The Spanish present tense has a continuous (progressive) form to express an action which is ongoing in the present. It works in a similar way to the English present continuous:
Yo estoy hablando con mi madre.
I am talking with my mother.
Tú estás corriendo la maratón.
You are running the marathon.
Ella está aprendiendo a cocinar.
She is learning how to cook.
Nosotros estamos cantando.
We are singing.
Vosotros estáis mirando la puesta de sol.
You are looking at the sunset.
To express a continuing or ongoing present action in Spanish you will follow this pattern for most regular verbs:
First of all you will need estar in El Presente:
| yo | estoy |
| tú | estás |
| él / ella / Ud. | está |
| nosotros/nosotras |
estamos |
| vosotros /vosotras |
estáis |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. | están |
And then:
|
Estar in El Presente + |
-ando (-AR verbs) |
|
-iendo (-ER and -IR verbs) |
To form the gerund of the main action verb (which finishes in -ando/-iendo = the equivalent of the -ing form in English) you need to drop the ending of the infinitive and add the suffix -ando/-iendo):
hablar → habl- = hablando
correr → corr- = corriendo
For regular gerunds see:
For irregular gerunds see:
- List of Spanish Irregular Gerunds of the form -iendo
- List of Spanish Irregular Gerunds of the form -yendo
- Forming irregular gerunds (-ing form)
See also Forming El Imperfecto Progresivo with estar + gerund (imperfect progressive).
Learn more about these related Spanish grammar topics
Examples and resources
Nosotros estamos cantando.
We are singing.
Vosotros estáis mirando la puesta de sol.
You are looking at the sunset.
Ellos están viviendo en Caracas.
They are living in Caracas.
Tú estás corriendo la maratón.
You are running the marathon.
Ella está aprendiendo a cocinar.
She is learning how to cook.
Yo estoy hablando con mi madre.
I am talking with my mother.
Q&A
Nicole
Kwiziq community member
12 February 2019
1 reply
I was wondering if all Spanish irregular verbs also have irregular gerunds.
Inma
Kwiziq language super star
12/02/19
Hola Nicole
When a verb is irregular in a specific tense, say the present or the preterite, that doesn't mean that their gerund is also irregular. It may be, it may not be.
For example, verb estar is irregular in the present and the preterite "estoy", "estuve"... but its gerund form is regular "estando".
However here is a lesson on irregularities in the gerund that will definitely help you.
Have a look:
I hope this helps
Inma
William
Kwiziq community member
12 August 2018
2 replies
Contestar a
The question
________ a vuestra pregunta.I am answering your question.HINT: Conjugate "contestar" in El Presente Continuo.
I understand the answer Estoy contestando buy why is the preposition "a" included in the original sentence. "Vuestra pregunta" is not a person. Estoy contestando a vuestra amiga
Silvia
Kwiziq language super star
12/08/18
¡Hola William!
According to RAE (Real Academia Española), the verb "contestar" accepts both options with or without the preposition "a" even if it does not refer to a person. I hope this helps! Silvia.
William
Kwiziq community member
14/08/18
I notice that asistir can also take the preposition a. Is there a list of verbs which take the preposition a in similar circumstances?
Mi jefe y yo ________ a muchas reuniones.My boss and I used to attend lots of meetings.HINT: Conjugate "asistir" in El Pretérito Imperfecto
Inma
Kwiziq language super star
18/01/18
Gruff
Kwiziq language super star
2/12/17
Hi Alexander - a number of Spanish verbs have -yendo as the ending of the present participle (which, when it is used as a noun like this is known as a 'gerund').
Here's a list:
https://progress.lawlessspanish.com/revision/theme/707352
Hope that helps!
ALICE
Kwiziq community member
18 February 2019
1 reply
Why "Mucha gente está pasando por el parque" and not "paseandose" since this means more that they are walking than just passing... ?
Inma
Kwiziq language super star
19 February 2019
19/02/19
Hola Alice
I cannot find that specific sentence in the lesson you are referring to, but, if the translation in English was "Lots of people are walking in the park" it should say "están paseando" or "están paseándose". "Pasando" would only be an approximate translation but not as accurate as "walking/walking by".
If you can tell us where you found that specific question or example please let us know.
Gracias
Inma