Talk about what's happening right now. English uses "-ing" for now and for later, Spanish only uses it for now. Learn the gerund, six verbs that pair with it, and where the pronoun goes.
START HERE
The one rule that matters most
English uses "-ing" for the moment and for near-future plans. Spanish only uses the progressive for the moment. For later, Spanish switches back to the simple present.
✓ IN THE MOMENT, RIGHT NOW
Both languages use the progressive
¿Qué estás comiendo?
What are you eating?
Estoy comiendo un sándwich.
I'm eating a sandwich.
✗ LATER, NEAR FUTURE
Spanish drops the progressive
¿Qué comes más tarde?
What are you eating later?
Como un sándwich.
I'm eating a sandwich.
Notice: the English stays "-ing" in both columns. The Spanish only does on the left. If it's not happening this second, use the simple present instead.
BUILDING BLOCK
Verbo conjugado + el gerundio
The progressive always needs two pieces, a conjugated verb that carries the progress meaning, plus the gerund, which is roughly Spanish's version of "-ing."
hablando · talking
-ar verbs end the gerund in -ando
comiendo · eating
-er / -ir verbs end the gerund in -iendo
REFERENCE
Forming the gerundio
InfinitivoGerundioNote
hablarhablandoregular -ar, no stem change
jugarjugandoregular -ar, no stem change
barrerbarriendoregular -er, no stem change
beberbebiendoregular -er, no stem change
InfinitivoGerundioNote
dormirdurmiendo-ir "de bota," o→u
pedirpidiendo-ir "de bota," e→i
servirsirviendo-ir "de bota," e→i
repetirrepitiendo-ir "de bota," e→i
InfinitivoGerundioNote
leerleyendostem ends in a vowel, i→y
caercayendostem ends in a vowel, i→y
construirconstruyendostem ends in a vowel, i→y
oíroyendoirregular, i→y
iryendoirregular, barely used
OJO: -ar and regular -er/-ir verbs never change their stem in the gerund. Only -ir "boot" verbs and vowel-stem verbs do.
SIX WAYS TO SAY IT
Verbs that pair with the gerund
Estar isn't the only option. These five add their own flavor of meaning to the progress being described.
estar + gerundio
to be + doing something
Algunos estudiantes todavía están haciendo la tarea.
Some students are still doing the homework.
seguir + gerundio
to keep on + doing something
Yo sigo hablando con mis amigos.
I keep talking with my friends.
continuar + gerundio
to continue + doing something
Alejandra continúa usando su celular.
Alejandra continues using her phone.
andar + gerundio
to go around + doing something
Horacio anda llevando los auriculares.
Horacio goes around wearing his headphones.
venir + gerundio
to come + doing something
Marta viene corriendo para llegar a tiempo.
Marta comes running to arrive on time.
llevar + gerundio + time
to have been + doing something + amount of time
Nosotros llevamos estudiando español por cuatro años.
We have been studying Spanish for four years.
GOOD TO KNOW
Where does the pronoun go?
POSITION 1
In front of the conjugated verb
The reflexive, CD, or CI pronoun can go right before whichever verb is conjugated.
La sigo escuchando.
I keep listening to it.
POSITION 2
Attached to the gerund, with an accent
Or it can attach to the end of the gerund. When it does, the gerund needs a written accent so the stress stays put.
Sigo escuchándola.
I keep listening to it.
SAME MEANING, EITHER SPOT
Pick whichever placement sounds better to you
Both versions of each pair below mean exactly the same thing. The accent is the only thing that changes when the pronoun moves.
Me estoy secando. ↔ Estoy secándome.
I'm drying myself off.
Lo llevan leyendo por 10 minutos. ↔ Llevan leyéndolo por 10 minutos.
They have been reading it for 10 minutes.
FORM THE GERUNDIO
Type the gerund for each verb
Mix of regular, boot, and vowel-stem verbs.
WORKED EXAMPLE
servir
-ir "de bota," e→i
→
sirv-
stem changes, e becomes i
→
sirviendo
add -iendo, it's an -ir verb
NOW OR LATER?
Pick the tense, then write it
Decide if the English is happening right now or later, tap the matching Spanish structure, then type the Spanish sentence.