Ask a Portuguese person what they are doing right now and they will say "Estou a trabalhar" — "I am working", literally "I am to work". Ask a Brazilian the same question and they will say "Estou trabalhando" — "I am working", literally "I am working-ing". Both sentences express exactly the same meaning; they just encode it with different grammatical machinery. This is the progressive aspect divergence, and after the clitic placement difference, it is the second-most noticeable grammatical marker of European versus Brazilian Portuguese. You can identify a speaker's variety from a single sentence that contains an ongoing action.
This page lays out the PT-PT estar a + infinitive construction, its BR equivalent estar + gerund, and the parallel divergences in the related constructions andar ("to go about doing") and continuar ("to continue doing"). It also covers the progressive passive — estar a ser construído vs estar sendo construído — which adds a further layer to the contrast.
The core construction: a present moment in progress
Both varieties express "I am doing X right now" with a form of estar plus a non-finite verb. The difference is which non-finite form.
| Meaning | PT-PT | BR-PT |
|---|---|---|
| I am reading. | Estou a ler. | Estou lendo. |
| It is raining. | Está a chover. | Está chovendo. |
| We are working. | Estamos a trabalhar. | Estamos trabalhando. |
| They are eating. | Estão a comer. | Estão comendo. |
| She is sleeping. | Ela está a dormir. | Ela está dormindo. |
| I was writing (imperfect). | Estava a escrever. | Estava escrevendo. |
| They were speaking (preterite). | Estiveram a falar. | Estiveram falando. |
Não posso atender o telefone agora — estou a dar banho ao miúdo.
I can't answer the phone right now — I'm bathing the kid. (PT-PT)
Está a chover imenso, é melhor ficarmos em casa.
It's pouring rain, we'd better stay home. (PT-PT)
Estava a pensar no que tu me disseste ontem.
I was thinking about what you told me yesterday. (PT-PT)
The PT-PT construction estar a + infinitive is literally "to be at/in the act of doing" — the preposition a marks the ongoing activity. It is the default across Portugal, Madeira, the Azores, and among PT-PT speakers in the PALOP countries. BR uses estar + gerúndio ("to be doing") across the entire country.
Why PT-PT uses the infinitive
The PT-PT pattern estar a + infinitive emerged in European Portuguese between the 16th and 18th centuries, replacing an older gerund-based construction that had been inherited from medieval Portuguese. Brazilian Portuguese, which had already diverged from the European standard, kept the older gerund pattern. So from a historical perspective, BR is the conservative variety and PT-PT is the innovator — the opposite of the usual assumption that Brazil's form is "simpler" or "newer".
The a + infinitive structure fits into a broader PT-PT tendency to express ongoing, habitual, and incipient action with preposition + infinitive constructions: começar a fazer ("start doing"), ficar a fazer ("stay doing"), andar a fazer ("be going around doing"), continuar a fazer ("keep doing"). Once you see the system, the progressive estar a fazer is just one member of a larger family.
When PT-PT does use the gerund
The gerund has not disappeared entirely from PT-PT. It survives in several specific contexts:
Regional speech — especially in the Alentejo and the Algarve, southern regions where older speakers may use estar + gerúndio in ordinary conversation. This pattern is receding but still audible in rural speech and among older people.
Estava cantando na cozinha quando o telefone tocou. (regional Alentejo / literary)
I was singing in the kitchen when the phone rang.
Literary and journalistic prose — where the gerund is sometimes preferred for stylistic or rhythmic reasons, especially in written narration.
A chuva caindo sobre os telhados era o único som audível.
The rain falling on the rooftops was the only audible sound. (literary — bare gerund as a participial adjunct)
After non-estar verbs in specific constructions — notably vir, ir, andar, continuar, acabar, though most of these also allow the a + infinitive variant in PT-PT. The gerund alternative is more common in higher registers.
Ele veio correndo pela rua abaixo.
He came running down the street. (PT-PT accepts this; alternative 'a correr' is equally natural)
Adverbial gerunds — expressions of manner or means, separate from any progressive construction. These are fully alive in both varieties.
Aprendi português lendo jornais e ouvindo rádio.
I learned Portuguese by reading newspapers and listening to the radio.
Só sorrindo, conseguirás acalmá-la.
Only by smiling will you manage to calm her down.
The rule for learners is: in the PT-PT progressive (estar + verb), use the infinitive with a. In adverbial contexts ("by doing X", "while doing X"), the gerund is natural in both varieties.
Andar a + infinitive — ongoing activity over time
Andar plus a verbal complement describes an activity that has been ongoing for some period — broader than a single moment, narrower than a fixed habit. PT-PT uses andar a + infinitive; BR uses andar + gerúndio.
Ando a estudar japonês há dois anos e ainda me perco com o kanji. (PT-PT)
I've been studying Japanese for two years and I still get lost with the kanji.
Ando estudando japonês há dois anos e ainda me perco com o kanji. (BR)
(same meaning)
O Miguel anda a dormir mal por causa do trabalho novo.
Miguel has been sleeping badly because of the new job. (PT-PT)
Tens andado a trabalhar muitas horas, devias descansar.
You've been working long hours, you should rest. (PT-PT, compound tense)
Andar a is one of the most distinctive PT-PT constructions — it captures a "have been doing lately" sense that English expresses with the present perfect continuous. Using andar + gerund in Portugal sounds strongly Brazilian; using andar a + infinitive in Brazil sounds strongly Portuguese. See Andar a + Infinitive for the full treatment.
Continuar a + infinitive — continuation
Continuar also follows the PT-PT / BR split. PT-PT uses continuar a + infinitive; BR uses continuar + gerúndio. Some BR speakers also accept continuar a + infinitive as an alternate, so this divergence is slightly softer than the estar one.
Continuo a pensar que a decisão foi errada. (PT-PT)
I keep thinking the decision was wrong.
Continuo pensando que a decisão foi errada. (BR)
(same meaning)
Embora estivesse cansado, continuou a falar durante mais uma hora.
Although he was tired, he kept talking for another hour. (PT-PT)
Se continuares a chegar atrasado, o teu chefe vai despedir-te.
If you keep arriving late, your boss is going to fire you. (PT-PT)
Other estar + non-finite constructions
Beyond the pure present progressive, PT-PT uses estar a + infinitive in a range of compound forms:
| Meaning | PT-PT | BR-PT |
|---|---|---|
| I have been reading this book (lately). | Tenho estado a ler este livro. | Tenho estado lendo este livro. |
| I will be working at that hour. | Estarei a trabalhar a essa hora. | Estarei trabalhando a essa hora. |
| If I were working, I wouldn't have time to answer. | Se estivesse a trabalhar, não teria tempo para responder. | Se estivesse trabalhando, não teria tempo para responder. |
| I would be sleeping now. | Estaria a dormir agora. | Estaria dormindo agora. |
The pattern is consistent: wherever BR uses the gerund, PT-PT uses a + infinitive, across all tenses and moods of estar.
The progressive passive
Putting the progressive together with the passive gives you sentences like "The building is being constructed." Here both varieties stack estar (or andar) on top of ser + participle, but once again PT-PT uses the infinitive where BR uses the gerund.
O novo metro está a ser construído ao longo da avenida. (PT-PT)
The new metro is being built along the avenue.
O novo metrô está sendo construído ao longo da avenida. (BR)
(same meaning)
Estas casas estão a ser restauradas pela câmara municipal.
These houses are being restored by the municipal council. (PT-PT)
Os documentos estão a ser analisados neste momento.
The documents are being analysed at this moment. (PT-PT)
In PT-PT journalistic and administrative prose, está a ser + participle is the standard construction for any ongoing passive process. Note that the passive participle agrees with the subject in gender and number: estão a ser analisados (masculine plural), estão a ser construídas (feminine plural).
A full comparison table
Nine sentences in each variety:
| PT-PT | BR-PT | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Estou a tentar ligar-te há uma hora. | Estou tentando te ligar faz uma hora. | I've been trying to call you for an hour. |
| O que é que estás a fazer? | O que é que você está fazendo? | What are you doing? |
| Está a passar-se alguma coisa estranha. | Está acontecendo alguma coisa estranha. | Something strange is going on. |
| Ando a procurar emprego desde janeiro. | Ando procurando emprego desde janeiro. | I've been looking for work since January. |
| Continua a chover, por isso ficámos em casa. | Continua chovendo, por isso ficamos em casa. | It's still raining, so we stayed home. |
| Estava a ouvir rádio quando chegaste. | Estava ouvindo rádio quando você chegou. | I was listening to the radio when you arrived. |
| O prédio está a ser renovado este ano. | O prédio está sendo reformado este ano. | The building is being renovated this year. |
| Tenho estado a pensar em mudar-me. | Tenho estado pensando em me mudar. | I've been thinking about moving. |
| Estás a brincar comigo? | Você está brincando comigo? | Are you kidding me? |
A note on register and age
Among older speakers in rural parts of Portugal — especially in the Alentejo and Algarve — you may occasionally hear the gerund construction (estou cantando, está chovendo) even in everyday speech. This is a genuine regional feature, not Brazilian influence. But the overwhelming standard in modern urban PT-PT, broadcast media, and written Portuguese is estar a + infinitive. If you are learning PT-PT for general use, this is the form to internalise. Recognise the gerund form when you encounter it in older speech or literary texts, but produce a + infinitive.
The gerund form is also occasionally used in PT-PT for a kind of stylistic or emotional emphasis — a writer might use estava chorando to evoke a more internal or slow-motion feel than estava a chorar — but this is a fine-grained literary effect, not an everyday register.
Common mistakes
Mistake 1: BR-trained learner using the gerund in PT-PT.
❌ Estou escrevendo um e-mail ao meu chefe.
BR form, marks the speaker as Brazilian-trained.
✅ Estou a escrever um e-mail ao meu chefe.
I'm writing an email to my boss.
Train yourself to say estar a + infinitive reflexively. This is one of the highest-yield single changes you can make to sound European.
Mistake 2: PT-PT-trained learner using the infinitive in BR.
❌ Estou a ler um livro brasileiro. (in Brazil)
Brazilians will understand but perceive the speaker as Portuguese or old-fashioned.
✅ Estou lendo um livro brasileiro. (in Brazil)
I'm reading a Brazilian book.
In Brazil, switch to the gerund; in Portugal, switch to a + infinitive. Consistency with the local variety is what makes a speaker sound native.
Mistake 3: Dropping the preposition a in PT-PT.
❌ Estou fazer o jantar.
Ungrammatical: needs the preposition 'a'.
✅ Estou a fazer o jantar.
I'm making dinner.
The a is obligatory — not optional, not a stylistic flourish. Without it, the construction is not grammatical in any variety.
Mistake 4: Using estar + a + conjugated verb instead of infinitive.
❌ Estou a escrevo um e-mail.
Conjugated form is wrong; must be an infinitive after 'a'.
✅ Estou a escrever um e-mail.
I'm writing an email.
After a, the verb must be in the bare (unconjugated) infinitive — escrever, not escrevo.
Mistake 5: Using the gerund in the progressive passive.
❌ A casa está sendo pintada. (intended PT-PT)
Brazilian form.
✅ A casa está a ser pintada.
The house is being painted.
The passive progressive stacks the same way: está a ser + participle, with participle agreement.
Key takeaways
- PT-PT default: estar a + infinitive — Estou a trabalhar, Está a chover, Estamos a comer.
- BR-PT default: estar + gerúndio — Estou trabalhando, Está chovendo, Estamos comendo.
- The pattern extends across tenses: imperfect, preterite, future, conditional, compound — wherever BR uses the gerund, PT-PT uses a + infinitive.
- Andar and continuar follow the same split: PT-PT andar a / continuar a + infinitive vs BR andar / continuar + gerúndio.
- Progressive passive: PT-PT está a ser + participle vs BR está sendo + particípio. Common in news and official prose.
- Gerund survives in PT-PT in regional Alentejo/Algarve speech, literary prose, and as an adverbial modifier ("by doing X"), but is not used in the neutral urban progressive.
- High-leverage change: replacing estou lendo / estava fazendo / continua trabalhando with estou a ler / estava a fazer / continua a trabalhar instantly improves your PT-PT accuracy.
Related Topics
- European vs Brazilian Portuguese OverviewA2 — A roadmap to the differences between European Portuguese (PT-PT) and Brazilian Portuguese (BR) — pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, orthography, and pragmatics — with an honest assessment of mutual intelligibility and which features matter most for learners.
- Estar a + Infinitive: the European Portuguese ProgressiveA2 — How European Portuguese expresses ongoing actions: not with estar + gerund, but with estar a + infinitive (estou a ler, estás a falar). Full paradigm across tenses, the sister periphrases andar a / continuar a / passar a, and why this construction is the single most important marker of EP speech.
- European vs Brazilian Progressive: estar a + infinitive vs estar + gerundB1 — The clearest spoken difference between European and Brazilian Portuguese: EP says 'estou a falar', BR says 'estou falando'. A full side-by-side treatment of the progressive divergence, the sociolinguistic meaning of each form, and why learners should pick one variety and commit.
- Andar a + Infinitive (Extended Progressive)B1 — The habitual / extended progressive andar a + infinitive: how European Portuguese says 'have been doing lately' with iteration across recent time, and how it differs from estar a.
- Continuar a + Infinitive (Still Doing)A2 — The continuative periphrasis continuar a + infinitive: how European Portuguese says 'still doing' or 'keep on doing', across tenses, with contrasts against voltar a and passar a.
- Infinitive After PrepositionsA2 — Portuguese prepositions always take the infinitive — never a conjugated verb. A tour of de, a, para, em, por, sem, até, and ao, with the shift to personal infinitive when the subject matters.