TeachingEnglish
The difference between continuous and present participle form of the verb
Submitted by shyamag on 30 June, 2010 - 08:36
So what is the difference between a verb in its continuous form and when it is in its present participle form? Am struggling to find the simplest way to teach this and am finding myself getting more and more confused. Help!!
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If I'm interpreting your question right...
So for "We're moving to Sydney next year" the underlined section is in Present Continuous, but the Present Participle is just "moving".
The Present Participle is also used in other structures, for example in "The fire started just as we were arriving" the underlined section is in Past Continuous, but the verb "arriving" is Present Participle.
If I'm not interpreting your question right, and you're asking about the difference between a gerund and a present participle (eg. "Swimming is fun" and "I like swimming" versus "The fish are swimming around"), let me know.
The present participle = the -ing form of the verb.
The continuous tenses = verb to be + -ing form of the verb
So , talking about form, the present participle is part of the present continuous. When we make the Present Continuous tense we use two parts: the verb to be and the present participle.
An example sentence: Ana is swimming. In this sentence, "is swimming" is the present continuous tense. The word "swimming" is a present participle.
Hello shyamag, Heath, mhinde, and everyone,
For present continuous and related progressive tenses:
I'm trying to give some, hopefully, useful clues. For my classes I draw puppets or sort of characters, even with their names, and I ask: "So, what is Anne doing?", emphasising the -ing word, and my students say, e. g., "Eating!". Funny: they shout out the same word!, as high as possible, as though that shouting would make them be more right than their classmates. Well, this is the way Spanish kids do; I had two German brothers, few years ago, and, oh man, they spoke so calmly and low.
The same stuff could be applied to, for example, past continuous.
When practising present perfect continuous, I draw nothing, but I speak slowly and by gestures and by doing I don't quite know what else. I try to make them understand the sentence: "How long have you been living in Granada?" I use similar sentences to that one just said, chunks, examples, and the like. Even for kids aged 11 years.
Oh, something else regarding present continuous: I gently demand from them to say full sentences. A single word is ok, but little by lttle they've got to say full sentences. I mould those sentences through examples. The thing looks to turn out fine.
Besides, it's funny, for me and from them, as I've said. If you have fun, they'll have fun.
Present participle? Let me see. Well, firstly it's part of present continuous, as you teachers have said. What else? You all have said it too, in some words or in other ones. The present participle is the nominalisation of the verb. "Skating is so great!". In Spanish we say the infinitive ("Hacer skateboard está guay" - colloquial teenageish language, sorry).
Also, present participle is the predicate of a transitive verb; look, so simple also: "I can't stand seeing the football players spitting on the ground".
I think our goal in the class ultimately is communicating. And grammar? The skeleton, so as to speak.
I hope to have been any helpful.
Fernando Diez Gallego
Teacher of English. Teacher trainer.
Granada (Spain)
http://fernandoexperiences.blogspot.com