1. P RESENT P ROGRESSIVE

2. Present Progressive The present progressive is used less frequently in Spanish than it is in English Remember that a present tense verb in Spanish has three associated meanings: I study Yo estudio I do study I am studying The present progressive signifies that the action is ongoing/unfinished

3. Present Progressive In English and Spanish the present progressive requires using a helping/auxiliary verb plus a present participle (called a gerund) English gerunds add -ing to the infinitive – I am running – I am reading Spanish adds -ando or -iendo to the verb stem – Yo estoy hablando(if AR verb) – Yo estoy comiendo(if ER/IR verb)

4. Present Progressive: Construction In Spanish, the most common helping verb is estar, but seguir and continuar can be used Conjugate this verb for the correct subject, then concatenate the present participle Estar estoyestamos estásestáis estáestán Present Participle hablar + ando hablando

5. Present Progressive: Construction In Spanish, the most common helping verb is estar, but seguir and continuar can be used Conjugate this verb for the correct subject, then concatenate the present participle Estar estoyestamos estásestáis estáestán Present Participle comer + iendo comiendo

6. Present Progressive: Construction In Spanish, the most common helping verb is estar, but seguir and continuar can be used Conjugate this verb for the correct subject, then concatenate the present participle Estar estoyestamos estásestáis estáestán Present Participle cubrir + iendo cubriendo

7. Present Progressive: Construction If the original verb was reflexive, the same rules apply now as before: T HE PRONOUN ALWAYS GOES BEFORE THE CONJUGATED VERB For example: – acostarse:Yo me estoy acostando – acostarse:Yo estoy acostándome Since a participle is not a conjugation, it’s ok to attach (but if attached, one must add an accent on the originally stressed vowel)

8. Present Progressive: Caveats Sometimes iendo will cause toooooo many sequential vowels so keep in mind the fact that Old McDonald had a farm e-i-e-i-o. If you have any of these vowels sequences (forward or backward), change i -> y: – eiecreer+iendo» creiendo» creyendo – oieoir + iendo» oiendo» oyendo – eio (can only occur in other tenses/modes)

9. Present Progressive: Caveats There is also a spelling change with -ir verbs that some characterize as a ½ stem change – e -> ie – o -> ue This same vowel substitution also occurs in a few other modalities so while not über-critical now, it would be good to start practicing

10. Present Progressive: Caveats Take care not to overgeneralize Gerunds are very rarely used alone in Spanish and if it seems like the gerund should be used, the situation most likely calls for an infinitive For example: – Sleeping is goodDormir es bueno – We prefer sleepingPreferimos dormir – We are sleeping Estamos durmiendo