Log inSign up

Se está bañando ahora.

Se está bañando ahora.
He is taking a shower now.
From Lesson 61:The present continuous (estar + -ando, -iendo)·Spanish (Latin America)

Breakdown of Se está bañando ahora.

estar
to be (location/state)
ahora
now
bañarse
to bathe

Questions & Answers about Se está bañando ahora.

Why is there a se at the beginning of the sentence?
The verb for "to take a shower" or "to bathe" is bañarse, which is a reflexive verb. That means the action reflects back on the person doing it (literally, "he is bathing himself"). Since we are talking about "him" (or "her" or "you formal"), we use the reflexive pronoun se.
Can I put the se somewhere else in the sentence?
Yes! When you use the present continuous (the verb estar + a word ending in -ando or -iendo), you have two choices for pronouns like se. You can put the pronoun before estar, as in this sentence: Se está bañando. Or, you can attach it directly to the end of the action word: Está bañándose. Notice that if you attach it to the end, you have to add an accent mark to keep the stress in the right place.
Why does the English translation say "taking a shower" instead of "taking a bath"?
In many parts of Latin America, people use the verb bañarse as the standard everyday way to say "to take a shower". You can use the verb ducharse if you need to specifically emphasize a shower, but bañarse is extremely common for both.
Why do we use está instead of es?
To talk about actions that are in progress right now, Spanish uses the present continuous tense. This is always built using the verb estar (never ser) followed by the -ando or -iendo form of the main action.

Learn Se está bañando ahora and more in Spanish

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Spanish →