Learn how to use venir in Spanish to express progress
In Spanish we can express that an action is in progress by using:
venir (conjugated) + Gerundio/Spanish present participle
Let's see some examples:
Vengo pensando que quizás debería disculparme con Antonio.I'm thinking that maybe I should apologise to Antonio.
Mi padre viene dándole vueltas a ese asunto desde hace varios días.My dad has been thinking about it for several days.
With venir + Gerundio/Spanish present participle we talk about actions in progress that have a starting point prior to the moment of speaking and this action continues to be in progress and could continue into the future.
Often there is a time phrase that indicates either the starting point of the action or a certain moment that the progressive action has reached:
Although this structure admits different tenses, it's mainly used in El Presente and El Pretérito Imperfecto
When accompanied by pronouns, these can go at the very beginning of the structure or at the end, attached to the present participle:
la venía observando
venía observándola
venía la observando (incorrect)
He was watching her
Other structures expressing actions in progress are:
- Using ir + present participle to emphasise the progression of an action (perífrasis verbal)
- Using andar + present participle to express "going around" [doing something] (perífrasis verbal)
- Using llevar + present participle to express duration of an action in Spanish (perífrasis verbal)
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Examples and resources
Vengo pensando que quizás debería disculparme con Antonio.I'm thinking that maybe I should apologise to Antonio.
Ha venido quejándose hasta hoy, así que el dolor no parece haber desaparecido.He's been complaining until today, so it doesn't look like the pain has disappeared.
Mi padre viene dándole vueltas a ese asunto desde hace varios días.My dad has been thinking about it for several days.
En aquella época mi hijo venía haciendo cosas raras y estábamos preocupados.At that time my son was behaving strangely [lit: doing strange things] and we were worried.
