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.