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3.4 - Estructuras - el presente continuo
Estructuras
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We are going to look at a verb tense that is useful to talk about something that is happening in the moment, ahora mismo (right now).
In English, it is very common for us to use this tense - we know it by seeing an â-ingâ on the end of a verb. Any â-ingâ word like âdancingâ, âeatingâ, âcallingâ is called a present participle in English. Usually we pair it with the helping
verb âto beâ to make âis dancingâ, âis eatingâ, and âare callingâ. The combination of âto beâ with a present participle is called the present progressive.
In Spanish, the same thing exists, it is called el presente progresivo. We use the verb âestarâ (verbo auxiliar) changed to match the subject, then we combine it with the participio presente of another verb to form el presente
progresivo.
The present participles of verbs in Spanish depend on whether the verb ends in -ar, -er o -ir.
infinitivo | raiz |
participio
presente |
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verbos que terminan en -AR | hablar | habl- |
hablando |
verbos que terminan en -ER | tener | ten |
teniendo |
verbos que terminan en -IR | vivir | viv |
viviendo |
Los verbos que terminan en â-arâ llevan â-andoâ. Los verbos que terminan en â-erâ o â-irâ llevan âiendoâ.
el verbo estar + el participio presente de otro verbo = el presente progresivo
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TĂș y los demĂĄs estĂĄn aprendiendo mucho sobre Colombia.
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You and the other teams are learning a lot about Colombia. | ||
EstĂĄn viendo muchas cosas nuevas.
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They are seeing a lot of new things. | ||
¿Qué estån haciendo en el video?
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What are they doing in the video? |
OJO: Remember - whatever your subject is (tĂș, ella, los jugadores, etc.) you will change/conjugate âestarâ to match it. |
TĂș estĂĄs bailando.
Ăl estĂĄ bailando.
Nosotros estamos bailando.
Ăl estĂĄ bailando.
Nosotros estamos bailando.
There are some verbs that have a present participle that changes its spelling. Here are some common examples:
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caer |
cayendo |
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creer |
creyendo |
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leer |
leyendo |
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traer |
trayendo |
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incluir |
incluyendo |
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oĂr |
oyendo |
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ir |
yendo |
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decir |
diciendo |
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pedir |
pidiendo |
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repetir |
repitiendo |
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seguir |
siguiendo |
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venir |
viniendo |
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poder |
pudiendo |
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dormir |
durmiendo |
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morir |
muriendo |
OJO: The present participle of âirâ is special. We will very rarely use âestar + yendoâ to describe what is going on in the moment. Instead we will just use the regular present tense. |
Por ejemplo: You would never say âEstoy yendo a la tiendaâ. We would use the present tense: âVoy a la tiendaâ. However, sometimes you will see âyendoâ used in a way such as this:
Use of "yendo" | |
Yendo por la calle principal, verĂĄs la muralla. | Going down the main street, you will see the wall. |
ÂĄPracticamos en la pĂĄgina siguiente!