In English,
present progressive tense can be used to describe what is happening now or what will happen in the future: I am going
to Miami now (now) - I am going to Miami tomorrow (future)
In Spanish, present progressive is only
used to describe an action that is going on right now. It is not used to express future actions: Yo
estoy hablando I am talking Isabel y Nandy están
comiendo Isabel and Nandy are eating
HOW PRESENT PROGRESSIVE IS
FORMED:
The present progressive tense is formed by combining the verb ESTAR in the present tense with the present participle* of the main verb. *Present participle is like the
-ing form of an English verb
To form the present participle of -AR verbs, drop the infinitive
ending and add -ando: cantar → cantando bailar
→ bailando
To form
the present participle of -ER and -IR verbs, drop the infinitive ending and add -iendo: beber → bebiendo
comer → comiendo
Now, we are ready to form the present progressive:
Carmenza está
cantando en el baño
Carmenza is singing in the bathroom
Los chicos están
bebiendo un refresco The boys are drinking
a soft drink
El señor y la señora Rojas están
cruzando la calle Mr. and Mrs. Rojas are crossing the
street
José y yo estamos escribiendo
un libro José and I are writing a book
SPELL CHANGES IN THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE Some -er and -ir verbs change -iendo
to -yendo:
Carlos está diciendo la verdad El mesero
está sirviendo la comida La maestra está pidiendo la tarea Los estudiantes están repitiendo
la oración La Sra. Martínez está siguiendo a su hija La actriz se está vistiendo
Changes from O → U
Dormir
(to sleep) → durmiendo Morir (to die) → muriendo
