How to form
In Spanish, we have a verb tense called gerundio, which is used to talk about the present continuous; that is, an action that is happening or was happening or will be happening but that is continuous or ongoing. The ending for all the verbs, regular or irregular, in gerundio, is ndo, and it is equivalent to the English ing
We can form this tense as follows:
1) For verbs ending in ar, we drop the ar ending and replace it with ando; so for instance, the verb hablar becomes hablando (talking)
2) For verbs ending in er or ir, drop the er or ir and add the ending iendo; so for instance, the verb comer becomes comiendo (eating) and the verb sacudir becomes sacudiendo (dusting)
3) Some verbs that are irregular in gerundio replace the er, ir ending with yendo. Note that the verb ir (to go) becomes yendo (going) in gerundio. Examples:
1) leer (to read) - leyendo (reading)
2) construir (to build) - construyendo (building)
3) oír (to hear) - oyendo (hearing)
4) traer (to bring) - trayendo (bringing)
5) destruir (to destroy) - destruyendo (destroying)
6) caer (to fall) - cayendo (falling)
7) atraer (to attract) - atrayendo (attracting)
8) creer (to believe) - creyendo (believing)
9) influir (to influence) - influyendo (influencing)
10) contraer (to contract) - contrayendo (contracting)
11) excluir (to exclude) - excluyendo (excluding)
12) huir (to run away) - huyendo (running away)
13) contribuir (to contribute) - contribuyendo (contributing)
14) incluir (to include) - incluyendo (including)
As we already know, many irreglar verbs in Spanish have a stem change when conjugated. These verbs follow the same rules when they are in the gerundio tense. Examples:
1) the verb mentir (to lie) becomes miento for yo in the present tense. The gerundio for this verb would be mintiendo.
2) the verb dormir (to sleep) becomes duermo for yo in the present tense.The gerundio for this verb would be durmiendo.
3) the verb decir (to say) becomes digo for yo in the present tense.The gerundio for this verb would be diciendo.
And just like in English, we can use the present participle (gerundio) with other verbs. Example:
1) Paso todo el verano leyendo libros en Francés. (I spend all summer reading books in French)
Use with the verb Estar
When we talk about someone who is doing something continuously, whether in the present, past or future, we use the verb estar (to be) before the main verb in gerundio. For example:
1) Estoy comiendo. (I am eating)
2) Ana está hablando por teléfono. (And is talking on the phone)
3) Estamos lavando la ropa. (We are washing the clothes)
4) Ana y Juan estuvieron sacudiendo toda la mañana. (Ana and Juan were dusting all morning).
5) Mañana a las cinco de la tarde, estaré hablando con mi jefe. (Tomorrow at 5pm, I will be talking to my boss)
6) Estaba oyendo música cuando llegó mi papá. (I was listening to music when my father arrived)
7) Estuve leyendo toda la mañana. (I was reading all morning)
8) Estábamos construyendo una casa. (We were building a house)
9) Ana estaría sacudiendo la mesa si no tuviera que estudiar. (Ana would be dusting the table if she didn't have to study)
Estar
Since
estar is a verb commonly used with the continuous present
(
gerundio), this is how we conjugate the verb
estar in the indicative present, preterite, future, imperfect and conditional tenses:
Present tense, verb Estar
| yo |
estoy |
| tú |
estás |
| él/ella |
está |
| usted |
está |
| nosotros |
estamos |
| ustedes |
están |
| ellos/ellas |
están |
| vosotros |
estáis |
Preterite tense, verb Estar
| yo |
estuve |
| tú |
estuviste |
| él/ella |
estuvo |
| usted |
estuvo |
| nosotros |
estuvimos |
| ustedes |
estuvieron |
| ellos/ellas |
estuvieron |
| vosotros |
estuvisteis |
Future tense, verb Estar
| yo |
estaré |
| tú |
estarás |
| él/ella |
estará |
| usted |
estará |
| nosotros |
estaremos |
| ustedes |
estarán |
| ellos/ellas |
estarán |
| vosotros |
estaréis |
Imperfect tense, verb Estar
| yo |
estaba |
| tú |
estabas |
| él/ella |
estaba |
| usted |
estaba |
| nosotros |
estábamos |
| ustedes |
estaban |
| ellos/ellas |
estaban |
| vosotros |
estabais |
Conditional, verb Estar
| yo |
estaría |
| tú |
estarías |
| él/ella |
estaría |
| usted |
estaría |
| nosotros |
estaríamos |
| ustedes |
estarían |
| ellos/ellas |
estarían |
| vosotros |
estaríais |