Say What People Are Doing in Spanish

Quick Answer

¡Hola!Learn how to talk about ongoing actions in Spanish! Specifically, learn how to do the following in Spanish:

• talk about something happening now (i.e., at the moment you're talking)

Spanish Present Progressive

In these lessons, you learn how to use the presente progresivo(present progressive), also called the presente continuo(present continuous) in Spanish, to talk about ongoing actions or things happening now.

How to Form the Present Progressive

The present progressive is formed using the verb estar(to be), plus a present participle.

Present Progressive Formula

estar + present participle

Estar Review

Forgot how to conjugate estar in the present? Let's review!

Estar Conjugations

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	estoy	I am
tú	estás	you are	informal singular you
vos	estás	you are	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	está	he, she is
usted	está	you are	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	estamos	we are
vosotros, vosotras	estáis	you are	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	están	they are
ustedes	están	you are	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Present Participles

Almost all the present participles you learn in these lessons are regular present participles (gerundios).

A Note on the Terms Present Participle and Gerundio

In Spanish, the verb form that ends in -ndo is called the gerundio. It is used in compound verb forms, such as Estoy nadando. (I'm swimming.), as well as adverbially, as in Salió corriendo. (literally, He left running.)

In English, a gerund is the noun form of a verb, such as swimming in the sentence Swimming is fun. (Es divertido nadar.). In Spanish, this form is translated using an infinitive verb, such as nadar.

The term used for the -ing form used in compound verbs in English is the present participle.

Forming Regular Present Participles

To form regular present participles, you drop the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, -ir) and add -ando to the stem of -ar verbs and -iendo to the stem of -er and -ir verbs. Check out the table below to see how to form regular present participles.

Verb Type	Infinitive Example	Stem Example	Present Participle Example
regular -ar verb	viajar	viaj-	viajando
regular -er verb	comer	com-	comiendo
regular -ir verb	salir	sal-	saliendo

Stem? I thought we were talking about verbs, not plants.

In Spanish grammar lingo, a stem is the verb form you're left with if you take the -ar, -er or -ir away from the end of an infinitive.

Example: The stem of viajar is viaj-.

Irregular Present Participles

Some present participles are irregular and don't follow the above rules. In this lesson, you learn three irregular present participles: durmiendo (from dormir), yendo (from ir), and leyendo (from leer).

Here are all the present participles you learn in these lessons!

Infinitive	Present Participle	Type
aprender(to learn)	aprendiendo(learning)	regular -er
bailar(to dance)	bailando(dancing)	regular -ar
cenar(to eat dinner)	cenando(eating dinner)	regular -ar
cocinar(to cook)	cocinando(cooking)	regular -ar
comer(to eat)	comiendo(eating)	regular -er
correr(to run)	corriendo(running)	regular -er
cruzar(to cross)	cruzando(crossing)	regular -ar
desayunar(to eat breakfast)	desayunando(eating breakfast)	regular -ar
dormir(to sleep)	durmiendo(sleeping)	irregular
empacar(to pack)	empacando(packing)	regular -ar
escribir(to write)	escribiendo(writing)	regular -ir
escuchar(to listen)	escuchando(listening)	regular -ar
estudiar(to study)	estudiando(studying)	regular -ar
hacer(to do/make)	haciendo(doing/making)	regular -er
ir(to go)	yendo(going)	irregular
jugar(to play)	jugando(playing)	regular -ar
leer(to read)	leyendo(reading)	irregular
llegar(to arrive)	llegando(arriving)	regular -ar
nadar(to swim)	nadando(swimming)	regular -ar
pagar(to pay)	pagando(paying)	regular -ar
preguntar(to ask)	preguntando(asking)	regular -ar
salir(to leave/go out)	saliendo(leaving/going out)	regular -ir
trabajar(to work)	trabajando(working)	regular -ar
viajar(to travel)	viajando(traveling)	regular -ar

Phrases

Let's take a look at some of the phrases you learn in these lessons!

Spanish	English
¿Qué estás haciendo?	What are you doing?
Estoy comiendo tacos.	I'm eating tacos.
Mi hermana está viajando.	My sister is traveling.
Está bailando.	He's dancing.
El tren está llegando.	The train is arriving.
El avión está saliendo.	The plane is leaving.
Mis hermanos están jugando fútbol.	My brothers are playing soccer.
Estamos nadando.	We're swimming.
Ellas están comiendo.	They're eating.
Estoy corriendo.	I'm running.
Mis primos están cocinando.	My cousins are cooking.
Mi profesor está trabajando.	My teacher is working.
Estoy escuchando música.	I'm listening to music.
Nuestras hermanas están leyendo.	Our sisters are reading.
Estamos estudiando.	We're studying.
Estoy aprendiendo español.	I'm learning Spanish.
Estoy pagando los boletos.	I'm paying for the tickets.
¿Estás cenando?	Are you eating dinner?
¿Qué estás preguntando?	What are you asking?
Nosotros estamos desayunando.	We're having breakfast.
Mis hijas están yendo al cine.	My daughters are going to the movies.
Estoy durmiendo.	I'm sleeping.
¿Estás escribiendo?	Are you writing?
Mi prima está empacando.	My cousin is packing.
Estoy cruzando la calle.	I'm crossing the street.