What Is the Present Progressive in Spanish?

How do we talk about an action in progress in Spanish? We use the Spanish present progressive tense, which we'll explore in this lesson.

 

The Spanish Present Progressive Tense

What is present progressive in Spanish? Simply put, the present progressive tense in Spanish describes actions that are unfolding as we speak, at this moment. Also called the present progressive, its English equivalent includes some form of the verb "to be" in present tense along with the gerund, or -ing form, of a verb. Some examples include: "I'm reading," "You are watching TV," or "We are eating dinner." The Spanish present progressive, which we'll learn to conjugate, takes a very similar form. 

 

banner2 PLACEHOLDER

Simple Present vs. Present Progressive in Spanish

So, when exactly do we use the present progressive tense in Spanish? And, what's the difference between the simple present and the Spanish present progressive? This can be a bit confusing since there is some overlap in terms of their English translations at times. Let's take a look:

 

¿Qué hacés vos acá?

What are you doing here?

-¿Cómo qué hagoCorro

-What do you mean, what am I doingI'm running.

Captions 65-66, Cuatro Amigas - Piloto

 Play Caption

 

Although, much like the present progressive, the simple present tense in Spanish can sometimes be translated into English using the -ing form to say that one "is doing" something in the present, the Spanish simple present tense is also used to describe actions one does on a habitual basis:

 

¿Y los sábados y domingos, qué haces

And on Saturdays and Sundays, what do you do?

Caption 19, Español para principiantes - Los días de la semana

 Play Caption

 

That said, if you really want to emphasize and/or remove any doubt that an action is in progress or happening at this moment, it's necessary to use the Spanish present progressive:

 

Silvia, ¿qué estás haciendo?

Silvia, what are you doing?

-Estoy cocinando

-I'm cooking.

Captions 31-32, El Aula Azul - Actividades diarias: En casa con Silvia

 Play Caption

 

In fact, this last caption is from a video by El Aula Azul that simply and clearly demonstrates the difference between the simple present tense and the present progressive tense in Spanish. 

 

How to Form the Spanish Present Progressive 

Now that you know when to use the present progressive in Spanish, let's learn how to conjugate present progressive verbs in Spanish. To start, let's review (or learn!) the simple present conjugation of the verb estar (to be), which will convey the idea of "am" or "are":

 

Yo estoy (I am)

 estás (You are)

Él/ella/usted está (He, she is/you are)

Nosotros/nosotras estamos (We are)

Vosotros/vosotras estáis (You are [plural])

Ellos/ellas/ustedes están (They/you [plural] are)

 

Next, we'll need to break up infinitive Spanish verbs into two categories, verbs that end in -ar and verbs that end in either -er or -ir, in order to form their gerunds (gerundios).

 

Conjugating -ar verbs in the Spanish Present Progressive 

 

To form the gerund for regular -ar verbs, we'll take the verb's stem (the part before the -ar) and add the suffix -ando. For example, for hablar (to talk), we take the stem habl- and add -ando to get hablando. Let's take a look at a few examples of regular -ar verbs in the present progressive tense in Spanish:

 

Entonces, en este momento, ¿veis?,

So, right now, you see?

está hablando con su madre por teléfono.

He's talking to his mom on the phone.

Captions 60-61, Clase Aula Azul - Información con subjuntivo e indicativo

 Play Caption

 

Eh... estoy buscando a Milagros.

Um... I am looking for Milagros.

Caption 6, Muñeca Brava - 39 Verdades

 Play Caption

 

Estamos caminando aquí en Bleeker Street

We are walking here on Bleeker Street

Caption 72, Eljuri - "Fuerte" EPK

 Play Caption

 

Conjugating -er  and -ir verbs in the Spanish Present Progressive 

 

Conjugating regular -er and -ir verbs in the present progressive Spanish tense is just as easy! Simply take the stem (remove the -er or -ir) and add the suffix -iendo.  Thus, for correr (to run), we have corr- plus -iendo to get corriendo, and for vivir (to live), we take viv- plus -iendo for viviendo. Let's look at a few more examples: 

 

¿Por qué estás comiendo basura?

Why are you eating garbage?

Caption 9, Kikirikí - Agua

 Play Caption

 

Está subiendo, está subiendo la rama.

He's climbing, he's climbing the branch.

Caption 98, Animales en familia - Un día en Bioparc: Coatís

 Play Caption

 

¿Dónde estáis vendiendo aceite?

Where are you selling oil?

Caption 1, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa

 Play Caption

 

Irregular Verbs in the Present Progressive in Spanish

Although the Spanish present progressive tense is arguably one of the easier verbs to learn to conjugate in Spanish, there are some irregular verbs, of course, which fall into a few categories. Let's examine those categories of verbs with irregular conjugations in the Spanish present progressive. 

 

1. -Er and -ir verbs with a vowel before the ending

 

Verbs with the endings -aer, -eer, -oir, and -uir change from -iendo to -yendo in the Spanish present progressive. Here are some examples:

 

traer: trayendo (to bring/bringing) 

caer: cayendo (to fall/falling)

leer: leyendo (to read/reading)

creer: creyendo (to believe/believing)

construir: construyendo (to build/building)

huir: huyendo (to escape/escaping)

oír: oyendo (to hear/hearing)

 

Interestingly, the present progressive form of the verb ir (to go) is also yendo:

 

Sí, me venía a despedir porque ya me estoy yendo.

Yes, I came to say goodbye because I'm leaving now.

Caption 90, Muñeca Brava - 39 Verdades

 Play Caption

 

2. Stem-changing verbs in the present tense (-e to -ie or -i)

 

Some verbs that change stems in the Spanish simple present tense also have an irregular form in the Spanish present progressive. Verbs whose stems change from -e to -ie (e.g. sentir becomes yo siento, tú sientes, etc.) or -e to -i (vestir changes to yo visto, tú vistes, etc.) tend to change stems from an -e to an -i in the Spanish present progressive as well, while maintaining the suffix -iendo. Let's take a look at some common examples:

 

sentir: sintiendo (to feel/feeling)

preferir: prefiriendo (to prefer/preferring) 

mentir: mintiendo (to lie/lying)

vestir: vistiendo (to dress/dressing)

seguir: siguiendo (to follow/following)

conseguir: consiguiendo (to get/getting)

 

3. Stem-changing verbs in the present tense (-o to -ue)

 

On the other hand, verbs that change from an -o to a -ue in the simple present often change from an -o to a -u in the Spanish present progressive while maintaining their regular ending (-iendo). Examples include poder ("to be able," which morphs into yo puedotú​ puedes, etc.), dormir ("to sleep," which becomes yo duermotú​ duermes, etc.), and morir ("to die," which transforms to yo muero, tú​ mueres, etc.). Let's look:

 

poder: pudiendo (to be able/being able)

dormir: durmiendo (to sleep/sleeping)

morir: muriendo (to die/dying) 

 

4. -Ir verbs that change from -e to -i in the simple present and end in -eír

 

Verbs in this fourth category also change from -to -i in the simple present (e.g. reír, or "to laugh," becomes yo río, tú ríes, etc.) but also have an -before the -ir ending. In this case, the -is dropped, while the ending -iendo is maintained, as follows: 

 

reír: riendo (to laugh/laughing)

sonreír: sonriendo (to smile/smiling)

freír: friendo (to fry/frying) 

 

The aforementioned irregular verbs in the present progressive in Spanish by no means constitute an exhaustive list, and although the rules that dictate which verbs are irregular might seem daunting, with increased exposure to Spanish, conjugating such irregular verbs in the present progressive in Spanish should become intuitive in no time! 

 

Irregular Spanish Present Progressive Verbs in Action 

 

Let's conclude today's lesson by looking at an example from each of the aforementioned categories of irregular present progressive verbs in Spanish:

 

Ellos están construyendo la puerta de entrada al santuario de burros.

They're building the entry gate to the donkey sanctuary.

Caption 25, Amaya - Voluntarios

 Play Caption

 

Esa mujer nos está mintiendo y quiero saber por qué.

That woman is lying to us and I want to know why.

Caption 42, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 4

 Play Caption

 

¡Aldo, tu hermano se está muriendo

Aldo, your brother is dying,

y a vos lo único que te interesa es la herencia!

and the only thing that interests you is the inheritance!

Caption 63, Yago - 3 La foto

 Play Caption

 

Se está riendo de todos nosotros.

He's laughing at all of us.

Caption 28, Los casos de Yabla - Problemas de convivencia

 Play Caption

 

That's all for today. For more information on the present progressive Spanish tense, check out our latest video from El Aula Azul on that very topic! And don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments

 

banner4 PLACEHOLDER

 

The 7 Days of the Week in Spanish

Do you know the days of the week in Spanish? Do words like lunes or domingo sound familiar to you? In this lesson, we will review the days of the week in Spanish in three different ways. First, you can listen to some random sentences containing the days of the week. Then, you will have the chance to listen to a short clip that shows you how to pronounce each day of the week. Finally, we will leave you with a list of the days of the week in Spanish and English. We hope this repetition helps you to memorize the names of the 7 days of the week in Spanish.

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

 

7 sentences with the days of the week in Spanish

 

We use the days of the week all the time! The following sentences will help us to get familiar with the sound of the days of the week.

 

El lunes, por ejemplo, fui a trabajar.

On Monday for example, I went to work.

Caption 6, El Aula Azul - La Doctora Consejos: El pasado

 Play Caption

 

Los martes, además, tenemos las "Tardes de Intercambio".

On Tuesdays, additionally, we have the "Exchange Afternoons."

Caption 24, El Aula Azul - Las actividades de la escuela

 Play Caption

 

Todos los miércoles, voy con mi mejor amiga al cine.

Every Wednesday, I go with my best friend to the movies.

Caption 18, Ariana - Mi Semana

 Play Caption

 

"Todos los jueves, aprendía nuevas canciones en mi clase de guitarra".

"Every Thursday, I used to learn new songs in my guitar class."

Caption 57, Carlos explica - El pretérito Cap 4: Imperfecto I

 Play Caption

 

Pensaré cada día en Daniel cuando él vuele a Guatemala el próximo viernes.

I will think about Daniel every day when he flies to Guatemala next Friday.

Caption 36, Conjugación - El verbo 'pensar'

 Play Caption

 

El día más fuerte, o sea, de mayor afluencia de personal sería el sábado.

The busiest day, I mean, the one with the largest influx of people would be Saturday.

Caption 25, Mercado de San Miguel - Misael

 Play Caption

 

Estaba pensando, el domingo me gustaría invitar a los Mendoza

I was thinking, on Sunday I would like to invite the Mendozas

a tomar onces para que se animen un poquito, ¿hmm?

to have an afternoon snack so that they can cheer up a little but, hmm?

Captions 11-12, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 4

 Play Caption

 

Let's take these sentences to mention something important. The plural form of the days of the week that end in "s" (lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves and viernes) is the same as their singular form. However, if you want to say the plural form of the days of the week that end in vowels (sábado and domingo), you need to add the letter 's' at the end. Here is a list of the singular and plural forms of the days of the week in Spanish:

 

el lunes - los lunes

el martes - los martes

el miércoles - los miércoles

el jueves - los jueves

el viernes - los viernes

el sábado - los sábados

el domingo - los domingos

 

How do you say the days of the week in Spanish?

 

Are you ready to practice the pronunciation of the 7 days of the week in Spanish? Let's take a look at the following clip from our friends Maru and Sol from GoSpanish.

 

Lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.

¿Me ayudas, Sol? Sí. Viernes, sábado, y domingo.

Can you help me, Sol? Yes. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Captions 24-32, Español para principiantes - Los días de la semana

 Play Caption

 

Days of the week in Spanish and English

 

In order to help you remember the names of the week in Spanish, the following list contains the days of the week in Spanish and English:

 

Lunes - Monday

Martes - Tuesday

Miércoles - Wednesday

Jueves - Thursday

Viernes - Friday

Sábado - Saturday

Domingo - Sunday

 

There is something important to remember: Unlike English, the days of the week in Spanish are not capitalized. They are capitalized only if they appear at the beginning of a sentence.

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

That's it for today. Try to write a couple of sentences with the days of the week in Spanish and read them aloud so you can practice their pronunciation. And don’t forget to send us your feedback and suggestions.