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Spanish (Spain)

### The Present Continuous

To talk about actions that are happening *right now* (like "I am sweeping" or "They are running"), Spanish uses the present continuous tense. You form it by combining the present tense of the verb **estar** (to be) with a present participle (the Spanish equivalent of an English "-ing" word).

First, here is a quick reminder of how to conjugate **estar**:

| | |
| :--- | :--- |
| **yo** | estoy |
| **tú** | estás |
| **él / ella / usted** | está |
| **nosotros / nosotras** | estamos |
| **vosotros / vosotras** | estáis |
| **ellos / ellas / ustedes** | están |

### Forming the Present Participle

To create a regular present participle, start by dropping the **-ar**, **-er**, or **-ir** ending from the unconjugated verb (the infinitive).

- For **-ar** verbs, add **-ando** (for example, *pintar* becomes *pintando*).
- For **-er** and **-ir** verbs, add **-iendo** (for example, *barrer* becomes *barriendo*, and *correr* becomes *corriendo*).

Combine your conjugated form of **estar** with this new word to describe ongoing actions:

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### Questions, Negatives, and Weather

The present continuous works exactly like standard sentences when asking questions or making negative statements. To make a negative sentence, simply place **no** immediately before the verb **estar**.

You will also frequently use this structure to describe the weather right now, such as when it is raining (*llover* becomes *lloviendo*).

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Present continuous (-ando, -iendo)

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)

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)

Irregular comparatives (mejor, peor, mayor, menor)

Question	Answer
to run	correr
The boys are running in the park.	Los chicos están corriendo en el parque.
to rain	llover
to cry	llorar
It is raining and the child is crying.	Está lloviendo y el niño está llorando.
to sweep	barrer
the floor; the ground (outdoors)	el suelo
I am sweeping the kitchen floor.	Estoy barriendo el suelo de la cocina.
to paint	pintar
the wall	la pared
We are painting the wall.	Estamos pintando la pared.
to play	jugar
the video game	el videojuego
the television	la televisión
Are you playing the video game on the television?	¿Estás jugando al videojuego en la televisión?
Where are the dogs running?	¿Dónde están corriendo los perros?
It is raining a lot, but they are painting the wall.	Está lloviendo mucho, pero ellos están pintando la pared.
He is sweeping the floor and watching television.	Él está barriendo el suelo y viendo la televisión.
My brother is crying because he is not playing the video game.	Mi hermano está llorando porque no está jugando al videojuego.
I am not painting, I am sweeping.	No estoy pintando, estoy barriendo.
We are watching television because it is raining.	Estamos viendo la televisión porque está lloviendo.
The girl is playing on the floor and the dog is running.	La niña está jugando en el suelo y el perro está corriendo.
The children are playing on the ground in the garden.	Los niños están jugando en el suelo del jardín.
We are eating on the ground in the park.	Estamos comiendo en el suelo del parque.

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