The present progressive in Spanish is used to say what someone is doing right now. This cheat sheet helps students build the form with estar plus a gerund, such as estoy hablando or están comiendo. It is useful because English speakers often want to translate am, is, and are directly, but Spanish requires the correct form of estar.
Students also need to know when to use this tense and when simple present is better.
Key Facts
- The present progressive formula is subject + present tense of estar + gerund.
- The present tense forms of estar are estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, and están.
- For -ar verbs, form the gerund by dropping -ar and adding -ando, as in hablar becomes hablando.
- For -er and -ir verbs, form the gerund by dropping -er or -ir and adding -iendo, as in comer becomes comiendo and vivir becomes viviendo.
- When the verb stem ends in a vowel, use -yendo instead of -iendo, as in leer becomes leyendo and oír becomes oyendo.
- Some -ir verbs have stem changes in the gerund, such as dormir becomes durmiendo, pedir becomes pidiendo, and decir becomes diciendo.
- Object pronouns can go before estar or attached to the gerund, as in lo estoy leyendo or estoy leyéndolo.
- Use the present progressive for actions happening right now, not for general habits or future plans.
Vocabulary
- Present progressive
- A verb form used to describe an action that is happening right now.
- Estar
- The Spanish verb meaning to be that is used with locations, conditions, and the present progressive.
- Gerund
- The -ando or -iendo form of a Spanish verb used after estar in the present progressive.
- Stem
- The part of a verb that remains after removing the ending, such as habl- from hablar.
- Stem-changing gerund
- A gerund whose stem vowel changes, such as dormir changing to durmiendo.
- Object pronoun
- A small word such as lo, la, me, or nos that shows who or what receives the action.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Using ser instead of estar: soy hablando is wrong because the present progressive always uses a form of estar.
- Forgetting to conjugate estar: yo estar hablando is wrong because estar must match the subject, as in yo estoy hablando.
- Using the infinitive after estar: estamos comer is wrong because the second verb must be a gerund, as in estamos comiendo.
- Adding -iendo to every verb: hablariendo is wrong because -ar verbs use -ando, so hablar becomes hablando.
- Using the present progressive for habits: estoy jugando al fútbol todos los sábados is usually wrong because repeated habits normally use the simple present, as in juego al fútbol todos los sábados.
Practice Questions
- 1 Write the present progressive for these 4 prompts: 1. yo / hablar, 2. tú / comer, 3. ella / vivir, 4. nosotros / estudiar.
- 2 Translate these 3 sentences into Spanish: 1. I am reading, 2. They are sleeping, 3. We are listening.
- 3 Choose the correct form in each pair: 1. está escribiendo or está escribir, 2. estamos haciendo or somos haciendo, 3. estoy leyando or estoy leyendo.
- 4 Explain why Estoy haciendo la tarea means something different from Hago la tarea todos los días.