My test question asked for the El Presente Continuo - i’m new to learning Spanish and skipped the question as I thought I didn’t know how to tackle Continuo - only to find that when I selected “Explain” I was directed to the El Presente Progesivo, which I have studied. So are there the two descriptions for this grammar and should your lesson not say El Presente Progesivo or Continuo (for those, like me, who don’t always think outside the box) ?
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:
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
Q&A Forum 11 questions, 18 answers
InmaKwiziq team member
Hola Anita,
I understand. I have included Presente Progresivo/Continuo in all the hints testing this to have the two definitions there. Hopefully that will help.
Gracias y saludos.
Inma
Anita asked:View original
El Presente Continuo
My test question asked for the El Presente Continuo - i’m new to learning Spanish and skipped the question as I thought I didn’t know how to tackle Continuo - only to find that when I selected “Explain” I was directed to the El Presente Progesivo, which I have studied. So are there the two descriptions for this grammar and should your lesson not say El Presente Progesivo or Continuo (for those, like me, who don’t always think outside the box) ?
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ChanteKwiziq community member
Please explain why "están volviendo" is wrong...
Los niños ________ en avión con sus abuelos. The children are returning by plane with their grandparents.HINT: Conjugate "volver" in El Presente
vuelven
están volviendo
vuelven
están volviendo
Asked 2 months ago
InmaKwiziq team member
Hola Chante
It is grammatically correct to use "están volviendo" but we are asking in the Hint to "Conjugate volver in El Presente" (not El Presente Continuo). The reason why we are using the continuous tense in the English translation (that I understand could create confusion) is because it would sound a bit strange to say in English "The children return by plane with their grandparents.". In English something that is happening at the present moment is expressed with the continuous tense but the Spanish is more flexible and could be using the simple present, like in this sentence.
I hope this clarified it.
Saludos
Inma
Chante asked:View original
Please explain why "están volviendo" is wrong...
Los niños ________ en avión con sus abuelos. The children are returning by plane with their grandparents.HINT: Conjugate "volver" in El Presente
vuelven
están volviendo
vuelven
están volviendo
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William Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
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.
Asked 11 months ago
ClaraKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
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 Q&A regular contributor
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
William asked:View original
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.
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LeeKwiziq community member
Question related to Forming El Presente Progresivo with estar + gerund (present progressive)
Asked 11 months ago
Lee asked:View original
Question related to Forming El Presente Progresivo with estar + gerund (present progressive)
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KateKwiziq community member
It seems my mistake was that I didn't write the accent. My iPad doesn't have them
Asked 11 months ago
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 asked:View original
It seems my mistake was that I didn't write the accent. My iPad doesn't have them
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CeliaKwiziq community member
Why is it “La pública esta aplaudiendo” instead of “están”? Isn’t the public plural?
Asked 1 year ago
InmaKwiziq team member
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
InmaKwiziq team member
I have actually added a hint to that question, saying that it is a singular noun, to avoid confusion.
:))
Celia asked:View original
Why is it “La pública esta aplaudiendo” instead of “están”? Isn’t the public plural?
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ALICEKwiziq community member
Why "Mucha gente está pasando por el parque" and not "paseandose" since this means more that they are walking than just passing... ?
Asked 1 year ago
InmaKwiziq team member
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
ALICE asked:View original
Why "Mucha gente está pasando por el parque" and not "paseandose" since this means more that they are walking than just passing... ?
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NicoleKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
I was wondering if all Spanish irregular verbs also have irregular gerunds.
Asked 1 year ago
InmaKwiziq team member
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
Nicole asked:View original
I was wondering if all Spanish irregular verbs also have irregular gerunds.
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William Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
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
Asked 1 year ago
SilviaKwiziq team member
¡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 Q&A regular contributor
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
William asked:View original
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
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PauletteKwiziq community member
Present tense v. presente progresivo
One of my Spanish grammar books says that the present tense in Spanish can be translated both by the present simple and the present progressive in English. So, for example, they said ella canta could translate both as "she sings" and "she is singing." My question is what is the difference between translating the present tense that way, and using el presente progresivo. Are the meanings different? When do I use one or the other in Spanish if I want to talk about an ongoing action? Thanks for any guidance.
InmaKwiziq team member
Hola Paulette,
Yes, the main difference between the present simple and the present progressive is that the latter is used for ongoing actions that are taking place in the present. So take this sentence for example where we use both tenses:
"Vivo en Inglaterra pero ahora estoy viviendo en Francia."
"I live in England but at the moment I am living in France."
The present tense (vivo) is used to say what you normally do, however the progressive tense is expressing what is happening at the moment.
There will be a lesson about this specific usage soon.
I hope it helped.
Muchas gracias
Inma
IanKwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Inma: Thank you for that. One of the examples in the lesson is "Ellos están viviendo en Caracas" which I though was a bit out of context. it would be great if you included your explanation in the main body of the lesson. Oops: I see you cover that point in the next lesson. xx
By the way, the present participle (-ING) is not a gerund unless it is used as a noun. Technical point I know.
InmaKwiziq team member
Thanks Ian. In reference to "gerund" we don't have such thing as a "presente participio" for your present participle. In Spanish whichever the function, the -ando/-iendo forms are called "gerundio". It is a bit tricky to make that differentiation in lessons when the gerund is involved because we can't really call them present participles... but will note it and speak with the team to see if we can come up with something in that matter. Gracias y Feliz Año.
Paulette asked:View original
Present tense v. presente progresivo
One of my Spanish grammar books says that the present tense in Spanish can be translated both by the present simple and the present progressive in English. So, for example, they said ella canta could translate both as "she sings" and "she is singing." My question is what is the difference between translating the present tense that way, and using el presente progresivo. Are the meanings different? When do I use one or the other in Spanish if I want to talk about an ongoing action? Thanks for any guidance.
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AlexanderKwiziq community member
What about the ¨-yendo¨ ending?
Am I wrong, when I was studying Spanish in high school, I clearly remember there being -yendo so there are not so many vowels next to each other. Caer -- Cayendo / Creer -- Creyendo / Leer -- Leyendo and so on and so forth. Is that not correct?
Asked 2 years ago
GruffKwiziq team member
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!
Alexander asked:View original
What about the ¨-yendo¨ ending?
Am I wrong, when I was studying Spanish in high school, I clearly remember there being -yendo so there are not so many vowels next to each other. Caer -- Cayendo / Creer -- Creyendo / Leer -- Leyendo and so on and so forth. Is that not correct?
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