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4.5: El presente progresivo

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    The present progressive

    Observations

    • It is used only to emphasize an action is in progress at the time of speaking.
    • There is no indication of beginning or end of the action.

    Examples

    In the examples below, the present progressive conjugations are in blue.

    fig-ch01_patchfile_01.jpg
    Los señores Pérez están bailando Tango.

    "Tango" by witt_digital, Pixabay is licensed under CC0 1.

    fig-ch01_patchfile_01.jpg
    Manuel está pidiendo una hamburguesa.

    "Restaurants online" by mohamed_hasan, Pixabay is licensed under CC0 1.0

    fig-ch01_patchfile_01.jpg
    Yo estoy abriendo mi regalo de cumpleaños.

    "Surprised face" by LillyCantabile, Pixabay is licensed under CC0 1.0

    Formation of the present progressive

    Spanish uses the present tense of the verb "estar" with a verb in the "present participle".

    In the chart below, the endings of the present participle are in blue.

    Estar Present Participle

    estoy

    estás

    está

    estamos

    estáis

    están

    		 right bracket.png

    +

    caminando

    bebiendo

    escribiendo

    To form the present participle, replace the infinitive ending with:

    (All verb ending changes are in blue.)
      -ar → ando  
      -er, -ir → iendo  
    Infinitive   Stem   Participle
    hablar → habl → hablando
    comer → com → comiendo
    abrir → abr → abriendo

    Irregular present participles:

    • stem-changing verbs that end in -ir:

    e → i: preferir → prefiriendo

    e → i: pedir → pidiendo

    o → u: dormir → durmiendo

    • stem of verbs that end in -er, -ir whose stem ends in a vowel:

    iendo → yendo: leer → leyendo

    iendo → yendo: traer → trayendo

    iendo → yendo: oír → oyendo

    • The verb "ir" is irregular: yendo

    (All spell changes have been identified in blue.)

    This page titled 4.5: El presente progresivo is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by M. Barrio De Mendoza, K Gutiérrez, H.Ho, C. Lin, & A Stere Lugo (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative) .