5.2.1: Presente Progressivo
- Page ID
- 341227
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Introduzione
When you want to describe what someone is doing right now, Italian uses the presente progressivo (the present progressive). It corresponds to the English present continuous “I am cooking,” “You are eating,” “They are preparing dinner.”You will often hear Italians use this form when they are talking about food and daily activities:
- Cosa stai cucinando?
- Sto preparando la cena per i miei amici.
- Stiamo mangiando insieme in cucina.
- Recognize and use the structure stare + gerundio to describe actions happening right now.
- Form the regular and irregular gerundio endings for –are, –ere, and –ire verbs.
- Distinguish between the presente (for habitual or future actions) and the presente progressivo (for ongoing actions).
- Use everyday vocabulary related to food and cooking in complete sentences.
" Ciao Giulia, cosa stai facendo?" and Giulia replies, "Sto preparando la cena, e tu? " Io sto lavorando, che noia!"
Dialogo
Maria: Ciao Carla, che fai di bello?
Carla: Sto studiando. Che noia! E tu?
Maria, Sto andando al supermercato a fare la spesa per la cena di stasera? Hai bisogno di qualcosa?
Carla: Stai andado in macchina?
Maria: Sì, c'è anche Roberta con me, stiamo andando insieme, sta guidando lei.
Maria: Allora puoi prendere una confezione di acqua naturale in bottiglia?
Carla: Certamente!
Maria: Grazie!
Struttura
The presente progressivo is formed with stare + gerundio (–ando / –endo). The verb stare is conjugated in the present indicative tense and changes according to the subject (for example: io sto, tu stai, lui/lei sta). After stare, you add the gerundio of the main verb. The gerundio is invariable: it does not change based on gender or number.
Look at the table below to see how to form the presente progressivo in all its parts.
| Soggetto | Stare | Esempio |
|---|---|---|
| Io | sto | sto cucinando (I am cooking) |
| Tu | stai | stai preparando (you are preparing) |
| Lui / Lei | sta | sta mangiando (he/she is eating) |
| Noi | stiamo | stiamo bevendo (we are drinking) |
| Voi | state | state servendo (you all are serving) |
| Loro | stanno | stanno pulendo (they are cleaning) |
Il gerundio (–ing form)
| Tipo di verbo | Terminazione | Esempio |
|---|---|---|
| –are | –ando | cucinare → cucinando → sto cucinando |
| –ere | –endo | prendere → prendendo → sto prendendo |
| –ire | –endo | aprire → aprendo→ sto aprendo |
Forme irregolari comuni
| Verbo | Gerundio | Esempio |
|---|---|---|
| fare | facendo | Sto facendo una torta. |
| dire | dicendo | Sta dicendo la ricetta. |
| bere | bevendo | Stiamo bevendo un caffè. |
| venire | venendo | Sto venendo in cucina. |
Uso
Use the presente progressivo to describe:
-
Actions happening right now:
Sto tagliando le verdure. (I’m cutting the vegetables.)
Stiamo apparecchiando la tavola. (We’re setting the table.) -
Temporary actions or situations:
Mia sorella sta lavorando in un ristorante per l’estate.
Nota importante
In Italian, the presente progressivo is not used to express future plans, as it is in English.
Incorrect: Sto andando al mercato domani.
Correct: Vado al mercato domani.
Use the "presente semplice" for future plans and scheduled actions. The presente progressivo only refers to what is happening in this exact moment.
Quick check
- How do you conjugate stare?
- What are the endings for the gerundio?
- When do you use stare + gerundio instead of the presente?
- Can you use the presente progressivo to talk about future plans?
Practice
In cucina adesso
Complete the sentences using stare + gerundio with the correct verb from the list.
Verbi: cucinare, tagliare, bere, preparare, servire
-
Io __________ la pasta.
-
Noi __________ il dolce.
-
Tu __________ un bicchiere di vino?
-
Loro __________ la frutta.
-
La mamma __________ la cena per tutta la famiglia.
Cosa stai cucinando?
Ask and answer with a partner. Use vocabulary from the cucina unit.
– Cosa stai cucinando?
– Sto preparando la pizza margherita. E tu?
– Sto tagliando le verdure per l’insalata.
Tocca a te
Write a short paragraph (4–5 sentences) describing what is happening in your kitchen right now.
Start with In questo momento… or Ora…
Esempio:
In questo momento sto cucinando la pasta. Mio fratello sta apparecchiando la tavola e i miei genitori stanno parlando del vino.