Mis amigos van aprendiendo español en la escuela poco a poco.

My friends are gradually learning Spanish at school.

Breakdown of Mis amigos van aprendiendo español en la escuela poco a poco.

• el amigo: the friend
• en: at
• la escuela: the school
• español: Spanish
• mis: my
• poco a poco: little by little
• ir aprendiendo: to gradually learn

Questions & Answers about Mis amigos van aprendiendo español en la escuela poco a poco.

What does van aprendiendo literally mean, and why are there two verbs?

Literally, van aprendiendo is “they go learning.”
Spanish uses ir + gerund (here: ir → van, gerund → aprendiendo) to express that an action is progressing gradually over time.

So Mis amigos van aprendiendo español… means something like:

• “My friends are gradually learning Spanish…”
• “My friends are learning Spanish little by little…”

The verb ir here doesn’t mean physical movement; it works as an auxiliary that adds the idea of step‑by‑step progress.

What is the difference between van aprendiendo and aprenden?

Both are present tense, but the aspect (the way the action is viewed) is different:

• Mis amigos aprenden español…
  → neutral; just states a fact: “My friends learn / are learning Spanish…”

• Mis amigos van aprendiendo español…
  → emphasizes ongoing, gradual progress: “My friends are gradually learning Spanish…”

In English you often need an adverb like “gradually,” “slowly,” “bit by bit” to capture what van + gerund adds in Spanish.

Why is it van and not another form of ir?

Van is the 3rd person plural (they) form of ir in the present tense:

• yo voy
• tú vas
• él / ella / usted va
• nosotros vamos
• vosotros vais
• ellos / ellas / ustedes van

The subject is Mis amigos = they, so the verb has to agree in person and number: ellos van → Mis amigos van.

What’s the difference between van aprendiendo and están aprendiendo?

Both use a progressive form, but with different nuances:

• Mis amigos están aprendiendo español…
  → neutral progressive: “My friends are learning Spanish (right now / these days).”
  It simply focuses on the action being in progress.

• Mis amigos van aprendiendo español…
  → progressive plus the idea of gradual advance, often over a longer period: “My friends are gradually learning Spanish.”

So estar + gerund = ongoing action.
ir + gerund = ongoing action that advances step by step.

What is aprendiendo exactly, and how is it formed?

Aprendiendo is the gerund (Spanish: gerundio) of aprender.

To form regular gerunds:

• -ar verbs: hablar → hablando
• -er verbs: aprender → aprendiendo
• -ir verbs: vivir → viviendo

In this sentence, it combines with ir:

• van aprendiendo = they are (gradually) learning

Unlike English -ing forms, the Spanish gerund cannot be used as a noun (“learning is important” ≠ aprendiendo es importante; you’d say el aprendizaje es importante).

Why is there no article before español? Why not “el español”?

With verbs like hablar, aprender, estudiar, enseñar, saber, Spanish usually omits the article before a language:

• Aprendo español. (not usually aprendo el español)
• Estudia francés.
• Sé inglés.

So Mis amigos van aprendiendo español… is the normal pattern.

You do often see the article in other positions, especially after a preposition:

• El español es difícil.
• En el español de México…

Why Mis amigos and not Los amigos or something like los amigos míos?

Mis amigos uses the possessive adjective mis (my) before the noun, which is the most natural way to say “my friends.”

• Mis amigos = my friends
• Los amigos = the friends (no idea whose)
• Los amigos míos = my friends, but more emphatic or contrastive (sounds more marked / literary in many contexts)

Also, in Spanish you don’t need to add ellos as a subject pronoun:

• Mis amigos van aprendiendo… is enough.
  Adding ellos (Ellos, mis amigos, van aprendiendo…) is only for emphasis or contrast.

Why is it en la escuela and not a la escuela?

Because the sentence is about where they are learning, not where they are going.

• en la escuela = in/at school (location)

  • Aprenden español en la escuela. = They learn Spanish in school.

• a la escuela = to school (direction, movement)

  • Van a la escuela. = They go to school.

So Mis amigos van aprendiendo español en la escuela… = “My friends are gradually learning Spanish *at school…”*

What does poco a poco mean exactly? Is it just “slowly”?

Poco a poco literally means “little by little.”

Idiomatic meanings:

• little by little
• gradually
• bit by bit

It’s similar to “slowly” in effect, but it emphasizes small gradual progress, not just low speed.
Rough equivalents:

• Mis amigos van aprendiendo español poco a poco.
  → “My friends are learning Spanish little by little / bit by bit.”

Can poco a poco go in a different place in the sentence?

Yes, you can move poco a poco without changing the basic meaning:

• Mis amigos van aprendiendo poco a poco español en la escuela.
• Poco a poco, mis amigos van aprendiendo español en la escuela.
• Mis amigos, poco a poco, van aprendiendo español en la escuela.

The most neutral and common is the original:

• Mis amigos van aprendiendo español en la escuela poco a poco.

Moving it to the beginning (Poco a poco, …) gives a bit more emphasis to the gradual nature of the process.

Can I say Mis amigos van a aprender español en la escuela instead? What changes?

Yes, but the meaning changes.

• Mis amigos van aprendiendo español…
  → ongoing, gradual process now: “My friends are gradually learning Spanish…”

• Mis amigos van a aprender español…
  → periphrastic future (going to + verb): “My friends are going to learn Spanish…” (in the future, or it’s planned)

So van aprendiendo = are (gradually) learning now,
while van a aprender = are going to learn (in the future).