In this article, you are going to learn The Present Continuous in Spanish language. As you know, the present continuous or present progressive is one of the most important times and tenses in language. The formula, the usages, and some examples of this tense will be mentioned in this article. So read the rest of the text and you will learn completely.
Table of Contents
The Formula of The Present Continuous in Spanish
What is the formula of the present continuous in Spanish?
As you know in English we use the verb to be + gerund and in Spanish, we need the verb estar + gerundio.
So conjugate the verb estar in simple present (presente del indicativo) and then we need a gerund (gerundio).
Estar:
- Yo estoy
- Tú estás
- Él/Ella/Usted está
- Nosotros/Nosotras estamos
- Vosotros/Vosotras estáis
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes están
How can we make gerund (gerundio)?
We can easily do it. In Spanish, there are three groups of verbs, based on the termination of the infinitive. Verbs that end in -ar, -er, and -ir.
Group 1: The termination -ar should be omitted and -ando should be added. For Example:
- Hablar (to speak): hablando (speaking)
- Trabajar (to work): trabajando (working)
- Andar (to walk): andando (walking)
- Escuchar (to listen): escuchando (listening)
- Estudiar (to study): estudiando (studying)
- Pintar (to paint): pintando (painting)
Group 2: The termination -er should be omitted and -iendo should be added. For example:
- Comer (to eat): comiendo (eating)
- Beber (to drink): bebiendo (drinking)
- Ver (to see, to watch): viendo (seeing, watching)
- Hacer (to make, to do): haciendo (making, doing)
Group 3: The termination -ir should be omitted and -iendo should be added:
- Vivir (to live): viviendo (living)
- Escribir (to write): escribiendo (writing)
- Salir (to leave, to go out): saliendo (leaving, going out)
There are some irregular verbs like:
- Leer (to read): leyendo (reading)
- Dormir (to sleep): durmiendo (sleeping)
The Usages
When do we use the present continuous in Spanish?
1. To talk about an action or condition that is occurring right now. For example:
Él está escuchando la radio.
He is listening to radio.
Están jugando a las cartas.
They are playing cards.
Mi padre está viendo la tele ahora mismo.
My father is watching TV right now.
¿Dónde están los niños?
Where are the children?
Están jugando en el parque.
They are playing in the park.
¿Qué estás haciendo?
What are you doing?
Estoy hablando por teléfono.
I’m talking on the phone.
2. To talk about a temporary situation, not habitual, with time expressions like:
- Hoy (today)
- Este mes (this month)
- Últimamente (ultimately)
- Este año (this year)
For instance:
Este año estamos estudiando español.
This year I’m studying Spanish.
Últimamente estoy durmiendo mucho.
Ultimately I’m sleeping a lot.
Ella normalmente trabaja en España, pero este mes está trabajando en México.
She usually works in Spain, but this month she is working in Mexico.
3. To emphasize actions or situations that are produced with frequency, and with time expressions like: todo el rato (all the time), siempre (always), todo el día (all day). Examples:
Antonio está siempre pensando en Belén.
Antonio is always thinking about Belen.
Estáis todo el día jugando y no estudiáis.
you are playing all day and you don’t study.
The Negative Form
How can we make the present continuous negative in Spanish? Only a “no” should be added before the verb estar. For example:
No estoy viendo la tele, estoy estudiando.
I’m not watching TV, I’m studying.
La profesora no está enseñando español.
The teacher is not teaching Spanish.
Mi mamá no está hablando por teléfono, ahora está preparando la cena.
My mom is not talking on the phone, she is preparing dinner now.
No está lloviendo.
It’s not raining.
Well, In this post we talked about The Present Continuous in Spanish with some examples. I hope it helped you a lot. If you have any questions about it, just leave a comment.
You can also check out the Spanish Grammar page to read other grammatical articles.