Gerund vs present continuousHi. I'm a big fan of this site, for many reasons, so I am pointing this out in a spirit of collaboration, not criticism: I think this page should refer to "present continuous" and "present participles", not gerunds.
The gerund is a form, derived from a verb, which ends in --ing, but it is the noun from the verb. This page is all about an alternative verb form.
For example: "Smoking is bad for you."
"Smoking" is a gerund, as it has become a noun.
"That man is smoking" is the present continuous form of the verb. "Smoking" in this sentence is the present participle, i.e. not a gerund.
I am prepared to accept that this might be a US/UK English thing; I'd be very interested to hear if this were the case.
Best wishes
Andrew Wenger
Do I understand correctly that this sentence implies that it took today or even a short time ago?
Hi. I'm a big fan of this site, for many reasons, so I am pointing this out in a spirit of collaboration, not criticism: I think this page should refer to "present continuous" and "present participles", not gerunds.
The gerund is a form, derived from a verb, which ends in --ing, but it is the noun from the verb. This page is all about an alternative verb form.
For example: "Smoking is bad for you."
"Smoking" is a gerund, as it has become a noun.
"That man is smoking" is the present continuous form of the verb. "Smoking" in this sentence is the present participle, i.e. not a gerund.
I am prepared to accept that this might be a US/UK English thing; I'd be very interested to hear if this were the case.
Best wishes
Andrew Wenger
Could I say... Después de vivir en Madrid por diez años yo me he vuelto Español.
Is Deberías habermélo dicho equivalent to Habemélo dicho?
Is Podrías habermélo dicho equivalent to Habemélo dicho?
Is Habrías habermélo dicho also correct?
In the quiz question A veces ________ que llevamos casados 20 años. I selected the response “se me olvido” which was incorrect — but I’m not sure why, even after reviewing the lesson. I have a couple guesses, but could you help me understand why it doesn’t work?
un paseo muy bonito al lado del mar. - can i say 'junto al mar' instead of al lado del mar?
Después, voy a ver el Capitolio, un edificio blanco y grande. - do we always add 'y' between 2 adjectives and more even when the english translation does not?
In the section about no porque you say: "if the causal subordinate clause is negative, it allows both the indicative and the subjunctive (without changing the meaning)."
A says that no porque must be used with the subjunctive according to the Cervantes Institute, and you (Inma) seem to agree with him, saying: "with no porque you use the subjunctive."
I just did a Kwiz where "no porque era" was a correct option.
So, what is going on there? Can no porque take both the subjunctive and the indicative or just the subjunctive?
Hola todos
So I can have a better understanding of this subtle distinction between these 3 conjunctions (pero/sino/sino que), can you please confirm if I'm correct in these following 3 examples which all share the same 1st clause:
SINO >>> El médico no me recetó un jarabe __sino__ unas pastillas. (Because simple SUBSTITUTION )
PERO >>> El médico no me recetó un jarabe __pero__ con la condición que lo vea la próxima semana para una revisión. (Because MAKING A LIMITATION to the 1st clause)
SINO QUE >>> El médico no me recetó un jarabe __sino que __ me dijo que necesité una operación . (Because DIFFERENT CONJUGATED VERB IN 2ND CLAUSE)
Hopefully this can clarify these nuances in my head once and for all!
Saldudos y gracias, ~Oscar :)
We would be delighted if you dined with us on Christmas Eve.
(HINT: you=vosotros)
cenéis
cenaríais
cenarais
cenasteis
The correct answer is evidently #3, but I don't understand how it's being conjugated.
'Estos últimos días ____ un calor terrible.' Would make me think they are in the past. today does not fit in them. or DOES it, becaus of 'Estos' ? because it talks about the last days (similar to 'last week' or 'yesterday') I presumed I had to use el indefinido (hizo), instead of the perfect (ha hecho).
Apparently I was wrong. So, please clarify, as the exact example is not identifiable in the lesson (to me at least), how I would be able to determine to use the indefinido. IS it because of 'Estos' ?
Thanks in advance!
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