Presente Continuo o Progresivo

  Presente Continuo o Progresivo

El Presente Continuo o Presente Progresivo es un tiempo verbal que se utiliza para expresar acciones que suceden en el mismo momento en que se está hablando, por ejemplo:

En el cuadro se utiliza el verbo jugar (TO PLAY) a modo de ejemplo.


Puede utilizarse además para referise a situaciones que suceden alrededor del momento en el que se habla, aunque no precisamente tiene que ser en este mismo momento, por ejemplo:

He is working in a bank. Él está trabajando en un banco.
(Significa que es su trabajo habitual, aunque no necesariamente la persona debe estar trabajando ahora).

Y si aun piensas no estar muy claro en el Presente Progresivo, refuerza tus conocimientos con las siguientes diapositivas en SlideShare, a continuacion:

Learning the Present Continuous Tense

View more PowerPoint from Alan Cohen 

Repasemos una vez mas las oraciones en Presente Continuo a través de este video, escuchando, viendo, y repitiendo cada oración con el locutor para mejorar nuestro aprendizaje en el idioma!

EXERCISES

I. Fill the blanks with the correct forms of the verbs shown in brackets.

For example:
- I am carrying the groceries. (to carry)
 

1. She ________________ a letter. (to write)
2. They _________________ about it. (to worry)
3. He _________________ jam. (to make)
4. It _________________. (to die)
5. We _______________ to school. (to hurry)
6. She _________________ us to do it. (to dare)
7. You ________________ on the blanket. (to lie)
8. He _________________ the problem. (to solve)
9. I _________________ now. (to leave)
10. They _________________ to help us. (to try)

GOOD LUCK.!! 

Socio-cultural Topic II

       Returning to the countries we talked about earlier, as its politics, geography, education, social media, among others. This time we'll talk and know about Canada and England of their society and culture and provides some comparisons with our country Venezuela.

Canada

  To understand the culture and society of Canada, must begin to meet their literary, Canada as a young country was always dedicated more to economic development than to art, later when things improve, literature began to flourish, which in their principles tended to resemble or imitate the European style but always reflecting their culture. In the twentieth century, literature was felt more mature and feature Canada with a great sense of national identity; written in French and English language.

Margaret Atwood

Canadian culture is full of wonderful characters and scenes, one of the great known authors is: Margaret Atwood, (poet and novelist) who was very young, he made his first book of poems, and continued writing while teaching English Literature at several universities, Atwood won awards including the Governor General of Canada and the Arts Council of Wales International. Alice Munro (short story), another great Canadian author, who has in his stories in today's Canada. Munro began writing at an early age and also published the first. Atwood observes the world with feminist eyes, making his works of the ways of how to cope with life. He also won the Governor General Literary Award, the Canadian Book Award. The New York Times called his book of short stories "The Moons of Jupiter" as the best of the year. Other major Canadian authors are Michael Ondaatje, Michael Tremblay, Douglas Coupland, Yann Martel, Leonard Cohen, among others. Canadian literature shows a picture of life in a northern nation formed by the weather and the inmensity of its territory, have more in common with the literatures of Europe from the center (England and France) and Latin America.

Architecture in Canada is closely linked to the techniques and styles of Europe and United State, giving importance to their designs, since adapte them to the climate and geography. This has evolved over the years, reflecting also the uniquidad of Canadian culture. One of the great architectural designs are the Absolute Towers, a magnificent ensemble that originated in the need for expansion of the Mississauga city, and next to become the best icon of the city, noted for its similarity with the human body, many locals have dubbed as the Marilyn Monroe. Another world-renowned architectural design in Canada is the Montreal Biosphere in Montreal, a museum devoted entirely to the environment, others are: Craigdarroch Castle in the province of British Colombia, the House Contemporary Architecture, Urban Ravine House in Canada, among others.

A large well-known canadian architect is Frank Owen Gehry, winner of the Pritzker Prize and recognized by the innovative and unique ways of designing buildings as the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao in Spain and major projects around the world as: Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles in USA; Gehry Tower, Hanover in Germany, Dancing House, Prague in Czech Republic, among others. Another major architect Todd Saunders recognized for his work of combines the sensitivity Nordic in the design with environmental concerns; each project is unique, innovative, and follows its own process. Their designs reflect originality and respect for the landscape, as the MOD Shack in Norway, the Summerhouse in Hardanger.

The sculpture is one of the Beautiful Arts in which the artist expresses himself by molding or carving various materials, this explains to the town its stories, events or concepts. One of the greatest sculptures in Canada are: Geert Maas Sculpture Gardens, one of the largest collections of bronze sculptures in Canada and new works in progress by Geert Maas. Others are: the Odette Sculpture Park, the Boreal Sculpture Garden, the Sun Face, etc. 

Canadian sculptors bring a unique three-dimensional view of the aboriginal soapstone and Haida carving to work in different materials or minerals, to create anything imaginable, some great Canadian sculptors are: Charles Beil with, Iain Baxter, Doug Watson Bull Moose, Alice McIntyre with equine art, William St. Ignatius McElcheran with, among others.

Canadian culture are descendants of different races and religions, influenced by British culture and tradition, as well as the French in the past, and nowadays has greatly influenced American culture, because of this is not easy to define a family typical Canadian, but we can know what their traditions and social customs common in Canada, thanks to which government is responsible for creating support programs for the protection and preservation of Canadian culture.

Some features of this differentiated culture are a major liberality in the social as gay marriages, legalization of marijuana, universal health care, etc.., And a tendency to live in large urban areas. The cultural identity of Canada is equality, unity in diversity, mutual respect and cooperation, that is, Canada enjoys an open and free society of social class distinctions, they all have the same rights and respect, is of a different race or religion, a racist remark in Canada is frowned upon by a Canadian; a social habit is that they do not like to wait, and are very specific about the scheduled time, as well as get used to shake hands when introduced to someone, but not is frowned upon touching someone's shoulder in a conversation, but also it is not customary to hug and kiss when greeting, another is to go to someone's house without calling first or making an appointment, in some cases when there is a visit in home is usually take off their shoes when entering the house, etc.. The family is the most important social issues and both (parents) are responsible for the care and support of their children. Because of its cultural diversity, Canada has no costume, but among their costumes representative highlight as the uniform of the RCMP and the costumes of the first indigenous inhabitants.

With regard to his music, each region has its own folk music from Celtic rhythms to the violins Irish, Scottish or French of Quebec, through for the Inuit chirps of Nunavut . Together they make up the Canadian folk music, from its roots in Celtic music and Irish-Scottish. A great musician known is Stan Rogers who is regarded as the pinnacle of music for his song Northwest Passage, considered by many as an unofficial Canadian anthem. Other world-renowned musicians and singers are Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Alanis Morissette, Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, Nelly Furtado, among others; Canada is a true producer of musicians of all styles and genres. On the other hand, the film is noted for its producers and big actors like James Cameron, David Cronenberg (director), Glenn Ford, Michael J. Fox, Jim Carrey, Carrie-Anne Moss, Lolita Davidovich and Pamela Anderson. The active film Quebecois francophones also exports its films abroad and also emphasizes the animation, especially through the International Festival of Ottawa animated film and the second largest of its kind in the world. Great films of directors and actors canadians internationally recognized are: Titanic (1997), Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), Terminator 2 (1991), Avatar (2009), Waydowntown (2002), among others.

Traditional dances of Canada stand out the quadrille of "Ile d'Orléans" and the round of couples of "the gigue", both are European origin, as well as the ritual dances of indigenous peoples or as they call them "First Nations". According to their religion, Canada does not establish any official status, religious pluralism is an important part of their political culture, according to 2001 census data mostly Canadians identify as Christians, Catholicism 42.6% including most descendants of French settlers, Protestant 23.3%, 4.4% other Christian denominations, Islam 1.9%, other 11.8%, none 16%. Regarding sports, ice hockey in winter and summer lacrosse is the national sport in Canada, hockey is the sport most practiced and popular throughout the country, other popular sports include Canadian football (it has a professional league CFL), and curling, others are beginning to gain strength in the Canadian sports include golf, baseball, ski, soccer, volleyball, and basketball .

The typical food of Canada are characterized by rich agriculture, opening up endless typical dishes, moreover, each region has its own traditional dishes and specialties. For example, in Québec, French influence is felt in dishes like Tourtiéres, a meat pie and pea soup or French Poutine, which are chips with salsa and cheese, among others. Turning aside to the typical celebrations of Canada, this focuses on three traditional festivals: Carnival in Quebec, the Montreal Jazz Festival and the Calgary stampede. The Quebec Winter Carnival, a joyous holiday celebrated in the harsh winter of Quebec, and is famous for its organization around sporting events specific to that time of year, such as ice skating competitions, racing sled dogs, canoe race on the river. In addition, can be seen also famous statues of ice, or snow slides. The Montreal Jazz Festival, held each year in late June, the Canadian city of Montreal is home to one of the most important jazz festivals worldwide. The Calgary Stampede, the city of Calgary is especially famous for this festival of rodeo, which amounts to a kind of tribute to the culture of the Old West, and is held every year in July, with big cowboy spirit filled activities, some of them are parades, livestock shows, art exhibits, country music, horse carts, riding the bull, and so on.

Socio-cultural Topic I

Continuing the topic, we will continue with some comparisons from other countries with Venezuela, today we'll talk about New Zealand, South Africa and USA. Beginning as it always has to know about the most important aspects of each country.

Politically, we note that in New Zealand, the system is a constitutional monarch, with a parliamentary democracy, where Queen Elizabeth II is head of state and Queen of New Zealand, for Royal Titles Act, the Queen is represented by Governor Jerry Mataeparae who is advised exclusively by Prime Minister John Key who is in charge of the Cabinet and preside but without being a member of the Executive Council. The political system of New Zealand is similar to that of Wales, Canada, England and Scotland, if you remember the previous comparisons.

In South Africa, the political system works under the parliamentary system modeled on the Westminster, does not mean that is the same but a political system similar to it. This country is ruled by President Jacob Zuma, who is the Head of State and Government, elected by the bicameral parliament.

In the U.S., the country is a federal presidential republic, means a constitutional republic, democratic and representative, led by President Barack Obama, who leads the political system according to the constitution, in which citizens are subject to the three levels of government: federal, state and local levels. The president is elected every 04 years and may be re-elected no more than twice, so that citizens vote for their President.

In contrast, in Venezuela we know that the political system is democratic and that the people also choose its President elected to the presidency every 06 years, but not like in America that are each 04 years. Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias who is the current president, is the Head of State and Chief Executive, is Commander in Chief of the Bolivarian National Armed Force and directs external relations of the Republic and the National Assembly as well. Compared to New Zealand and South Africa are very different system of government, as one is monarch, another is parliamentary and other democratic, but the United States that has many similarities in the political system and government of Venezuela, are not equal altogether.

If we speak the language, we can focus the importance of English, which is a world language, is the predominant language in these bilingual countries like New Zealand are the Maori and English, South Africa are Afrikaans and English, and U.S. english its native language, although being a multicultural country with many languages ​​including Spanish, French, among others.. English is the official language.

Another case would be the climate of these countries, in New Zealand climate varies depending on the north or south, because they are islands, north and northeast of the islands is more sunny and tropical, as opposed to the islands of the south and southwest is milder weather, colder. In South Africa, the climate also varies because of the vast country in the south and the highlands the climate is temperate, while the north is subtropical, and the West is semiarid. In the U.S., is one of the countries with most potential climates with arid climate such as California, Washington, etc. Humid subtropical in the south, humid continental in the north, in Alaska's polar climate and others. In Venezuela, we only have hot weather or rain, which vary from time to time, almost tropical climate.

Getting to the country's economic point, these countries have in common oil, agriculture, livestock, minerals and tourism as the country's main economic activities in which South Africa does not export oil, its major exports are minerals as gold, diamonds, platinum, etc.. And New Zealand is tourism and agriculture. In the U.S., are the chemical and oil. In Venezuela, the biggest export is oil, as many know.

In education, we can add that in America children at six or seven years are required to begin to attend school by law until they are eighteen years like Venezuela, and have public and private schools and the top universities more prestigious in the world like Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Berkeley, etc. In New Zealand, the education system is equal to the British system as the countries of Wales, England, Scotland and Canada, in which we discussed earlier, students have the chance that while you study you can switch to another institution within New Zealand or other English speaking countries. This educational system is well recognized in the world. In South Africa education is a little different, primary children only learn performing arts, designs, ceremonies, games, dances, songs, etc.. And young people are prepared to study in what they can serve in the future in South Africa and they tend to make the passage ceremonies as children move into adulthood. Another aspect of this country is that they teach according to gender is female or male and every member in this country is responsible for each education, and is like the old British Educational system. In Venezuela, the education system is similar to the U.S. as previously talked about, but anyone who is not able to get an education has the chance to look back again to finish his studies.

Socio-culturale Topic

Introducing this issue, we begin with some ideas of the countries of Scotland, Canada, England and Wales, and then make some comparisons with our country Venezuela, to know what things or aspects stand out or differences it from our country.

First, the British countries like Canada, England, Wales and Scotland have the British Royal Family, and Queen Elizabeth II who is the monarch of the United Kingdom, which are countries having the same political system, since all are constituents of the United Kingdom, ruled by a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary government, the only thing is that each has its own parliament or assembly. In contrast, Venezuela is a democracy country headed by a president who is elected by the Venezuelan people every 06 years. Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias who is the president, is the Head of State and Chief Executive, is Commander in Chief of the Bolivarian National Armed Force and directs external relations of the Republic and the National Assembly, in which he can appoint and remove ministers and the executive vice president as well.

Wales, Canada and Scotland are bilingual countries; Wales is the Welsh and English, Canada is the French and English , Scotland is the Scottish and English, England has only their native language and the language which is more predominant in the world, the English. Moreover, Venezuela has only Spanish, although English is a predominant language in the world, but in Venezuela a few people know how to speak about.

Another comparison we can find is the big difference in our climate, because in countries such as Wales, England, Scotland and Canada have 04 seasons, like winter, fall, spring and summer, however, in Venezuela did not find these stations, as a country located in the tropic, we are just warm and rainy climates, obtaining different stations for being a tropical country.

Culturally, England, Wales, Canada and Scotland have been influenced by some Western ideologies and the British Empire, since they are monarchs country and moreover that they are multicultural in some zones, always having inmigrations of many foreign countries. In Venezuela, the culture comes from the indigenous, African and Spanish, all of them have come to be a mixture of what is in itself the Venezuelan culture.

We can also focus on the economy, these countries except Wales have great similarity in the oil as a great source of export of the country. In Wales, its strongest point are minerals such as iron, coal, copper, lead, gold, etc.. In Scotland, the wiskhy; in England, is oil and agriculture; and Canada are minerals like zinc and uranium, energy, and oil. In Venezuela, moreover of the oil well, also have agriculture, fisheries and forestry. Another important factor is tourism, which is a great addition to all these countries in the economic area, with its greats natural beauty.

In education, we can find some small differences in the educational system, except for that education is structured preschool, elementary, diversified and higher and there are also private and public schools.  In Venezuela, everyone has the right to education, in how old are you, if that person could not at an early age, they can do it by law. In contrast, British countries (England, Wales, Canada and Scotland), education is compulsory from 05 years, there are cases as in some British schools make admissions tests. In Scotland, the children do these tests with 14 to 16 years and they can decide if they want to continue with their college studies and which college.

In sport, England, Wales, Canada and Scotland have great fanaticism for football, in addition to hockey, rugby, cricket and among others. Therefore, in Venezuela is baseball, as well as coleus, basketball and soccer.

Doing these little comparisons of our country like Venezuela with British countries like Canada, Wales, England and Scotland give much more importance to want to know and enjoy more of our country, of how large differences can make us grow and understand many things. So, let's appreciate and care over Venezuela, for being reflected in the world.

Some Sceneries of Wales