Progressive Tenses
Progressive tenses describe actions that are ongoing, and they help you paint vivid scenes of what was, is, or will be happening.
Present Progressive
The present progressive shows an action that is happening right now or around the current moment. It is formed with estar in the present + the gerund.
Formation
The gerund for -ar verbs ends in -ando and for -er and -ir verbs it ends in -iendo. Use the present of estar to frame the ongoing action.
| Spanish Sentence | English Sentence |
|---|---|
| Estoy hablando | I am talking |
| Estás comiendo | You are eating |
| Está escribiendo | He/she is writing |
| Estamos trabajando | We are working |
| Están viviendo | They are living |
Examples
| Spanish Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🏄 Estoy remando para atrapar la ola. | I am paddling to catch the wave. |
| 🏖️ Ella está colocando su toalla en la arena. | She is laying out her towel on the sand. |
| 🍉 Estamos cortando sandías para la merienda. | We are cutting watermelons for the snack. |
| 🔥 Ellos están encendiendo una fogata en la playa. | They are lighting a bonfire on the beach. |
| 🐚 Estoy buscando conchas en la orilla. | I am looking for shells at the shore. |
Past Progressive
The past progressive describes an action that was ongoing at a specific time in the past. Use estar in the imperfect + the gerund to set the scene.
Formation
Keep the same gerund endings (-ando, -iendo) and use the imperfect tense of estar (estaba, estabas, estaba, estábamos, estaban) to show the continuing action in the past.
| Spanish Sentence | English Sentence |
|---|---|
| Estaba hablando | I was talking |
| Estabas comiendo | You were eating |
| Estaba escribiendo | He/she was writing |
| Estábamos trabajando | We were working |
| Estaban viviendo | They were living |
Examples
| Spanish Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🌅 Estaba corriendo por la playa al amanecer. | I was running on the beach at sunrise. |
| 🌊 Ella estaba aprendiendo a surfear con su instructor. | She was learning to surf with her instructor. |
| 🐕 Estábamos jugando al frisbee con el perro en la arena. | We were playing frisbee with the dog on the sand. |
| ⚓ Ellos estaban remolcando el bote hacia la orilla. | They were towing the boat toward the shore. |
| 🍍 Estaba preparando una piña colada en la cabaña. | I was making a piña colada in the hut. |
Future Progressive
The future progressive expresses an action that will be ongoing at a certain moment in the future. It is formed with estar in the future + the gerund.
Formation
Use the gerund as always, and conjugate estar in the future tense (estaré, estarás, estará, estaremos, estarán) to indicate the ongoing action that will happen.
| Spanish Sentence | English Sentence |
|---|---|
| Estaré hablando | I will be talking |
| Estarás comiendo | You will be eating |
| Estará escribiendo | He/she will be writing |
| Estaremos trabajando | We will be working |
| Estarán viviendo | They will be living |
Examples
| Spanish Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🌇 Estaré caminando por el malecón al atardecer. | I will be walking on the boardwalk at sunset. |
| 🏄♂️ Ella estará practicando maniobras en la ola. | She will be practicing tricks on the wave. |
| 🎣 Estaremos pescando desde la roca mañana por la mañana. | We will be fishing from the rock tomorrow morning. |
| 🛶 Ellos estarán remando en el kayak al mediodía. | They will be paddling the kayak at noon. |
| 🔦 Estaré buscando cangrejos con una linterna esta noche. | I will be looking for crabs with a flashlight tonight. |
Gerund Uses
The gerund (-ando, -iendo) can also appear after verbs like seguir, continuar, andar, venir, and llevar to emphasize ongoing or repeated actions. It never modifies nouns directly.
Summary
Progressive tenses use estar + gerund to highlight actions in progress: present progressive for now, past progressive for ongoing past actions, and future progressive for actions that will be happening.
Last updated: Sun Sep 14, 2025