Right at This Moment
In Italian, the regular present tense can mean both "I iron" and "I am ironing." However, when you want to emphasize that an action is happening right at this very moment, you use the present progressive.
You form this by combining the present tense of stare (to stay/be) with the gerund form of the action verb.
Here is a quick reminder of the present tense of stare:
| Subject | Stare |
|---|
| io | sto |
| tu | stai |
| lui/lei/Lei | sta |
| noi | stiamo |
| voi | state |
| loro | stanno |
To make the gerund for verbs that end in -are, drop the -are and add -ando.
For example, stirare (to iron) becomes stirando, and spazzare (to sweep) becomes spazzando.
For verbs that end in -ere or -ire, drop the ending and add -endo.
For example, stendere (to hang out to dry) becomes stendendo, and pulire (to clean) becomes pulendo.
You will often see time words like già (already), ancora (still), or adesso (now) paired with the present progressive to emphasize timing.
Additionally, remember to use the third-person singular sta when speaking formally to someone using Lei.
