Present Progressive Spanish Made Easy: A Beginner’s Guide With Examples
Right now, as you read this sentence, an action is currently happening – the process of your mind absorbing and processing these very words. This continuous action shows the essence of the present progressive Spanish.
Don’t worry about understanding present progressive in Spanish – or for that matter, any other tense.
Effortless Answers
Form the present progressive Spanish like this:
ESTAR + PRESENT PARTICIPLE OF THE MAIN VERB
The present participle is created by taking the verb stem and adding the ending “-ando” for -ar verbs or “-iendo” for -er and -ir verbs.
Spring Spanish (a project I co-founded) made a complete guide on not just present progressive Spanish, but all of the Spanish tenses:
And in this ultimate guide to reach the goal of Effortless Conversations, we’ll explore the most important things about the Spanish present progressive tense. First of all, it’s important to understand that it’s also known as the present continuous.
And what more to know about it? Read on!
1. How to form present progressive Spanish?
Forming the present progressive tense in Spanish involves combining the conjugated form of the verb “estar” (to be) with the present participle (gerund form) of the main verb you want to express.
A few examples to see all of this in action:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Estoy hablando. | I am speaking. |
| Estás comiendo. | You are eating. |
| Ellos están jugando. | They are playing. |
| Estamos estudiando. | We are studying. |
| Ella está escribiendo. | She is writing. |
To better understand forming this tense, we’ll have to break it down. Read on to learn about regular verbs in present progressive and irregular verbs in present progressive.
How to form negative sentences in the present progressive Spanish?
Making a sentence negative in the present progressive isn’t as hard as you might initially think.
It simply requires adding the word “no” before the conjugated form of “estar.”:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| No estoy hablando. | I am not speaking. |
| No estás comiendo. | You are not eating. |
| Ellos no están jugando. | They are not playing. |
| No estamos estudiando. | We are not studying. |
| Ella no está escribiendo. | She is not writing. |
How to form questions with the present progressive tense?
Now, forming questions is another topics.
There are two common ways to form questions using the present progressive in Spanish.
The first is by using interrogative pronunciation and intonation when speaking.
The second way is to add question words in Spanish like “¿Qué?“, “¿Quién?“, “¿Cuándo?“, “¿Dónde?“, etc. at the beginning.
Take a look at these examples:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿Estás hablando? | Are you speaking? |
| ¿Qué están haciendo? | What are they doing? |
| ¿Cuándo estará llegando? | When will he/she be arriving? |
| ¿Estamos estudiando? | Are we studying? |
| ¿Está ella escribiendo? | Is she writing? |
2. When to use the present progressive in Spanish?
The present progressive tense is useful for describing actions, events or situations that are currently in progress or happening temporarily.
Here are some of the most common uses and examples:
Use present progressive Spanish with current actions
When you want to express what you’re doing right now, the present progressive Spanish is your go-to.
For example:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Estoy escribiendo un email a mi jefe. | I am writing an email to my boss. |
| Estás leyendo un libro interesante. | You are reading an interesting book. |
| Ellos están cocinando la cena. | They are cooking dinner. |
Present progressive Spanish for temporary situations
The present progressive is perfect for those actions that are happening right now but aren’t permanent.
Like this:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Están trabajando en un proyecto nuevo esta semana. | They are working on a new project this week. |
| Estamos disfrutando de las vacaciones. | We are enjoying the vacation. |
| Ella está estudiando para sus exámenes. | She is studying for her exams. |
Specific verbs indicate present progressive Spanish
Some verbs pair nicely with the present progressive to express ongoing actions.
Check Spanish sentences and Spanish questions:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Estoy viendo una película interesante. | I am watching an interesting movie. |
| ¿A dónde estás yendo? | Where are you going? |
| Él está llegando a la fiesta. | He is arriving at the party. |
Ongoing actions with present progressive Spanish
When you want to describe what’s happening right now, the present progressive shines.
It really captures the essence of ongoing actions.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Los niños están jugando en el parque en este momento. | The children are playing at the park right now. |
| Estoy corriendo en la playa. | I am running on the beach. |
| Estamos bailando en la fiesta. | We are dancing at the party. |
Describing positions and states with present progressive Spanish
The Spanish present progressive also works well for describing where someone is or how they feel at a given moment.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Estoy sentado en la sala de espera. | I am sitting in the waiting room. |
| Ella está de pie junto a la ventana. | She is standing next to the window. |
| Estamos cansados después del viaje. | We are tired after the trip. |
3. Regular verbs to form the present progressive Spanish
As mentioned earlier, forming the present participle for regular Spanish verbs follows a set pattern based on the verb type (-ar, -er, or -ir).
Regular -AR verbs in present progressive
| Subject Pronoun | Verb: Hablar (to speak) | Present Progressive Formation |
|---|---|---|
| yo | hablo | estoy hablando |
| tú | hablas | estás hablando |
| él/ella/usted | habla | está hablando |
| nosotros | hablamos | estamos hablando |
| vosotros | habláis | estáis hablando |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hablan | están hablando |
In real-life scenarios:
- Estoy hablando por videollamada con mi mejor amiga que vive en otro país. (I am speaking on a video call with my best friend who lives in another country.)
- Los estudiantes están estudiando para el examen final de matemáticas. (The students are studying for the final math exam.)
- Mamá y yo estamos caminando alrededor del parque todas las mañanas para hacer ejercicio. (Mom and I are walking around the park every morning to exercise.)
Regular -ER verbs in present progressive
| Subject Pronoun | Verb: Comer (to eat) | Present Progressive Formation |
|---|---|---|
| yo | como | estoy comiendo |
| tú | comes | estás comiendo |
| él/ella/usted | come | está comiendo |
| nosotros | comemos | estamos comiendo |
| vosotros | coméis | estáis comiendo |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | comen | están comiendo |
In real-life sentences:
- Ellos están comiendo pizza para la cena. (They are eating pizza for dinner.)
- ¿Estás bebiendo suficiente agua durante el día? (Are you drinking enough water during the day?)
- Los niños están aprendiendo a leer en la escuela. (The children are learning to read at school.)
Regular -IR verbs in present progressive
| Subject Pronoun | Verb: Vivir (to live) | Present Progressive Formation |
|---|---|---|
| yo | vivo | estoy viviendo |
| tú | vives | estás viviendo |
| él/ella/usted | vive | está viviendo |
| nosotros | vivimos | estamos viviendo |
| vosotros | vivís | estáis viviendo |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | viven | están viviendo |
And a few examples with -IR verbs:
- Ahora mismo estoy viviendo con mis padres mientras busco un apartamento. (Right now I am living with my parents while I look for an apartment.)
- ¿Estás asistiendo a clases de español los martes? (Are you attending Spanish classes on Tuesdays?)
- Ellos no están consiguiendo buenos resultados con ese método. (They are not getting good results with that method.)
The pattern is clear – drop the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, -ir) to get the verb stem, then add -ando for -ar verbs and -iendo for -er/-ir verbs to form the present participle.
4. Stem-changing irregular verbs to form the Spanish present progressive
While regular verbs follow a consistent pattern, there is a group of irregular Spanish verbs that undergo stem changes when forming the present participle.
These are known as stem-changing irregular verbs, and they are quite common in Spanish. Present progressive is no exception.
| Infinitive Verb | Meaning | Stem Change | Present Participle | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| poder | to be able to | pud- | pudiendo | Estoy pudiendo tomar un descanso. (I am being able to take a break.) |
| querer | to want | quier- | queriendo | ¿Estás queriendo más comida? (Are you wanting more food?) |
| venir | to come | vin- | viniendo | Están viniendo a la fiesta. (They are coming to the party.) |
| decir | to say | dic- | diciendo | No estoy diciendo la verdad. (I am not saying the truth.) |
| pedir | to ask for | pid- | pidiendo | Estamos pidiendo la cuenta. (We are asking for the bill.) |
| dormir | to sleep | durm- | durmiendo | Los bebés están durmiendo. (The babies are sleeping.) |
| sentir | to feel | sint- | sintiendo | ¿Estás sintiendo frío? (Are you feeling cold?) |
| seguir | to follow, continue | sig- | siguiendo | Estoy siguiendo tus instrucciones. (I am following your instructions.) |
| divertirse | to have fun | divirt- | divirtiéndose | Se están divirtiendo mucho. (They are having a lot of fun.) |
| servir | to serve | sirv- | sirviendo | Estamos sirviendo la cena. (We are serving dinner.) |
A few real-life examples with stem-changing verbs:
- No puedo estar durmiendo, tengo que estudiar. (I cannot be sleeping, I have to study.)
- Están queriendo ir al cine esta noche. (They are wanting to go to the movies tonight.)
The stem changes often happen with a vowel alternation in the verb stem when forming the present participle. (You can learn more about Spanish conjugation on our website.)
5. Practice present progressive Spanish with our practice worksheets
Fill in the blanks with the correct form for present progressive in Spanish!
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6. Learn present progressive Spanish tense with Conversation Based Chunking
Learning the present progressive tense in Spanish is great for describing actions currently taking place or temporary situations.
While conjugations and stem-changing verbs are a challenge, you can take advantage of Conversation Based Chunking, which makes the learning process more engaging.
This innovative language learning method breaks down everything about the Spanish grammar and allows you to practice present progressive in realistic context.
Via repetitive exposure, the patterns for forming and using the Spanish present progressive become easier – both to use and to understand.
Here’s your chance to grab the Spanish Chunking Starter Pack and learn more about the method!
