"The dog is barking" is a sentence expressed in the present continuous.
The concept of present continuous is used to refer to a verbal tense in the English language . Called present continuous in its original language, it can also be called present progressive .
The present continuous is used to describe an action that is taking place at the same time as the statement . For example: “The dog is barking” . This sentence, which can be translated as “El perro está ladrando” (The dog is barking) , refers to an act that is simultaneous with the utterance.
More uses of the present continuous
This verb tense can also be used to describe an activity that is being carried out in the present , although not at that precise moment: “I'm learning French” . In this case, the person who is speaking indicates that he or she is immersed in the process of learning French, but that does not mean that he or she is “learning” right when he or she is speaking.
Referring to something that has been decided or confirmed to be done in the future , on the other hand, is also possible thanks to the present continuous: “Rachel is coming to town next week” .
The present continuous can refer to an activity that is taking place in the present, but not at the exact moment ("I'm learning French").
Differences with other structures
The future constructed with sentences in the present continuous is very similar to the one based on the structure going to do , although it has certain subtle differences.
If we go back to the example from the previous paragraph, we can compare it with another one to know when to use each structure: in this case, the present continuous is used because Rachel has already confirmed that she will come next week, so it is a plan that could be scheduled precisely. To talk about the intention of doing something in a less defined future, on the other hand, we can use going to : «I'm going to visit Rachel next winter» ; this doesn't mean that we don't want to go or that the chances are slim, but that we haven't set a date or bought the tickets yet, for example.
Formation of expressions in the present continuous
As you can see in all these examples, the present continuous is formed with the verb to be conjugated in the simple present , plus another verb expressed in the gerund that ends in -ing .
Affirmative sentences, therefore, are composed of the subject + the auxiliary verb ( to be ) + the gerund verb ending in -ing : “He is reading a book” . In negative sentences, on the other hand, the negative auxiliary is added to the verb to be ( “The man is not talking” ).
Particularities of the English language
Another peculiarity that we can notice in all the examples and applications of the present continuous is that it is not exactly a verbal tense but a structure that serves to express ideas equivalent to more than one verbal tense in Spanish . This is because the English language does not have verbal tenses per se, and that is why they use the term tense and not one that can be translated exactly as "time."
By this English word we mean all forms of a verb that allow us to express the time in which the action takes place. Since one of these forms can be equivalent to more than one tense, but this does not happen in the opposite sense , it is not correct to understand them as synonyms. Perhaps the confusion in translating its name begins from the moment we see the word "present."
A couple of clarifications are in order here. The simple present tense, also in English, has a very different basic use: it is used to express unquestionable truths or truths that have been fulfilled up to the moment of speech. A sentence in the simple present can be «Water freezes at zero degrees Celsius» ( «El agua se helado a cero grado Celsius» ), something that is true and we can check it every time we put water in the freezer; however, it does not express a present, despite its name. The present continuous, on the other hand, is more effective for this need: «I'm making dinner right now» («Ahora mismo estoy preparar la cena» ).