.............................................................................. on Tuesdays.

5. My Spanish penfriend sends me postcards.

............................................................................. me postcards.

6. Why are you listening to us?

Why................................................................................. to us?

7. What does Jack do?

 What ....................................................................................... ?

8. She's sitting over there.

................................................................................ over there.

9. They have a house in the mountains.

....................................................................... in the mountains.

10. We're having fun.

............................................................................................ fun.

7. Tenses: Present Simple vs. Present Continuous

Put the verb into the correct tense form:

1. Julia is very good at languages. She ............................................ (speak) 4 languages fluently.

2. Hurry up! Everybody ............................................ (wait) for you.

3. a. ............................................ (you/listen) to the radio?

b. No, you can turn it off.

4. a. ............................................ (you/listen) to the radio everyday?

b. No, just occasionally.

5. The River Nile ............................................ (flow) into the Mediterranean.

6. a. How’s your English?

b. Not bad. It ............................................ (improve) slowly.

7. a. Can you drive?

b. I ............................................ (learn). My father ............................................ (teach) me.

8. My parents ............................................ (live) in Bristol. Where ............................................ (your parents / live)?

9. Sonia ............................................ (look) for a place to live. She ............................................ (stay) with her sister until she finds a flat.

10. Usually I ............................................ (enjoy) parties, but I ............................................ (not/enjoy) this one very much.

11. I must go now. It ............................................ (get) late.

12. Can you hear those people? What ............................................ (they/talk) about?

Prepositions
Las preposiciones son palabras cortas (on, in, to) que normalmente están situadas delante del sustantivo (a veces en
frente de los verbos en gerundio también).
Las preposiciones no tienen una definición directa a tu idioma, ya que dependiendo de la situación el significado
cambia.

PREPOSITIONS -
English Usage Example TIME

on days of the week on Monday

in months / seasons in August / in winter

time of day in the morning

year in 2006

after a certain period of time (when?) in an hour

at for night at night

for weekend at the weekend

a certain point of time (when?) at half past nine

since from a certain point of time (past till now) since 1980

for over a certain period of time (past till now) for 2 years

ago a certain time in the past 2 years ago

before earlier than a certain point of time before 2004

to telling the time ten to six (5:50)

past telling the time ten past six (6:10)

to / till / until marking the beginning and end of a period of time from Monday to/till Friday

till / until in the sense of how long something is going to last He is on holiday until Friday.

by in the sense of at the latest I will be back by 6 o’clock.

up to a certain time By 11 o'clock, I had read five pages.

 English Usage Example

in room, building, street, town, country in the kitchen, in London

book, paper etc. in the book

car, taxi in the car, in a taxi

picture, world in the picture, in the world

at meaning next to, by an object at the door, at the station

for table at the table

for events at a concert, at the party

place where you are to do something typical (watch a film, study, at the cinema, at school, at work
work)

on attached the picture on the wall

for a place with a river London lies on the Thames.

being on a surface on the table

for a certain side (left, right) on the left

for a floor in a house on the first floor

for public transport on the bus, on a plane

for television, radio on TV, on the radio

by, next to, beside left or right of somebody or something Jane is standing by / next to / beside the
car.

under on the ground, lower than (or covered by) something else the bag is under the table

below lower than something else but above ground the fish are below the surface
over covered by something else put a jacket over your shirt

meaning more than over 16 years of age

getting to the other side (also across) walk over the bridge

overcoming an obstacle climb over the wall

above higher than something else, but not directly over it a path above the lake

across getting to the other side (also over) walk across the bridge

getting to the other side swim across the lake

through something with limits on top, bottom and the sides drive through the tunnel

to movement to person or building go to the cinema

movement to a place or country go to London / Ireland

for bed go to bed

into enter a room / a building go into the kitchen / the house

towards movement in the direction of something (but not directly to it) go 5 steps towards the house

onto movement to the top of something jump onto the table

from in the sense of where from a flower from the garden

Prepositions – Place (Position and Direction)

Other important Prepositions

English Usage Examp le

 from who gave it a present from Jane

 of who/what does it belong to a page of the book

what does it show the picture of a palace

 by who made it a book by Mark Twain

 on walking or riding on horseback on foot, on horseback

entering a public transport vehicle get on the bus

 in entering a car / Taxi get in the car

 off leaving a public transport vehicle get off the train

 out of leaving a car / Taxi get out of the taxi

 English Usage Examp le

 by rise or fall of something prices have risen by 10

travelling (other than walking or percent

horseriding) by car, by bus

 at for age she learned Russian at 45

 about for topics, meaning what about we were talking about you