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### The Colloquial Progressive (*am-Progressiv*)

In standard German, the regular present tense covers both "I play" and "I am playing." However, when speaking casually, Germans frequently use a special structure to emphasize that they are right in the middle of doing something right now.

To form this colloquial progressive, combine a conjugated form of **sein** (to be) with the word **am** and the nominalized infinitive of the action verb. Because the verb is functioning as a noun after *am*, it must be capitalized.

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This structure is perfect for communicating urgency and ongoing actions, especially when you are busy surviving a frantic video game session and cannot be distracted!

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### The *beim*-Progressiv

While **am** is used for simple ongoing actions, you will sometimes hear **beim** used in the exact same way. **Beim** is especially common when the ongoing action is tied to an object or a specific phrase (like capturing *the base*).

Just like with *am*, it uses a conjugated form of **sein** and is followed by the capitalized nominalized verb.

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You can easily pair these progressive forms with regular present tense verbs or other clauses to set the scene during chaotic moments.

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Colloquial progressive (am / beim ... sein)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Question	Answer
to game	zocken
We are gaming right now!	Wir sind gerade am Zocken!
The game is loading.	Das Spiel ist am Laden.
the controller	der Controller
I dropped the controller!	Mir ist der Controller heruntergefallen!
the console	die Konsole
I need a new controller for the console.	Ich brauche einen neuen Controller für die Konsole.
to attack	angreifen
Watch out, the enemy is attacking!	Pass auf, der Feind ist am Angreifen!
the boss	der Boss
The boss is attacking, whereas I am fleeing!	Der Boss ist am Angreifen, wohingegen ich am Fliehen bin!
The boss is extremely strong!	Der Boss ist extrem stark!
We have to defeat the boss, but I am dying!	Wir müssen den Boss besiegen, aber ich bin am Sterben!
to aim	zielen
Be quiet, I am aiming!	Sei leise, ich bin am Zielen!
to dodge	ausweichen
The boss aims fast, however I am dodging!	Der Boss zielt schnell, jedoch bin ich am Ausweichen!
the ammunition	die Munition
There is no ammunition here.	Hier ist keine Munition.
Give me the ammunition, I am fighting!	Gib mir die Munition, ich bin am Kämpfen!
You must dodge!	Du musst ausweichen!
I am dodging, but the boss is too fast.	Ich bin am Ausweichen, aber der Boss ist zu schnell.
Hide, the enemies are attacking!	Versteck dich, die Feinde sind am Angreifen!
We are safe behind the wall.	Hinter der Mauer sind wir sicher.
to revive	wiederbeleben
Wait, I am reviving!	Warte, ich bin am Wiederbeleben!
You have to revive me!	Du musst mich wiederbeleben!
I am gaming right now and the console is great.	Ich bin gerade am Zocken und die Konsole ist toll.
to capture	erobern
the base	die Basis
The enemy is in the middle of capturing the base.	Der Gegner ist beim Erobern der Basis.
to defend	verteidigen
Hide somewhere, I am defending!	Versteck dich irgendwo, ich bin am Verteidigen!
We are admittedly winning, but they are attacking the base.	Wir sind zwar am Gewinnen, aber sie greifen die Basis an.
You have to capture the base yourself, I am healing.	Du musst die Basis selber erobern, ich bin am Heilen.
Just don't attack, we are in the middle of defending!	Greif bloß nicht an, wir sind am Verteidigen!