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Spanish Present Progressive ~ Present
Continuous
| The Spanish present progressive, or present
continuous, is very similar to its English counterpart (to be + -ing). In
both languages, the present progressive expresses an in-progress action, with an emphasis on its current, temporary
aspect. |
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| No estamos mirando la televisión. |
We're not watching television. |
| Estoy trabajando; no puedo salir. |
I'm working; I can't go out. |
| ¿Por qué no estás haciendo caso del profesor? |
Why aren't you paying attention to the teacher? |
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| In English, the present progressive can also be used
for something that will happen in the future. Not so in Spanish.
This use of the English present progressive is expressed in Spanish with the simple
present, future,
or near future. |
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|
| I'm going to the bank later. |
Voy
Iré
Voy a ir |
} al banco más tarde. |
| He's leaving tomorrow. |
Sale
Saldrá
Va a salir |
} mañana. |
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| The Spanish present progressive is usually formed with
the present tense of estar + present
participle of the action verb. |
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Estoy leyendo |
I am reading |
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Estás hablando |
You are speaking |
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Está llorando |
He is crying |
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| There are five other verbs which can replace estar
and add a different nuance to the present progressive: |
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| andar |
to be (in the process of) doing something |
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Anda buscando sus llaves. |
He's looking for his keys. |
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| ir |
to start/be gradually doing something |
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Voy comprendiendo la verdad. |
I'm starting to understand the truth. |
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| llevar |
to have been doing something (English present
perfect progressive) |
|
Llevo dos años trabajando aquí. |
I've been working here for two years. |
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| seguir |
to go on/keep/continue doing something |
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Sigue lloviendo. |
It's still raining. |
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| venir |
to have been doing something (English present
perfect progressive) |
|
Es lo que vengo diciendo. |
That's what I've been saying. |
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Progressive
Tenses with Object Pronouns
Compound Tenses
Spanish verbs
 The Everything Spanish Verb Book, by Laura K. Lawless
Introductory lessons on Spanish verb tenses and moods, 250 verb conjugation tables, a list of 1,000 similarly-conjugated verbs, and a Spanish-English verb dictionary.
Buy it: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk
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