Spanish 5.8. Past & Conditional Progressive Tenses

Level I 1. Alphabet & Pronunciation 1.1. Syllable Stress 2. Similarities to English 2.1. Plural 2.2. Negation 2.3. Punctuation & Written Accents 3. Cardinal Numbers 4. Subject Personal Pronouns 5. Present Indicative Tense I 6. The Articles 7. Prepositions 8. Interrogative Pronouns & Adjectives 9. Basic Phrases Level II 1. Gender of Nouns & Adjectives 2. Present Indicative Tense II – Irregular Verbs 3. The Verb “To Be”: “Ser” vs. “Estar” 4. Future Tense 5. Possessive Adjectives & Pronouns 6. Demonstrative Adjectives & Pronouns 7. Object Personal Pronouns 7.1. Combining Direct & Indirect Object Personal Pronouns 8. Relative Pronouns 9. Ordinal Numbers I 10. Times & Seasons Level III 1. Verbs Like “Gustar” 2. “Por” vs. “Para” 3. The Verb “To Know”: “Saber” vs. “Conocer” 4. Indefinite Adjectives & Pronouns 5. Present Progressive Tense 6. Present Perfect Tense 7. Special Uses of “Haber” & “Tener” 8. Telling Time & Describing Weather 9. Adverbs 9.1. The Adverbs “Tan,” “Solo,” “También,” “Tampoco,” “Vez,” & “Veces” 9.2. Other Adverbs & Adverbial Phrases 10. Directions Level IV 1. Degrees of Comparison: Comparatives & Superlatives 2. Past Tense: Preterite vs. Imperfect 3. Conjunctions 4. Reflexive Pronouns & Verbs 5. The Verb “Soler” 6. Time Expressions: Todavía, Aún, Ya, Hace, Acabar, & Desde 7. Present Subjunctive Tense I 8. Personal “a” 9. Future Perfect Tense Level V 1. Irregular Verbs in The Preterite 2. Imperative Mood & Giving Commands 3. Expressions of Pain & Illness 4. Simple Conditional Tense 5. Present Subjunctive Tense II 6. Perfect Subjunctive Tense 7. Imperfect Subjunctive Tense 8. Past & Conditional Progressive Tenses 9. Interjections Level VI 1. Ordinal Numbers II 2. “Would/Should/Could Have …” 3. Pluperfect Indicative Tense 4. Pluperfect Subjunctive Tense 5. Use of “Aunque,” “Si Bien,” and “A Pesar de” 6. Verbs of Change 7. Reflexive Passive, Impersonal, & Accidental “Se” 8. Diminutives & Augmentatives 9. Use of “Vos” in Some Spanish-Speaking Countries 10. Uses of “Ojalá” in Spanish
learn-romance-languages-at-the same-time-book-cover

Learn & Retain SP, PT, IT, & FR with Spaced Repetition

600+ Anki Notes for Level I with Vocabulary, Grammar, & Audio Pronunciation

Buy Now
book-cover-learn-and-retain-spanish-with-spaced-repetition-5000-anki-notes-flashcards

Learn & Retain Spanish with Spaced Repetition

5,000+ Anki Notes for Level I with Vocabulary, Grammar, & Audio Pronunciation

Buy Now
italiano-book-cover

Learn & Retain Italian with Spaced Repetition

700+ Anki Notes for Level I with Vocabulary, Grammar, & Audio Pronunciation

Buy Now
ebook-cover-french-speaced-repetition

Learn & Retain French with Spaced Repetition

700+ Anki Notes for Level I with Vocabulary, Grammar, & Audio Pronunciation

Buy Now

The past and conditional progressive tenses in Spanish are similar to their uses in their counterparts in English.

Past Progressive Tense

The past progressive tense, similar to its use in English, describes an event that continued to take place in the past, e.g., “Yo estaba hablando” (I was speaking). It is formed by adding the imperfect tense of the auxiliary verb “estar” to the present participle, also known as the gerund.

subject pronoun + imperfect tense of the verb “estar” + gerund
  -ar ending
hablar
-er ending
comer
-ir ending
vivir
yoestabahablandocomiendoviviendo
estabas
él/ella/ustedestaba
nosotros/-asestábamos
vosotros/-asestabais
ellos/ellas/ustedesestaban

For example:

Mi mamá estaba cocinando cuando mi papá entró a la casa.My mom was cooking when my dad entered the house.
Estábamos nadando mientras estabas estudiando.We were swimming while you were studying.

Conditional Progressive Tense

On the other hand, the conditional progressive tense describes an event that would be happening now had another event happened earlier, e.g., “Yo estaría jugando si no estuviera lesionado(I would be playing if I weren’t injured). It is formed by adding the conditional form of the auxiliary verb “estar” to the gerund.

subject pronoun + conditional form of the verb “estar” + gerund
  -ar ending
hablar
-er ending
comer
-ir ending
vivir
yoestaríahablandocomiendoviviendo
estarías
él/ella/ustedestaría
nosotros/-asestaríamos
vosotros/-asestaríais
ellos/ellas/ustedesestarían

For example:

Estaría hablando con mi hermano si hubiera ido a su casa ayer.I would be talking to my brother had I gone to his house yesterday.
No estaría comiendo mucho si estuviera a dieta.I wouldn’t be eating much if I were on a diet.

Quiz: Past & Progressive Tenses in Spanish

Spanish: Past & Conditional Progressive Tenses

1 / 4

1. I would not be eating much if I were on a diet.

(to eat = comer)

SP: No  mucho si estuviera a dieta.

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

2 / 4

2. I would be talking to my brother had I gone to his house yesterday.

(to talk = hablar)

SP con mi hermano si hubiera ido a su casa ayer.

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

3 / 4

3. We were swimming while you were studying.

(to swim = nadar)

SP: mientras estabas estudiando.

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

4 / 4

4. My mom was cooking when my dad entered the house.

(to cook = cocinar)

SP: Mi mamá cuando mi papá entró a la casa.

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

Your score is

The average score is 0%

0%

Thank you for taking the quiz!

Next: Interjections

Back to: Spanish Lessons

Other lessons in Level V: