Spanish 3.5. Present Progressive Tense

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
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The present progressive tense in Spanish, similar to its use in English, describes an event that continues to take place in the present, e.g., “Yo estoy hablando” (I am speaking). We form the present progressive tense in Spanish by adding the auxiliary verb “estar” to the present participle, also known as the gerund. We form the gerund by attaching “-ando” to the stem of “-ar” ending verbs and “-iendo” to the stem of “-er” and “-ir” ending verbs.

“-ar” verbssubject pronoun + “estar” in present tense + (verb stem+ ando)
“-er” verbssubject pronoun + “estar” in present tense + (verb stem+ iendo)
“-ir” verbssubject pronoun + “estar” in present tense + (verb stem+ iendo)

Let us look at some examples:

  -ar ending
e.g., hablar
-er ending
e.g., comer
-ir ending
e.g., vivir
yoestoyhablandocomiendoviviendo
estás
él/ella/ustedestá
nosotros/-asestamos
vosotros/-asestáis
ellos/ellas/ustedesestán

Unlike in English, it is possible to use the present simple tense to describe something happening continuously at the moment to convey the same meaning as the present progressive tense. For example, “¿Qué haces ahora?” and “¿Qué estás haciendo ahora?” can both mean “What are you doing now?” Similarly, “Hablo con mi amigo” and “Estoy hablando con mi amigo” both mean “I am talking to my friend.”

Irregular Gerunds

We have mentioned that a gerund can be easily constructed by attaching “-ando” to an “-ar” ending verb and “-iendo” to an “-er” or “-ir” ending verb. Nevertheless, there are a few irregular verbs that require some practice:

The gerund of the verb “ir” (to go), which is a very common verb in Spanish, is “yendo,” e.g., “Yo estoy yendo al aeropuerto” (I am going to the airport). To say “I’m coming” in Spanish, you could use “Estoy yendo” or “Ya voy” because in Spanish we use the verb “ir” based on the point of reference of the speaker rather than that of the destination.

In verbs ending in “-er” or “-ir,” if the stem (the remaining part of the verb after removing the “-er” or “-ir” ending) ends in a vowel, “-iendo” becomes “-yendo.” For example, the gerund of “leer(to read) is “leyendo,” the gerund of “atraer(to attract) is “atrayendo,” the gerund of “destruir” (to destroy) is “destruyendo,” and that of “huir” (to run away) is “huyendo.”

Many verbs ending in “-ir” that change stem in third-person forms of the present tense conjugation from “e” to “i” or from “o” to “u” maintain the same stem change in the gerund form. For example, “decir” (to say) becomes “diciendo,” “pedir(to ask for) becomes “pidiendo,” “dormir” becomes “durmiendo,” and “morir” (to die) becomes “muriendo.”

In the verbs ending in “-er” or “-ir,” if the stem ends in “-ll” or “-ñ,” “-iendo” becomes “-endo.” There are few verbs in this group, most of which are not very common. For example, “bullir(to boil) becomes “bullendo,” “mullir(to fluff) becomes “mullendo,” and “teñir” (to dye) becomes “tiñendo,” where the latter changes the first “e” to “i” as an exception to the rule.

Quiz: Present Progressive Tense in Spanish

Spanish: Present Progressive Tense

1 / 10

1. The gerund of the verb "pedir" (to ask or request) is:

SP: .

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

2 / 10

2. The gerund of the verb "teñir" (to dye) is:

SP: .

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

3 / 10

3. The gerund of the verb "leer" (to read) is:

SP: .

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

4 / 10

4. They are swimming here. (to swim = nadar)

SP: Ellos aqui.

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

5 / 10

5. The gerund of the verb "decir" (to say) is:

SP: .

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

6 / 10

6. The gerund of the verb "ir" (to go) is:

SP: .

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

7 / 10

7. The gerund of the verb "dormir" (to sleep) is:

SP: .

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

 

8 / 10

8. The gerund of the verb "bullir" (to boil) is:

SP: .

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

9 / 10

9. She is speaking to her mother. (to speak= hablar)

SP: Ella con su madre.

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

10 / 10

10. The gerund of the verb "destruir" (to destroy) is:

SP: .

 

Accented letters (if needed):

á é í ó ú ñ ü

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