Questions & Answers about ¿Dónde están corriendo los perros?
Why is it están corriendo instead of just corren?
Están corriendo is the present continuous tense. We use it to emphasize that an action is happening right now, at this exact moment. If you asked ¿Dónde corren los perros?, it would mean 'Where do the dogs run?' as a general everyday habit. How do we get corriendo from the verb correr?
To make the '-ing' form (called the gerund) for verbs that end in -er or -ir, you drop that ending and add -iendo. The verb for 'to run' is correr. When we drop the -er and add -iendo, we get corriendo (running). Why does los perros come at the end? In English, we put 'the dogs' in the middle of the verb.
In Spanish questions, the subject (the one doing the action, like los perros) usually comes after the verb. English splits the verb apart ('Where are the dogs running?'), but Spanish keeps the verb phrase together (están corriendo) and places the subject afterward. Why do we use están instead of son here?
When forming the present continuous (the '-ing' tense), you must always use the verb estar, never ser. Because estar is used for temporary states and locations, it makes perfect sense to use it for an action that is only happening temporarily at this current moment. Learn ¿Dónde están corriendo los perros and more in Spanish
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