Los Tiempos Progresivos
PRESENTE PROGRESIVO Un Repaso
Presente Progressivo The present progressive is used to describe actions that are in progress at the present time. It is formed by using ESTAR (in the present tense) with the present participle of the verb, which is formed by removing –ar, -er, or –ir from the infinitve, and adding –ando or –iendo.
Some verbs have spelling changes in their present participles, especially stem-changing verbs. ir- yendo repetir- repitiendo divertirse- divirtiéndose traer- trayendo pedir- pidiendo servir- sirviendo venir- viniendo dormir-durmiendo leer- leyendo poder- pudiendo oír- oyendo caer- cayendo decir- diciendo mentir- mintiendo morir- muriendo seguir- siguiendo
Pronouns When an pronoun is used with the present progressive, place it before the first verb, or after and attached to the participle. When the pronoun is attached to the participle, an accent mark is added. Alicia lo está escuchando. Alicia está escuchándolo.
The present progressive can also be used with the verbs andar and seguir. Andar + present participle give the impression that someone “goes around doing something” continuously, sometime with a slightly negative connotation. Seguir + present participle is used to say that someone keeps on doing something, or is still doing something.
Ejemplos Rafael anda pidiendo favores. Rafael goes around asking for favors. Yo sigo viviendo en Gainsville. I’m still living in Gainesville.
EL PASADO PROGRESIVO Algo nuevo
The past progressive (pasado progresivo) is used to describe past actions in progress. It is formed with the IMPERFECT of estar + the present participle of the main verb. ¿Te acuerdas? The imperfect endings for estar are: Ejemplos: Mateo estaba estudiando. = Mateo was studying. Estábamos hablando. = We were talking. estabaestábamos estabasestabais estabaestaban
When the past progressive and the preterite are used in the same sentence, the past progressive describes an action in progress, and the preterite describes completed actions or interrupting events within that setting. Estábamos comiendo cuando llegó Cristina. = We were eating when Cristina arrived. Action in progress Interrupting event
As with the present progressive, the past progressive refers to actions in progress. Past actions or states that were not in progress (ongoing or habitual) are referred to with the imperfect. Estaba lloviendo cuando salí de la casa. = It was raining when I left the house. Llovía mucho en el pueblo donde vivían mis abuelos. = It rained a lot in the town where my grandparents lived.