The present continuous in European Portuguese
To talk about actions that are happening right now, European Portuguese uses a specific structure: the verb estar (to be) + the preposition a + the infinitive of the main verb.
This translates to the English "-ing" form (e.g., "is painting").
| He is painting with my paintbrush. | Ele está a pintar com o meu pincel. |
| They are painting the living room wall. | Eles estão a pintar a parede da sala. |
| I am cleaning the dirty paintbrush. | Estou a limpar o pincel sujo. |
Conjugating the present continuous
To change who is doing the action, you only conjugate the helping verb estar. The preposition a and the infinitive verb never change.
| Pronoun | estar | Structure |
|---|---|---|
| eu | estou | a desenhar |
| tu | estás | a desenhar |
| ele / ela / você | está | a desenhar |
| nós | estamos | a desenhar |
| eles / elas / vocês | estão | a desenhar |
This structure works seamlessly with any main verb in its infinitive form, whether it ends in -ar, -er, or -ir.
| The girl is drawing with a pencil. | A rapariga está a desenhar com um lápis. |
| The boy is writing a poem in the notebook. | O rapaz está a escrever um poema no caderno. |
| We are reading an interesting story. | Estamos a ler uma história interessante. |
| Are you using the blue pencil? | Estás a usar o lápis azul? |
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