Continuous tense in Spanish

Question

Hello.

May I ask how to conjugate a verb in its continuous tense (if any) in Spanish?

E.g. 'I am hurrying to do something' or 'I am in a rush over these deadlines'.

In both cases 'hurrying' and 'in a rush' refer to the continuous tense ('ing' ending), so how do I conjugate 'apresurar' here?

Also, in the sentence 'I am hurrying to do something' is the subject 'I' or 'something' according to Spanish grammar? Do I use 1st person singular, or 3rd person plural?

Mucho gracias

Welcome to the forum. - webdunce, Jan 20, 2011

Welcome to the forum, :) - 00494d19, Jan 20, 2011

Answer 1

May I ask how to conjugate a verb in its continuous tense (if any) in Spanish?

I think you are asking about what is normally called "present progressive."

In English, it is formed by conjugating "to be" and adding the present participle. In Spanish, it is formed by conjugating estar and adding the present participle.

I was making a box = Estaba haciendo caja

He is playing with the puppy = Está jugando con el perrito.

Also, in the sentence 'I am hurrying to do something' is the subject 'I' or 'something' according to Spanish grammar? Do I use 1st person singular, or 3rd person plural?

According to both English and Spanish grammar, I is the subject and something is the object of the infinitive "to do." So, you would use 1st person singular.

I'm not exactly sure how to use apurarse or apresurarse for this, but you can use tener prisa / tener apuro.

Tengo prisa por hacer algo.

you're right. olé - miselfyo, Jan 20, 2011

excelente respuesta - 00494d19, Jan 20, 2011

"Me estoy apurando" or maybe "estoy apurandome" - Eddy, Jan 20, 2011

Estaba haciendo/construyendo una caja. - samdie, Jan 20, 2011

Answer 2

Add -ando and -iendo to the roots of ar and er/ir verbs.

You would be the subject.

I'm not sure as to the usage of apresurar in the above context, I've heard people say 'voy corriendo' literally 'I go/am going running' but with the sense 'I am going (from one place to another) and I am running'

But then you are not talking about rushing in that context...

It may be that hurrying is not a good example to use, people tend to say 'estoy de prisa' or 'tengo afán' to mean to be in a rush.

Best hold out for a native...

Answer 3

'I am in a rush over these deadlines'.

This does not involve the present progressive/continuous tense. It is the simple present sense of "to be". If you want the progressive, it would be "I am rushing to meet (or because of) these deadlines.

Progressive/continuous tenses involve (by definition) the use of "to be"/"estar" (as a helping verb) + the present participle.

Answer 4

Thank you all so much.

Let me try some more and you all can help me check if I've gotten it right.

I was sleeping last night = Estaba dormiendo la noche pasada

We are going camping = Estamos vamos acamparba (Now here do I conjugate the 'estar', the 'ir' or the 'acampar', or more than one of them?)

Mucho gracias

Estaba d*u*rmiendo *anoche*. - webdunce, Jan 20, 2011

The "camping" above is not a continuous verb - it is a gerund. - ian-hill, Jan 20, 2011

I'm not too sure about the second one. - webdunce, Jan 20, 2011

Ah, estamos yendo de acampada. - webdunce, Jan 20, 2011

They'd be more likely to say "Vamos de acampada," I think, though. In Spanish, the present progressive really emphasizes the fact that you are right in the middle of an action. - webdunce, Jan 20, 2011

I couldn't have gotten the camping one without Ian's comment. - webdunce, Jan 20, 2011

Answer 5

try this lesson on SpanishDict: Its number is 1.12. http://www.spanishdict.com/learn/show/13