The Progressive in Spanish

Quick Answer

Spanish progressive (progresivo) tenses are used to talk about ongoing actions.

Different Progressive Tenses

Progressive tenses can be used in the past, present, future, and even the conditional. Here are some articles on different types of Spanish progressive tenses.

Present

• Spanish Present Progressive

Past

• Spanish Preterite Progressive

• Spanish Imperfect Progressive

Future

• Spanish Future Progressive

Conditional

• Spanish Conditional Progressive

Forming Progressive Tenses

Progressive tenses are formed with a conjugated form of the verb estar(to be) plus a present participle.

Spanish Progressive Formula

conjugated form of estar + present participle

Examples of Progressive Tenses

Here are some examples of different Spanish progressive tenses!

Tense	Example	Translation
Present Progressive	Los niños están comiendo en el jardín.	The children are eating in the garden.
Preterite Progressive	Estuvimos estudiando todo el fin de semana.	We were studying all weekend.
Imperfect Progressive	Mariela estaba hablando con su vecino cuando llegué.	Mariela was talking to her neighbor when I arrived.
Future Progressive	El sábado a mediodía estarás aterrizando en Cancún.	Saturday at noon you'll be landing in Cancun.
Conditional Progressive	Si hubieras ido al festival, estarías bailando en este momento.	If you had gone to the festival, you'd be dancing right now.

Tense about tenses in Spanish? Never fear! Read about other tenses in Spanish in these articles:

• Present

• Present Progressive

• Preterite

• Imperfect

• Future Tenses

• Simple and Informal Future

• Future Progressive

• Subjunctive

• Subjunctive vs. Indicative

• More Subjunctive