Leisure, unit 1

Leisure

Leisure may be defined as the spare-time which a man gets after his bread and butter activities are over. It is the time which a man is free to pass in any way he likes. He has already his day's work. He has no longer to worry about the work by which he earns his living. Still he has sometimes left on his hand. That is leisure or spare time. A man gets more of leisure during holidays that in working day.

Modern life is a busy life. The pace of life gets faster and faster every day and a man must hurry and utilize every moment of his life, otherwise he would be left behind in the race of life. But some leisure is necessary for the happiness of life. There can be no happiness for a man, unless he gets some time to pass in the way he likes best. The great English poet Davies protested against this over-business of life when he wrote.

What is this life, if full of care

We have no time to stand and stare.

Simple Present – Present Progressive

Form

Simple Present	Present Progressive
infinitive (3rd person singular: infinitive + 's') I speak you speak he / she / it speaks we speak they speak	form of 'be' and verb + ing   I am speaking you are speaking he / she / it is speaking we are speaking they are speaking
Exceptions
Exceptions when adding 's' : For can, may, might, must, do not add s. Example: he can, she may, it must After o, ch, sh or s, add es. Example: do - he does, wash - she washes After a consonant, the final consonant y becomes ie. (but: not after a vowel) Example: worry - he worries but: play - he plays	Exceptions when adding 'ing' : Silent e is dropped. (but: does not apply for -ee) Example: come - coming but: agree - agreeing After a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled. Example: sit - sitting After a vowel, the final consonant l is doubled in British English (but not in American English). Example: travel - travelling (British English) but: traveling (American English) Final ie becomes y. Example: lie - lying

Use

In general or right now?

Do you want to express that something happens in general or that something is happening right now?

Simple Present	Present Progressive
in general (regularly, often, never) Colin plays football every Tuesday. present actions happening one after another First Colin plays football, then he watches TV.	right now Look! Colin is playing football now. also for several actions happening at the same time Colin is playing football and Anne is watching.
Signal words
always every ... often normally usually sometimes seldom never first then	at the moment at this moment today now right now Listen! Look!
Note: The following verbs are usually only used in Simple Present: be, have, hear, know, like, love, see, smell, think, want

Timetable / Schedule or arrangement?

Do you want to express that something is arranged for the near future? Or do you refer to a time set by a timetable or schedule?

Simple Present	Present Progressive
action set by a timetable or schedule The film starts at 8 pm.	arrangement for the near future I am going to the cinema tonight.

 

Daily routine or just for a limited period of time?

Do you want to talk about a daily routine? Or do you want to emphasis that something is only going on for a limited (rather short) period of time?

Simple Present	Present Progressive
daily routine Bob works in a restaurant.	only for a limited period of time (does not have to happen directly at the moment of speaking) Jenny is working in a restaurant this week.

Certain Verbs

The following verbs are usually only used in Simple Present (not in the progressive form).

• state: be, cost, fit, mean, suit

Example: We are on holiday.

• possession: belong, have

Example: Sam has a cat.

• senses: feel, hear, see, smell, taste, touch

Example: He feels the cold.

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

Example: Jane loves pizza.

• brain work: believe, know, think, understand

Example: I believe you.

• Introductory clauses for direct speech: answer, ask, reply, say

Example: “I am watching TV,“ he says.

Gramática

Ambos verbos se utilizan para describir acciones presentes, si bien con diferentes matices.

a) Present continuous

a.1) Describe acciones que están ocurriendo en ese preciso momento.

I am reading the newspaper (lo estoy leyendo ahora)

a.2) También puede describir acciones que ocurren alrededor del momento actual, aunque no precisamente ahora.

I am planning a trip to Egypt for this summer (por ejemplo, le estoy contando a un amigo que estoy planeando un viaje; no es que lo esté planeando en ese preciso momento)

b) Present simple

b.1) Describe acciones habituales, actuales, generales, que no tienen porqué estar ocurriendo en ese preciso momento.

I work in a bank
I speak English very fluently
In Madrid people drive very fast

b.2) Describe también acciones que se repiten periódicamente, acciones rutinarias.

Every morning I have a meeting with my boss at 8 o'clock
I play tennis every Sunday

Algunos verbos no se suelen utilizar en tiempo continuo, por lo que en estos casos hay que emplear el "present simple":

Verbos que describen acciones de los sentidos: feel, hear, see, smell...
Verbos de sentimiento / emoción: like, love, hate, want, wish, fear, desire, detest, dislike...
Verbos de acciones mentales: agree, believe, forget, know, remember, think (=tener una opinion), understand, realize...
Verbos de posesión: belong, own, posess...

Por último, decir que estas dos formas verbales se emplean a veces para describir acciones futuras.

¿Qué son los Stative verbs?

En inglés hay una serie de verbos que NO se usan en su forma continua (presente continuo, futuro continuo…) son verbos que describen estados, situaciones y condiciones y se llaman STATIVE verbs.

-Decimos I have a car, y no I´m having a car.

Los verbos que SI se usan en sus formas continuas son los llamados DYNAMIC verbs, ya que describen principalmente acciones.

Veamos una lista de los STATIVE verbs más comunes agrupados por categorías:

STATIVE VERBS o verbos que no se usan en su forma continua:

-Verbos que describen un estado (feel , be) o estados mentales como opinión, duda, acuerdo o desacuerdo:

agree, think, believe, disagree, feel, doubt, depend, understand, know, mean, remember, seem, look (=seem), mind, suppose, guess, appear, matter, concern, realise

Ejemplos:

-Mary feels good.  Mary se siente bien.
-I am very happy. Yo estoy muy contenta.
-She looks very nice in that dress. Ella se ve bien con ese vestido.

1)Verbos que describen gustos, preferencias, o emociones: like, dislike, prefer, love, hate.                         

Ejemplos:

-I don´t like cheese. No me gusta el queso.
-I  love westerns. Me encantan las películas del oeste.

2)Verbos relacionados con la posesión o pertenencia: have, possess, belong, own, owe, lack, include, involve.

Ejemplos:

-That house belongs to the Murphys. Esta casa pertenece a los Murphys.
-I don´t understand her accent. No entiendo su acento.

3) Verbos que describen el peso, medida, contenido o características de algo: weigh, measure, consist, contain.

Ejemplos:

- The parcel weighs 3kg and contains 6 video games. El paquete pesa 3kg y contine 6 videojuegos.

4) Verbos que expresan deseo o necesidad: want, wish, need, deserve.

-I want an ice cream. Quiero un helado.

5) Verbos relacionados con la percepción y los sentidos: sound, hear, taste, see, smell,  imagine, recognise, satisfy

Ejemplo:

- The soup smells good. La sopa huele bien.       


Pero !ojo! algunos verbos pueden ser tanto stative como  dynamic;  estos verbos tienen más de un significado.

Algunos de ellos son: be, have, think, see, smell o taste.

Veamos algunos ejemplos:

Be
-She is funny. Ella es divertida.
-She is being very funny. Ella está siendo muy divertida.

En la primera frase se “funny” describe una característica de la persona (static), mientras que en la segunda se habla de un comportamiento en un determinado momento (dynamic).

Have

-I have a car. Tengo un coche.
-Are you having a good time? ¿Lo estás pasando bien?

En el primer ejemplo “have” indica posesión (static) mientras que en el segundo forma parte de la expresión “to have a good time” que no tiene nada que ver con la posesión, otras expresiones con have: have lunch, have a shower, have a party, have a good time

See

-I see what you mean. Entiendo lo que quieres decir.
-I see you now, you are in front of the bookshop. Ahora te veo, estás delante de la librería.
-I´m seeing Mary this afternoon. Voy a ver a Mary esta tarde.
-I´ve been seing my girlfriend since last August. He estado viendo a mi novia desde agosto del año pasado.

See puede significar ver o entender (static) y también reunirse con alguien o tener una relación (dynamic)

Taste (smell)

-The food tastes good. La comida sabe bien.
-The cook is tasting the food. El cocinero está probando la comida.

Podemos decir que algo tiene un sabor u olor determinado, (static) y también hablar de la acción de saborear u oler (dynamic).

Como dato curioso, te sonará seguro un caso en el que estas reglas no se aplican, y es que quién no ha escuchado el famosísimo eslogan de Macdonalds'
“I´m loving it”.

Aquí el verbo love, que debería ser stative, se usa como dynamic; las reglas se rompen en beneficio del marketing y la publicidad. Debido a que el lenguaje es un sistema en constante evolución, este fenómeno ocurre en numerosas ocasiones, pero no quiere decir esto que no debamos aprender las reglas gramaticales, sino al contrario, debemos aprenderlas bien primero, para luego romperlas.