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
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.
Nosotros estamos cantando.
We are singing.
Vosotros estáis mirando la puesta de sol.
You are looking at the sunset.
Q&A
Lee
Kwiziq community member
23 April 2019
1 reply
Question related to Forming El Presente Progresivo with estar + gerund (present progressive)
Shui
Kwiziq language super star
24/04/19
Hola Lee
What is your question?
Saludos
Shui
Shui
Kwiziq language super star
16/04/19
Hola Kate
On the iPad a long press on any letter will bring up a menu with accented options, slide your finger onto the letter of your choice then release to add it.
More information on how to add accents is in our FAQ which you can view here: link.
Saludos
Shui
Kate
Kwiziq community member
17/04/19
Thankyou Shui, so simple, and I've had the iPad for ages!
Inma
Kwiziq language super star
5/04/19
Hola Celia
Although in English, "the public" can be either singular or plural, in Spanish, this collective noun is always singular and we need to conjugate in the 3rd person singular, not plural.
Hope it helps.
Saludos
Inma
Inma
Kwiziq language super star
5/04/19
I have actually added a hint to that question, saying that it is a singular noun, to avoid confusion.
:))
Celia
Kwiziq community member
5/04/19
¡Muchas gracias! :)
Inma
Kwiziq language super star
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
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!
William
Kwiziq community member
5 May 2019
2 replies
Kwiziq Override Option
I made a spelling mistake I would never have made when writing by hand. I know the gerund of asistir is asistiendo but I wrote isistiendo. I often feel it is our computer keyboard skills that are tested not language skills. My kwiziq score is now about 73%. To return my score to 100%. I have to keep repeating questions that I already know. Can kwiziq not introduce an override option for these situations.
Clara
Kwiziq community member
6 May 2019
6/05/19
It happens to me all the time William. I feel your frustration! The penalty for the slightest spelling error far outweighs the error. I suppose A.I. still has some way to go towards recognising the human condition.
Saludos
Clari :)
William
Kwiziq community member
6 May 2019
6/05/19
Claire
I understand but Kwiziq alreay uses an override. If you omit accents it places the question in 'almost right' section with no adjustment to your Kwiziq score, In other websites, quizlet, have an override for small spelling. At times we are treated like children. We make similar mistakes in English. I stopped using Duolingo because they were insisting on being 100% with our answers in English
William