Spanish Tutorial
The Present Progressive in Spanish
Intro
The Spanish present progressive tense is used to say what is happening now or “going on” right now. It is formed using the verb “estar” (to be) plus a present participle.
Example: Yo estoy trabajando ahora. (I am working now.)
To use a verb in the present progressive, you must first conjugate the verb estar to go with the subject:
yo estoy
tú estás
él,ella, usted está
Ustedes están
Nosotros estamos
Then you form the present participle of the verb as follows:
for “ar” ending verbs ando
for “er” ending verbs iendo
for “ir” ending verbs iendo
The present participle is the equivalent of an English verb ending in “ing”.
Examples:
Infinite form of the verb Add the suffix
cantar cantando (singing)
correr corriendo (running)
subir subiendo (climbing, to go up)
Additional examples:
cenar – to have dinner
Yo estoy cenando con mi familia. (I’m having dinner with my family.)
aprender – to learn
Nosotros estamos aprendiendo español. (We are learning Spanish.)
abrir – to open
Ella está abriendo las ventanas. (She is opening the windows.)
Sample Problem
Solution
escribiendo
Infinitive: escribir
Drop the ending “ir”
Add the suffix: iendo
Then you have: escribiendo
Yo estoy escribiendo una novela. (I’m writing a novel.)
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