Present Progressive Tense of Spanish Verbs
In this lesson you'll learn how to use the present progressive tense of Spanish verbs. You'll also learn some more common verbs, as well as how to use the irregular verb hacer, which means to do and to make. Some common phrases using hacer are also included.
Online flashcards and a quiz are included at the end of the lesson to help you learn the present progressive tense of Spanish verbs.
Present Progressive Tense
The present progressive tense is used to emphasize that an action is currently happening. An example of the present progressive tense in English is "I am walking." The present progressive tense is used more often in English than Spanish, so be sure to only use it when you want to emphasize that the action is happening right now. If in doubt use the simple present tense.
Present Participle
The present progressive tense uses a form of the verb called the present participle, or gerundio in Spanish, along with the verb estar. The following table shows the present participles for ar, er, and ir verbs.
| Verb | Present Participle | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| cantar | cantando | singing |
| vender | vendiendo | selling |
| escribir | escribiendo | writing |
Present Progressive Tense Examples
The following tables shows the present progressive tense for ar, er, and ir verbs, using cantar, vender, and escribir as examples.
| cantar | to sing |
|---|---|
| Yo estoy cantando. | I am singing. |
| Tú estás cantando. | You are singing. (familiar singular) |
| Usted está cantando. | You are singing. (polite singular) |
| Él está cantando. | He is singing. |
| Ella está cantando. | She is singing. |
| Nosotros estamos cantando. | We are singing. |
| Vosotros estáis cantando. | You are singing. (familiar plural) |
| Ustedes están cantando. | You are singing. (polite plural) |
| Ellos están cantando. | They are singing. |
| vender | to sell |
|---|---|
| Yo estoy vendiendo. | I am selling. |
| Tú estás vendiendo. | You are selling. (familiar singular) |
| Usted está vendiendo. | You are selling. (polite singular) |
| Él está vendiendo. | He is selling. |
| Ella está vendiendo. | She is selling. |
| Nosotros estamos vendiendo. | We are selling. |
| Vosotros estáis vendiendo. | You are selling. (familiar plural) |
| Ustedes están vendiendo. | You are selling. (polite plural) |
| Ellos están vendiendo. | They are selling. |
| escribir | to write |
|---|---|
| Yo estoy escribiendo. | I am writing. |
| Tú estás escribiendo. | You are writing. (familiar singular) |
| Usted está escribiendo. | You are writing. (polite singular) |
| Él está escribiendo. | He is writing. |
| Ella está escribiendo. | She is writing. |
| Nosotros estamos escribiendo. | We are writing. |
| Vosotros estáis escribiendo. | You are writing. (familiar plural) |
| Ustedes están escribiendo. | You are writing. (polite plural) |
| Ellos están escribiendo. | They are writing. |
Hacer
The verb hacer means to do or to make. It is irregular in both the present and preterite tense. The following table shows the conjugation of hacer for both the present and preterite tenses.
| present | preterite | |
|---|---|---|
| hago | hice | I do/did |
| haces | hiciste | You do/did |
| hace | hizo | he/she/it does/did |
| hacemos | hicimos | we do/did |
| haceís | hicisteis | you (pl) do/did |
| hacen | hicieron | they do/did |
Examples
| Hace dos años que vivo en Sevilla. | I have been living in Seville for two years. |
| Hace dos años que viví en Sevilla. | I lived in Seville two years ago. |
| Hace diez minutos que hablé con Ana. | I spoke to Ana ten minutes ago. |
| ¿Qué tiempo hace? | How's the weather? |
| Hace buen tiempo. | The weather's nice. |
| Hace mal tiempo. | The weather's bad. |
| ¿Qué estás haciendo? | What are you doing? |
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Flashcards
Here are some flashcards to help you learn the present progressive tense of Spanish verbs, as well as the present and preterite tenses of the irregular verb hacer.
Practice
Translate each of the following sentences using the present progressive tense.
What are you doing?
My sister is writing a book.
My mother is drinking a glass of water.
We are selling the flowers.
They are singing in the kitchen.
Quiz
This quiz covers the present progressive tense of Spanish verbs, as well as the present and preterite tense of the verb hacer. You can take the quiz as many times as you'd like. Each time the questions will be a bit different.