In Spanish, 2 elements make up the present progressive tense.

They are always:

• 1. A present-tense conjugated form of the "to be" verb "estar"
• Remember that the yo-form of "estar" in the present tense is "estoy".
• Please use accent marks where they are required: "estás", "está" and "están" ("estamos" has NO accent).
   
• 2. The gerund (present participle) of a second verb.
• Spanish gerunds always end in -ndo.
• When working with the present progressive tense in the Midterm, if you find yourself writing a second word that does not end in -ndo, please stop yourself, because you're doing it wrong.

Basic gerund formation review in Spanish

With a few exceptions, which we'll see in a minute, it's very simple:

Gerunds of -AR verbs:

• Derive the stem by removing the -AR infinitive ending.
• Leave the stem alone.
• Add -ando to the stem.
• That's it!

Infinitive: empezar

• Stem: empez
• Gerund: empezando

Basic gerund formation in Spanish

Gerunds of -ER verbs whose stems do not end in vowels

• Derive the stem by removing the -ER infinitive ending.
• Leave the stem alone.
• Add -iendo to the stem.
• That's it!

Infinitive: volver

• Stem: volv
• Gerund: volviendo

Basic gerund formation in Spanish

Gerunds of -IR verbs whose stems do not end in vowels AND that do not stem change in the present tense

• Derive the stem by removing the -IR infinitive ending.
• Leave the stem alone.
• Add -iendo to the stem.
• That's it!

Infinitive: abrir

• Stem: abr
• Gerund: abriendo

Exam format practice:

• Remember: we always start the present progressive by conjugating "estar" in the present tense. The gerund comes after that.

Tú __________ (merendar) 

• Conjugated "estar" first:
• estás
• Now make the gerund of "merendar":
• Stem=merend + ending=ando
• Our gerund is merendando
   
• Tú estás merendando.

More exam-format practice with basic gerunds:

• Remember: we always start the present progressive by conjugating "estar" in the present tense. The gerund comes after that.

Nosotros ________ (resolver) 

• Conjugated "estar" first:
• estamos
• Now make the gerund of "resolver":
• Stem=resolv + ending=iendo
• Our gerund is resolviendo
   
• Nosotros estamos resolviendo

More exam-format practice with basic gerunds:

• Remember: we always start the present progressive by conjugating "estar" in the present tense. The gerund comes after that.

Mis padres ________ (exigir) 

• Conjugated "estar" first:
• están
• Now make the gerund of "exigir":
• Stem=exig + ending=iendo
• Our gerund is exigiendo
   
• Mis padres están exigiendo

Let's talk about our first non-basic gerund group: -ER and -IR verbs whose stems end in vowels.

• Your book says gerunds of this type are "irregular", but that's a bunch of hooey. 
• These gerunds have an extra step, but it's totally predictable, and it happens in every verb of this type. Let's see it.

La profesora __________ (creer) 

• Conjugated "estar" first:
• está
• Now make the gerund of "creer":
• Stem=cre + ending=iendo
• Our gerund is NOT creiendo
• Unaccented "i" between 2 vowels becomes a Y--always.
• La profesora está creyendo.

Let's talk about our second non-basic gerund group: -IR verbs that stem change in the present tense
 

• Your book says gerunds of this type are "irregular", but that's absolute nonsense. 
• These gerunds have an extra step, but it's totally predictable, and it happens in every verb of this type. 
• We'll review them on the next 2 slides.
  
   
• Remember--what you are about to see is NOT irregular. It's a predictable process. It's just different.
• There are very few truly irregular present participles in Spanish.

El camarero __________ (servir) 

• Conjugated "estar" first:
• está
• Now make the gerund of "servir":
• Initial stem=serv 
• This -IR verb stem changes.
• "Serv" has to become "sirv"
   
• Now we can add the "iendo" gerund ending.
• El camarero está sirviendo.

• If the -IR verb stem changes e to ie or e to i in the present tense, the last vowel in the stem must become an "i" before the gerund ending "iendo" can be added.

La madre y el bebé __________ (dormir) 

• Conjugated "estar" first:
• están
• Now make the gerund of "dormir":
• Initial stem=dorm 
• This -IR verb stem changes.
• "Dorm" has to become "durm"
   
• Now we can add the "iendo" gerund ending.
• La madre y el bebé están durmiendo.

• If the -IR verb stem changes o to ue in the present tense, the last vowel in the stem must become a "u" before the gerund ending "iendo" can be added.

There are 2 verbs whose gerunds ARE actually irregular, and you must memorize them:

• The irregular gerund of "ir" is "yendo". (This is a fairly common gerund. Please memorize it.)
• Example sentence:
  Ese tren está yendo hacia la ciudad de Nueva York.
   
• The irregular gerund of "poder" is "pudiendo" (this almost never gets used in the language, though. It's not a big deal.)
   
• To close this section, let's do some more
  exam-form practice via an excellent exercise
  in the platform I use for another course.