The Present Progressive in Spanish
This is the equivalent to the English "Be doing" something. The present progressive usually requires a linking verb - the most
common of which is "to Be".
The form of "to Be" in Spanish which is used with the present progressive is Estar . A form of Estar is joined with a present
participle to create this new tense. A present participle is the "-ing" form of a verb; for example "running", "talking", "playing",
etc.
The present progressive has a much stronger sense of immediacy in Spanish. In other words, the present progressive is used in
Spanish to explain what is happening at this very moment. We don't use it to explain what is going on in general.
For example, in English we can say "This semester, I am studying Spanish and Chemistry". But you would not use the present
progressive in Spanish. You would use the Present tense: Este semestre, yo estudio español y química.
But if a friend calls you up on the telephone and asks what you are doing at this moment, you say "I am studying Spanish."
Here it is appropriate to use the present progressive in Spanish: Estoy estudiando español.
Here is a quick review of how the Present Progressive is formed.
We form the participle in Spanish by dropping the -ar, -er, or -ir from the infinitive of a verb and adding one of two endings, ando or -iendo.
to -ar verbs, add -ando
1) Hablar [to talk]
2) Habl-ar = habl
3) Habl+ando
= hablando [talking]
to -er and -ir verbs, add-iendo
1) Comer [to eat]
2) Com-er = com
3) Com+iendo
= comiendo [eating]
1) Escribir [to write]
2) Escrib-ir = escrib
3) Escrib+iendo
= escribiendo (writing)
We combine these participles with a form of Estar to form the present progressive:
Estoy hablando.
I am talking.
Él está comiendo.
He is eating.
Estamos escribiendo.
We are writing.
Están estudiando.
They are studying.
As might be expected, there are a few irregular Present Participles. Stem-changing "Ir" verbs continue to stem-change in the participle
with a small difference:
O-->UE stem-changers change from O--> U; and E-->IE as well as E-->I stem-changers change from E->I.
Those verbs needing a "Y" when faced with an "I" between two other vowels in other tenses, will continue to replace the weak "I"
with a "Y" in the participle.
Decir [to Say or Tell]
diciendo
Dormir [to Sleep]
durmiendo
Pedir [to Request or Ask For]
pidiendo
Creer [to Believe]
creyendo (the weak "i" in the middle of vowels will change to a
"y"
Leer [to Read]
leyendo (see?)
Oír [to Hear]
oyendo (easy!)
Caer [to Fall]
cayendo (ok, you've got it!)
Note: We do not use the Present Progressive to say that we are "going to" do something. We use the "Ir + a + Infinitive" expression
to do that.