The%20Progressive%20Tense

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The Progressive Tense

• Present and Imperfect Tenses

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• To describe in Spanish an action that is taking
  place as you speak use the present progressive
  (presente progresivo). To do so
• - Use the form of estar (to be) that agrees with
  the subject a present participle (gerundio).
  (-ing in English)

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• Qué está haciendo Chela?
• What is Chela doing right now?
• Qué haces Chela?
• What is Chela doing?(this weekend..tonight etc.)

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• In Spanish, the present progressive describes an
  action that is ocurring right now. To describe
  actions going on in the general present, use the
  present tense.

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Compare the following sentences

• Patricia está escribiendo una carta.
• Patricia is writing a letter. (RIGHT NOW.)
• Stephen King escribe otra novela.
• Stephen King is writing another novel. (THIS YEAR)

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ESTAR to be
yo nosotros
tú vosotros
él/ella usted ellos/as ustedes

• estoy

estamos
estáis
estás
está
están
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• In Spanish, the imperfect progressive is used to
  describe something that was taking place over a
  period of time in the past.
• Ex Estaba esquiando cuando me caí y me torcí la
  rodilla.
• I was skiing when I fell and twisted my knee.

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• Note that the imperfect progressive describes
  what was taking place while the preterite tells a
  specific occurrence in the past or interrups the
  action.
• Ex Estaba esquiando cuando me caí y me torcí la
  rodilla.
• I was skiing when I fell and twisted my knee.

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• Note that the imperfect progressive describes
  what was taking place while the preterite tells a
  specific occurrence in the past or interrups the
  action.
• Ex Ella estaba corriendo cuando se lastimó el
  tobillo.
• She was running when I she injured her ankle.

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• It is never wrong to use just the imperfect
  instead of the imperfect progressive when talking
  about an ongoing action. You can choose either.
  The progressive tense puts a little more emphasis
  on the ongoing action but either is OK.
• Ex Ella estaba corriendo cuando se lastimó el
  tobillo.
• Ex Ella corría cuando se lastimó el tobillo.
• She was running when

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• Ex Estaba esquiando cuando me caí y me torcí la
  rodilla.
• Ex Esquiaba cuando me caí y me torcí la rodilla.
• I was skiing when
• But remember in the present tense, you can ONLY
  use the progressive tense when the action is
  going on right now. Since both the imperfect
  and the imperfect progressive are both in the
  past than the right now rule is no longer
  relevant.

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To form a present participle

• 1. Drop the ending (-ar, -er, ir) from the
  infinitive. (Leaving the stem.)
• 2. Add ando to the stem of ar
• verbs.
• Add iendo to the stem of er
• or ir verbs.
• This is the equivalent of the ing form of the
  verb in English.

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• So basically, you are adding NDO to the verb to
  make it the equivalent to ING in English.
• For -AR VERBS
• For -IR and - ER VERBS

NDO
A
NDO
IE
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• jugar

jug ando
jugando
(playing)

• comer

com iendo
comiendo
(eating)

• escribir

escrib iendo
escribiendo
(writing)
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Subject ESTAR ando
iendo

• Estar will be conjugated to match the subject of
  the sentence.(gerund never changes
• Estoy hablando.(I am talking.)
• Ella está comiendo. (She is eating.)

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• If the stem of an er or ir verb ends in a
  vowel,
• -iendo changes to yendo.(i y)
• leer
• traer
• oír
• creer

leyendo (reading)
trayendo(bringing)
oyendo (hearing)
creyendo (believing)
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• All -ir verbs that normally change from e?ie in
  the present will change from e?i in the past
  participle (just like in the preterite sandal).
• divertir ? divirtiendo
• sentir ? sintiendo

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• The following -irverbs normally change from e?i
  in the present and the participles (just like in
  the sandal).
• decir diciendo
• pedir pidiendo
• repetir repitiendo
• seguir siguiendo
• servir sirviendo vestirvistiendo

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• All -ir verbs that normally change from o?ue in
  the present will change from o?u in the past
  participle (just like in the preterite sandal).
• dormir ? durmiendo
• morir ? muriendo

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-ir stem-changing verbs

• The following verbs normally change from o?ue in
  the present but only o?u in the participle.
• dormir
• morir

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• Pronouns can either go before estar (the
  conjugated verb) or attached to the participle.
• ducharse
• Me estaba duchando.
• Estaba duchándome.

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• Im doing it. (la tarea)
• La estoy haciendo.
• Estoy haciéndola.
• NOTE When attaching a pronoun you add an accent
  to the a of -ando and the e of iendo.