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### The Present Continuous

To describe actions happening *right now*, use the present continuous tense. Form it with a conjugated form of **estar** (to be) and a gerund (the Spanish "-ing" equivalent).

| Subject | estar |
|---|---|
| yo | estoy |
| tú | estás |
| él / ella / usted | está |
| nosotros / nosotras | estamos |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | están |

### Forming the Gerund

For regular verbs, drop the infinitive ending and add:
- **-ando** for **-ar** verbs (e.g., *charlar* → *charlando*)
- **-iendo** for **-er** and **-ir** verbs (e.g., *esconder* → *escondiendo*)

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### Irregular Gerunds

When an **-er** or **-ir** verb stem ends in a vowel, **-iendo** becomes **-yendo** to make it easier to pronounce (e.g., *leer* → *leyendo*, *construir* → *construyendo*, *caer* → *cayendo*).

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Other irregulars have a stem vowel change, like *dormir* (to sleep) becoming *durmiendo* and *reír* (to laugh) becoming *riendo*.

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### Pronouns with the Present Continuous

Reflexive pronouns (like **se**) or direct object pronouns (like **lo**) can be placed directly *before* the conjugated form of **estar**.

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The present continuous (estar + -ando, -iendo)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

expression

interjection

noun

numeral

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (yo soy)

Noun gender and definite articles (el, la)

Basic sentences and negation (no)

Indefinite articles (un, una)

Formal and informal you (tú vs. usted)

Plural pronouns and the verb to be (somos, son)

Making nouns plural (-s, -es)

Plural articles (los, las, unos, unas)

Noun gender exceptions

Adjective agreement

Invariable adjectives

State and location (estar)

Ser vs. estar

There is / there are (hay)

Hay vs. estar

To have (tener)

Possession (de)

Possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su)

Regular -ar verbs

Yes/No questions

What and who (qué, quién)

Regular -er verbs

Regular -ir verbs

Asking where (dónde, adónde)

How, when, and why (cómo, cuándo, por qué)

How much and how many (cuánto)

Days of the week

Going to a place (ir a)

Preposition contractions (al, del)

In and by (en)

With me and with you (conmigo, contigo)

Prepositional pronouns (mí, ti)

Conjunctions (y, o, pero)

Giving reasons (porque)

Stem-changing verbs (e to ie)

Stem-changing verbs (o to ue)

Stem-changing verbs (e to i)

Irregular yo forms (hago, salgo)

To know (saber vs. conocer)

Weather expressions (hace, está)

Desires and plans (querer)

Ability and requests (poder)

Obligations (tener que)

Expressing likes (me gusta)

Plural likes (me gustan)

Verbs like gustar (encantar, doler)

Very vs. a lot (muy, mucho)

Numbers 0 to 15 (cero, uno, dos…)

Numbers 16 to 31 (dieciséis, veinte…)

Numbers 30 to 1000 (treinta, cien, mil)

Months of the year (enero, febrero, marzo)

Seasons and dates (el dos de mayo)

Telling time (es la..., son las...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero, segundo, tercero)

Reflexive pronouns and verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

Near demonstrative adjectives (este, esta, estos, estas)

Medium demonstrative adjectives (ese, esa, esos, esas)

Comparatives of inequality (más / menos ... que)

Comparatives of equality (tan ... como)

Indefinite and negative pronouns (algo, nada, alguien, nadie)

Affirmative commands

Far demonstratives (aquel, aquella)

Possessive pronouns (el mío, el tuyo)

Shortened indefinite adjectives (algún, ningún)

Adverbs of quantity (demasiado, bastante)

Adverbs of frequency (a menudo, a veces)

Adverb formation (-mente)

Exclamations (¡Qué...!)

Irregular comparatives (mejor, peor, mayor, menor)

Relative superlatives (el más... de)

Adjective intensification (-ísimo)

Indirect object pronouns

Pronoun placement with infinitives

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

The 'se lo' rule (se lo, se la)

Impersonal statements (se)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Personal obligation (deber)

Starting actions (empezar a)

Finishing and quitting actions (terminar de, dejar de)

Repeating actions (volver a)

Continuing actions (seguir + gerundio)

Complex prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de...)

Question	Answer
the baby	el bebé
The baby is sleeping now.	El bebé está durmiendo ahora.
the boss	el jefe
the newspaper	el periódico
The boss is reading the newspaper.	El jefe está leyendo el periódico.
to chat	charlar
The friends are chatting in the living room.	Las amigas están charlando en la sala.
to build	construir
We are building a new house.	Estamos construyendo una casa nueva.
to laugh	reír
Why is the baby laughing?	¿Por qué está riendo el bebé?
to shout	gritar
The boss is shouting in the office.	El jefe está gritando en la oficina.
to hide	esconder
The boys are hiding the toys.	Los niños están escondiendo los juguetes.
Are the students chatting or studying?	¿Los estudiantes están charlando o estudiando?
I am hiding the gift.	Estoy escondiendo el regalo.
The waiter is bringing the dessert.	El mesero está trayendo el postre.
They are laughing and listening to music.	Ellos están riendo y escuchando música.
I am reading a very interesting book.	Estoy leyendo un libro muy interesante.
Are they building a new hospital?	¿Están construyendo un hospital nuevo?
The men are shouting in the street.	Los hombres están gritando en la calle.
Are you reading it?	¿Lo estás leyendo?
He is taking a shower now.	Se está bañando ahora.
to fall	caer
The rain is falling in the city.	La lluvia está cayendo en la ciudad.
the news	la noticia
Grandpa is reading the newspaper and the news is interesting.	El abuelo está leyendo el periódico y la noticia es interesante.
The snow is falling and you are listening to the news.	La nieve está cayendo y tú estás escuchando la noticia.