El Presente Progresivo
Remember how you learned that to say “I
am talking” you would write the same thing
as “I talk” or “I do talk” in Spanish?
“Yo hablo.”
If something is happening RIGHT at the
MOMENT, you can use the present
progressive to show that the action is
current.
In ENGLISH, we call this the “gerund” or the
-ING ending of a word.
I am playing.
You are reading.
(these actions are happening now)
In SPANISH: Here’s how…
You start with
Yo estoy
the form of “estar”
that fits the
person you are
Tú estás
talking about.
él, ella, usted
está
Nosotros
estamos
X
Ellos, ellas,
ustedes
están
Here’s how
Then, after you have the correct form of
estar, you make the –ING (gerund) of the
verb (action word).
(This is called the present participle…
In case you want to know)
Present Participle aka the –ING
part
of
-AR
verbs
Take the infinitive,
1.
2. drop the –AR,
3. add –ANDO.
Let’s try HABLAR:
Yo estoy hablando
Nosotros estamos
hablando
Tu estás hablando
x
Ella está hablando
Ellos están hablando
Try these! (En su paquete)
Esperar =
_________________________________
Ayudar =
________________________________
Trabajar =
______________________________
Bailar =
________________________________
Present Participle aka the –ING
part of –ER and -IR verbs
-Er and –IR verbs get the same endings. YAY.
Drop the –ER, add -IENDO.
Drop the –IR, add –IENDO. Let’s try COMER:
Estoy comiendo
Estamos comiendo
Estás comiendo
x
Está comiendo
Están comiendo
ESCRIBIR:
Estoy
estamos
estás
está
están
All of you are waiting =
_________________________________
The students are studying =
_______________________________________
Are you working? = ______________________________
We are dancing = ________________________________
I am understanding = ____________________________
They are living = _______________________________
Irregulars
When the stem of an –er or –ir verb ends in a
vowel, change the “iendo” to a “yendo.”
Leer  Leyendo
Oír  Oyendo
Creer  Creyendo
Are you reading now?
____________________________________
They are hearing the dog.
___________________________________
The students are not believing the news.
____________________________________
_______
Pedir, Servir, and Dormir stem-change in the present
progressive:
Pedir = pidiendo
Servir =___sirviendo_____
Dormir = ______durmiendo______________
(Reír and Sonreír also change a bit:
Riendo = laughing
______sonriendo________ = smiling)
For all of the –ANDO and –IENDO words,
you never have to pluralize or change
them for the subject.
You never make them feminine or
masculine.
YAY.
Ella está trabajando, él está trabajando,
ellos están trabajando.
The progressive can also be used in the
past to say what people were doing. To form
the past progressive, take the imperfect
tense of estar and add the same progressive
endings.
estaba
estábamos
Estabas
X
estaba
estaban
1. Isabel was writing an article ___Isabel
estaba escribiendo un artículo___
2. Susana and I were reading the newspaper
____Susana y yo estábamos leyendo el
periódico___
3. Were you working late last night?
____¿Estabas trabajando tarde
anoche?____
4. My cousin was helping her greatgrandmother._________________________
___________________________________
5. Were the students starting the homework
in class?
__________________________________
6. The earth (la tierra) was shaking(temblar)
___________________________________
__________________________________
7. We did not know what was happening.
___________________________________
____
8. The reporters were taking pictures.
___________________________________
9. The men were rescuing people and
animals.
___________________________________
_____________________________
10. The victims were asking for help.
___________________________________
_____________________________