Breakdown of Estoy leyendo el libro entero esta semana.
Questions & Answers about Estoy leyendo el libro entero esta semana.
Both are possible, but they’re not used in exactly the same way.
- Estoy leyendo el libro entero esta semana emphasizes the action in progress during this time period. It’s like English “I’m reading the entire book this week.”
- Leo el libro entero esta semana sounds more like a scheduled plan or decision, not so focused on the “ongoing” nature. It’s closer to “I read the entire book this week” as a plan.
In everyday speech, estoy leyendo is very natural when you think of the reading as something that’s happening throughout this week, not just a general plan.
It can do both, depending on context and tone, just like English “I’m reading the whole book this week.”
- If you mean you’ve already started, it can describe what’s happening now and will continue during the week.
- It can also express a near-future arrangement or plan: you may not have started yet, but you’ve decided that this week is when you’ll read it.
Spanish present progressive (estar + gerundio) is often used for actions that are already underway, but with a time expression like esta semana, it can easily be understood as a set plan for this time period.
In Spanish, countable singular nouns almost always need an article (or another determiner like mi, este, algún, etc.).
- el libro entero = the entire book (a specific book both speaker and listener can identify)
- libro entero without el sounds incomplete or ungrammatical in standard Spanish.
So you must say el libro entero, or something like este libro entero, mi libro entero, etc.
Most adjectives in Spanish typically come after the noun:
- libro entero = “entire book”
You can put entero before some nouns in special, more literary or emphatic uses (e.g. un entero desconocido), but entero libro is not standard for “entire book.”
For the everyday meaning “the whole book,” the natural order is:
- el libro entero
- todo el libro (using todo instead of entero)
They’re very close in meaning and often interchangeable:
- el libro entero = the entire book, from beginning to end
- todo el libro = the whole book, all of it
Nuances:
- todo el libro is a bit more common and neutral in many contexts.
- el libro entero sometimes feels slightly more emphatic: the idea of completeness is highlighted.
In this sentence, both Estoy leyendo el libro entero esta semana and Estoy leyendo todo el libro esta semana are natural.
Yes, adjectives in Spanish agree in gender and number with the noun.
- Masculine singular: libro entero
- Masculine plural: libros enteros
- Feminine singular: película entera (entire movie)
- Feminine plural: películas enteras
So if you change el libro to plural:
- Estoy leyendo los libros enteros esta semana.
(though more natural would be todos los libros in many cases).
All three can express a similar idea, but they’re not identical.
- entero: emphasizes wholeness / completeness.
- el libro entero = the entire book
- todo: very common, often a bit more general.
- todo el libro = the whole book
- completo: often means “complete, not missing parts” or “thorough.”
- el libro completo can mean a complete edition, or a book that isn’t missing chapters.
In your sentence, entero and todo both work very well. Completo is possible but sounds more like you’re talking about the book as a complete version, not so much that you will read it from start to finish.
The gerund of leer is irregular:
- infinitive: leer
- gerund: leyendo
For verbs like leer, creer, oír, caer, when forming the -iendo ending, the -i- turns into -y- to keep the pronunciation clear:
- creer → creyendo
- oír → oyendo
- caer → cayendo
So leiendo is incorrect; it must be leyendo.
The subject yo is implied in the verb ending and is usually dropped in Spanish:
- Estoy leyendo el libro entero esta semana. = “I’m reading…”
- The -oy in estoy already tells us the subject is yo.
You can say Yo estoy leyendo el libro entero esta semana if you want to emphasize that it’s me (as opposed to someone else), but in neutral, everyday speech the pronoun yo is normally omitted.
In esta semana, esta is a demonstrative adjective/determiner (this week), and it is written without an accent:
- esta semana = this week
- esta casa = this house
Traditionally, ésta, ése, aquél (with accent) were used as pronouns to distinguish them from adjectives (esta, ese, aquel). Current orthography rules from the RAE say the accent is normally not used anymore, except in rare cases of ambiguity.
So esta semana is correct, and ésta semana is incorrect.
In this sentence, no preposition is needed:
- Estoy leyendo el libro entero esta semana.
Here esta semana works as a time expression attached directly to the verb phrase. Adding en is unnecessary and often sounds less natural.
You can say durante esta semana to emphasize the idea of “during this week,” but you’d usually see it slightly rephrased, e.g.:
- Durante esta semana voy a leer el libro entero.
In your original wording, esta semana by itself is the most natural option.
Yes, both are correct, but they focus on different aspects:
- Estoy leyendo el libro entero esta semana.
- Focuses on the action as current / in progress during this week (or strongly planned as such).
- Voy a leer el libro entero esta semana.
- Focuses more on the future intention/plan: you’re going to do it this week, not necessarily started yet.
In many contexts, both could be used to talk about your plan for this week; the difference is subtle and similar to English “I’m reading the whole book this week” vs “I’m going to read the whole book this week.”