El presente progresivo Or… what’s going on?????

The present progressive is formed by using the present tense of estar with the present participle of another verb.

First, think of the present tense forms of “estar” estoy estás está estamos estáis están

Now: remove the -ar, -er, or -ir from the other verb and add ando to the -ar stem and iendo to the -er or -ir stem. This form is called a present participle or, in Spanish, el gerundio.

hablarhabl-hablando escribirescrib-escribiendo vendervend-vendiendo jugarjug-jugando comercom-comiendo

Verbs with spelling changes: caer- cayendocreer- creyendo incluir- incluyendo leer- leyendo traer- trayendo decir- diciendopedir- pidiendo dormir- durmiendoreír- riendo mentir- mintiendoservir- sirviendo morir- muriendo

When an object pronoun is used with the present progressive, place it before the verb, or after and attached to the participle. When the object pronoun is attached to the participle, an accent mark is added. Lupita me está escuchando. Lupita está escuchándome.

The present progressive can also be used with andar and seguir. Andar + present participle give the impression that someone goes around doing something continuously, sometimes with a slightly negative connotation. Pablo anda diciendo que Alicia rompió con él. Seguir + present participle is used to say that someone keeps on doing something, or is still doing something. Ana sigue viviendo en Madrid.

In Spanish, ser, ir, and venir are never used in the present progressive with estar or andar. Use the simple present: soy, voy, vengo. ¿Vienes a mi fiesta? No, voy al cine con mi novio. Lo siento.

Practiquemos… Mom, I’m watching TV. Are you doing your homework? What are you writing? The children are laughing. Mamá, estoy mirando la tele. ¿Estás haciendo la tarea? ¿Qué estás escribiendo? Los niños están riéndose.