Present progressive without estar; inferred by using present tense?

Question

I know that it is possible to have the present progressive by using words other than "estar", but can the present progressive be "inferred" when using the present tense.

I have two examples that make me ask this:

El gobierno trata de desarrollar nuevas industrias. To me this seems like it says "The government is trying to develop new industries" instead of "The government tries to develop new industries. I know that grammatically "El gobierno está tratando de desarrollar nuevas industrias" is correct, or at least I think so.

My second example comes from a song I was translating that is by Julieta Venegas called "Eres para mi". Two lines in particular that "use" the present progressive without "estar" are:

tus ojos mirándome (your eyes looking at me)

and

el mundo moviéndose (the world moving)

Is there a reason behind this or is it a way of making the words fit better in the song?

Thanks in advance for any help, I did a search and could not find answers to my question.

Answer 1

Yes, you're quite right. Spanish uses the present indicative more than the present progressive which English uses a lot ( the -ing form).

It can be translated using whichever form fits the circumstances best.

That's what I thought but I wasn't quite sure. Thanks for your answer. This helped me and I'm sure it will help others too. - buenpescador, Jan 22, 2014

De nada. - annierats, Jan 22, 2014

Answer 2

Annie is correct, I'll just elaborate a little more.

It was hard for me to get used to the idea that in Spanish "trata" could mean;

El gobierno trata

1. (he she it) tries

2. (he she it) is trying

3. (he she it) does try

The second example would be a present participle with a personal pronoun "me" and the reflexive pronoun "se" attached;

tus ojos mirándome

Your eyes

1. (they) look at me

2. (they) are looking at me

3. ((they) do look at me

el mundo moviéndose

The world

1. (it) moves itself

2. (it) is moving itself

3. (it) does move itself

You could say the progressive present is "built in" to the present indicative. The main difference being that the progressive present always means the action is actually in progress at the present time (right now).

There is also the Spanish gerund (confusing concept for me).

By + present participle

It would be something like

Tratando, el gobierno desarrolla nuevas industrias.

By trying, the government does develop new industries.

One again no preposition is used.