Chinese (Mandarin)

Spanish

English

Hindi

Arabic (Modern Standard)

Portuguese

Bengali

Russian

Japanese

Punjabi

German

Javanese

Malay

Telugu

Vietnamese

Korean

French

Marathi

Tamil

Urdu

Turkish

Italian

Chinese, Yue / Cantonese

Thai

Gujarati

Chinese, Jin

Chinese, Min Nan

Dari

Farsi

Polish

Pashto

Kannada

Chinese, Xiang

Malayalam

Sundanese

Hausa

Odia

Burmese

Chinese, Hakka

Ukrainian

Bihari, Bhojpuri

Tagalog

Yoruba

Bihari, Maithili

Uzbek

Sindhi

Amharic

Fula

Romanian

Oromo

Igbo

Azerbaijani

Chinese, Gan

Dutch

Kurdish, Central

Kurdish, Northern

Kurdish, Southern

Malagasy

Lahnda, Saraiki

Nepali

Sinhalese

Chittagonian

Zhuang

Khmer

Turkmen

Assamese

Madurese

Somali

Marwari

Bihari, Magahi

Haryanvi

Hungarian

Chhattisgarhi

Greek

Chewa

Dakhini

Akan, Twi

Akan, Fante

Kazakh

Chinese, Min Bei

Sylheti

Zulu

Czech

Kinyarwanda

Marwari, Dhundhari

Haitian Creole

Chinese, Min Dong

Ilocano

Quechua

Kirundi

Swedish

Hmong

Shona

Uyghur

Hiligaynon

Mossi

Xhosa

Belarusian

Balochi

Spanish (Spain)

### Actions Building Up Over Time

When an action starts in the past and gradually develops up to the present, Spanish uses the verb **venir** followed by a gerund (the *-ando* or *-iendo* form).

This structure translates to "have been doing something" and is common for continuous, patient efforts.

| Pronoun | Present of venir |
| --- | --- |
| yo | vengo |
| tú | vienes |
| él / ella / usted | viene |
| nosotros / nosotras | venimos |
| vosotros / vosotras | venís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | vienen |

{{item:1232887}}

{{item:1232889}}

### Patient Craftsmanship

**Venir** + gerundio highlights a slow, cumulative progression, making it perfect for describing the detailed work of local artisans.

{{item:1232892}}

{{item:1232898}}

### Adding Time and Pronouns

To emphasize how long an action has been developing, pair this structure with time markers like **desde enero** (since January) or **desde hace años** (for years).

If you use a direct object pronoun (like **lo** or **los**), you can place it right before the conjugated verb **venir**.

{{item:1232897}}

{{item:1232901}}

Accumulated actions (venir...)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular subjects and 'ser' (yo soy, esto es)

Plural nouns and definite articles (los, las)

Plural pronouns and 'ser' (somos, sois, son)

Adjective agreement (-o, -a, -os, -as)

Indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas)

Simple negation (no)

Yes/no questions

Regular '-ar' verbs (-o, -as, -a...)

Regular '-er' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Regular '-ir' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Locative adverbs (aquí, allí)

Question words (quién, cómo)

The verb estar (estoy, estás)

The preposition en (en)

Ser vs. estar

The verb tener (tengo, tienes)

Possessive determiners (mi, tu, su)

Origin and possession (de, del)

The verb ir (voy, vas)

Destination (a, al)

The personal 'a' (a)

Stem-changing verbs: e to ie

Stem-changing verbs: o to ue

Irregular first-person verbs

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, dos, tres)

Numbers 11 to 20 (once, doce, trece)

Counting by tens to 100 (treinta, cuarenta, cien)

Compound numbers up to 99 (veintiuno, treinta y uno)

Days of the week (el lunes, el martes)

The family and the personal 'a' (a mi tío, a mi prima)

Months of the year

Telling time (es la, son las)

Verbs of liking (me gusta)

Plural agreement with verbs of liking (gustan)

Degree modifiers (muy, mucho)

Formal address (usted, ustedes)

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

The near future (ir a)

Obligation (tener que)

Present continuous (-ando, -iendo)

Affirmative commands (tú, vosotros)

Basic Food and Drink

The Human Body: Head and Arms

The Human Body: Legs and Health

Wardrobe Essentials

Fresh Produce

Meals and Proteins

Public Transport

Hello and goodbye (hola, ¿qué tal?)

Thank you, sorry, OK (gracias, vale)

There is, there are (hay)

My building (la escalera, el ascensor)

Describing people (moreno, rubio, tímido)

Land and sea (el mar, el río, el norte)

Sightseeing (la plaza, la catedral)

Asking the way (cerca, a la derecha, todo recto)

In class (¿puedes repetir?)

Verb + infinitive (quiero comer, sé leer)

What's your name? (me llamo, encantado)

Phone, computer and email

Hundreds and thousands (doscientos, mil)

What do you do? (¿a qué te dedicas?)

Personal details (la edad, la fecha de nacimiento)

Me neither (también, tampoco, ni)

How much is it? (el precio, la vuelta)

What's the weather like? (hace sol, nieva)

Free time (el concierto, el tenis)

At the bar (¿qué vas a tomar?)

The Natural World

Demonstratives (este, ese, aquel)

Prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de)

Prepositional pronouns (para mí, contigo)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero to décimo)

Adverbs of frequency (a veces, nunca)

Exclamations (¡qué...!)

Indefinite pronouns (algo, alguien)

Indefinite determiners (algún, ningún)

Indirect object pronouns (le, les)

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

Double object pronouns (se lo, se la)

Verbs of preference (encantar, interesar)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Starting and finishing actions (empezar a, terminar de)

Adjective comparatives (más que, menos que)

Comparatives of equality (tan como)

Noun comparatives (tanto como)

Question	Answer
to have been (doing), auxiliary + gerund	venir
to pass on	transmitir
the legacy	el legado
They have been passing on the legacy.	Vienen transmitiendo el legado.
patiently	pacientemente
We have been conserving the legacy patiently.	Venimos conservando el legado pacientemente.
to craft; to draw up, to prepare (a report, a plan)	elaborar
the technique	la técnica
The artisan has been crafting this with the technique.	El artesano viene elaborando esto con la técnica.
Have you been passing on the technique to the children?	¿Venís transmitiendo la técnica a los niños?
the skill	la destreza
She has been crafting them with more and more skill.	Ella los viene elaborando con cada vez más destreza.
to sculpt	esculpir
What skill! He has been sculpting it for years.	¡Qué destreza! Lo viene esculpiendo desde hace años.
We have been sculpting stone in this workshop.	Venimos esculpiendo la piedra en este taller.
to forge	forjar
the copper	el cobre
They have been forging copper since January.	Vienen forjando el cobre desde enero.
This workshop has been forging a new generation.	Este taller viene forjando una nueva generación.
the learning	el aprendizaje
The teacher has been directing the learning patiently.	La maestra viene dirigiendo el aprendizaje pacientemente.
They are artisans; they have been protecting the legacy for years.	Son artesanos; vienen protegiendo el legado desde hace años.
We are artisans and we have been passing on the technique.	Somos artesanas y venimos transmitiendo la técnica.
You have been patiently crafting each piece.	Vienes elaborando cada pieza pacientemente.
The artisan has been forging the copper little by little.	El artesano viene forjando el cobre poco a poco.
The expert has been supporting the learning of the trade.	La experta viene apoyando el aprendizaje del oficio.
We have been drawing up this report since January.	Venimos elaborando este informe desde enero.
City hall drew up a plan against noise.	El ayuntamiento elaboró un plan contra el ruido.

Contributors