participio: corrido (“run”)įor reflexive verbs or when using a pronoun, you can place it either before the auxiliary verb estar or tack it onto the end of the gerund: Infinitive: correr Present participle a.k.a. Note that the past participle is similar to the gerund (present participle) and is used to form compound tenses taking place in the past with the auxiliary verb haber (“to have”). The end result is a direct translation that’s equivalent in English and Spanish in form (though not always in its appropriate usage – see below!). Infinitive Gerundio English llegar llegando arriving partir partiendo leaving comer comiendo eating The gerund usually ends with either -ando for -AR verbs or -iendo for -IR and -ER verbs in Spanish. The helping verb estar is the same as the English “to be,” and is used in the present indicative tense to form the present progressive: yo estoy nosotros estamos tú estás vosotros estáis él, ella, Ud. As you may have already noticed, it is formed by combining an auxiliary verb (“helping verb”) with the gerund (equivalent of the present participle) of the main verb.Įstá (“He/She is”) + comiendo (“eating”). Tell me! How to Form the Present ProgressiveĬonjugating the present progressive requires changing more than one verb. For the sake of simplicity in comparing the two for an English-speaking audience, we’ll refer to this construction as present progressive in both. ![]() So what is a perífrasis verbal? It’s the Spanish term for the combination of estar + gerundio (like the English equivalent ending in -ing).Īlthough Spanish doesn’t technically have a present progressive tense, the perífrasis verbal plays a similar functional role to the present progressive in other languages. Spanish speakers take advantage of this option, with the more default option being the present indicative, and this perífrasis verbal being used to draw attention to the continuity of the action taking place or add emphasis. Though the second example may still feel more natural, you can see how there is more focus on the fact that the action is currently progressing as you speak of it. We are drinking wine and watching the sunset. The use of the present progressive adds an extra layer of meaning and specificity that may not be as immediately apparent to English speakers. Spanish often simply uses the present (indicative) tense to talk about something currently occurring. He/She is eating a taco.Įstá comiendo un taco. ![]() Spanish uses this perífrasis verbal much less frequently than English uses its equivalent form, the present progressive, so before you reach for a word-for-word translation of a sentence, it’s important to understand when the present progressive is appropriate in English.
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