Spanish progressive tenses are used to describe actions that are happening right now or were happening at some point in time. They are formed using the verb estar followed by the present participle (gerundio) of the main verb.
Formation
The present participle in Spanish is formed by adding:
- -ando to -ar verbs (e.g., hablar → hablando)
- -iendo to -er and -ir verbs (e.g., comer → comiendo, vivir → viviendo)
Present Progressive (Presente Progresivo)
Usage
- Describes actions that are happening right now.
Formation
- estar (in the present tense) + gerundio
Examples
| Spanish Example |
|---|
| Estoy hablando. |
| English Example |
Past Progressive (Pretérito Imperfecto Progresivo)
Usage
- Describes actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past.
Formation
- estar (in the imperfect tense) + gerundio
Examples
| Spanish Example |
|---|
| Estoy hablando. |
| English Example |
Other Progressive Forms
Future Progressive
- Estaré (future of estar) + gerundio
- Expresses actions that will be in progress in the future.
- Example: Estaré trabajando a las nueve. (I will be working at nine.)
Conditional Progressive
- Estaría (conditional of estar) + gerundio
- Expresses actions that would be in progress under certain conditions.
- Example: Estaría viajando si tuviera tiempo. (I would be traveling if I had time.)
Usage Notes
- Spanish often uses the simple present or imperfect tense instead of the progressive when the context is clear.
- The progressive form emphasizes the ongoing nature of the action.
Summary
The Spanish progressive tenses are formed with estar + gerundio and are used to express ongoing actions in the present, past, future, or conditional time frames.
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Last updated: Thu Jul 17, 2025