The Present Progressive

• The Present Progressive is formed with the present tense of the verb “to be” and the present participle of another verb (“-ing” form in English)

form of estar + present participle

• To form the present participle of the regular -ar, -ir, and -er verbs, drop the ending and add the present participle endings: -ando, -iendo

  • Examples:

    • hablar → hablando

    • comer → comiendo

    • escribir → escribiendo

• When the stem (infinitive) of the -er or -ir verb ends in a vowel, the present participle is written with “y” instead of “i”

  • Examples:

    • leer → leyendo

    • oír → oyendo

    • traer → trayendo

• The verbs ir, poder, and venir have irregular present participles

  • ir → yendo

  • poder → pudiendo

  • venir → viniendo

• -ir stem changing verbs have a stem change in the present participle as well

• The Present Progressive is used to emphasize that an action is in progress

  • The examples below are often used with the present progressive

    • ahora mismo → right now

    • todavía → still