Have Been Doing: "Andar a"
To talk about a recent, ongoing habit or something you "have been doing" lately, Portuguese uses a very common structure: the verb andar followed by the preposition a and an infinitive.
| to have been (doing) | andar a |
Conjugate andar (which literally means "to walk") in the present tense to match the subject, add a, and keep your main action in the infinitive.
- andar (conjugated) + a
- infinitive
| Lately, I have been researching for the thesis. | Ultimamente, eu ando a pesquisar para a tese. |
| Lately, my little brother has been writing a diary. | Ultimamente, o meu irmãozinho anda a escrever um diário. |
| She has been saving money for the marathon in London. | Ela anda a poupar dinheiro para a maratona em Londres. |
Linking Multiple Actions
If you have been doing more than one thing, you usually repeat the preposition a before the second infinitive. You can easily connect these ongoing actions with conjunctions like e (and), ou (or), or nem (nor).
| I have been meditating and doing yoga lately. | Eu ando a meditar e a fazer ioga ultimamente. |
| Either you have been training for the marathon, or doing yoga. | Ou andas a treinar para a maratona, ou a fazer ioga. |
| I have neither been watching the documentary nor studying programming. | Nem ando a ver o documentário, nem a estudar programação. |
Asking Questions
As with any Portuguese sentence, turning these ongoing actions into questions is simply a matter of raising your intonation at the end of the sentence.
| Have you been researching a lot about the new programming? | Andas a pesquisar muito sobre a nova programação? |
| Has the little cat been playing in the garden? | O gatinho anda a brincar no jardim? |
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