Copy of Week 24 Day 2: The progressive tenses – present, past, future, perfect, and conditional
Today’s goal is:
- To learn about the different progressive tenses
Listen to Week 24 Day 2 Track 1
Hey, what are you doing right now?
I’m a bit busy cleaning my room. Why?
I wanted to take you to lunch to catch up, since we couldn’t get together on Friday.
Yeah, I’m sorry. On Friday I was rehearsing for the play that will premier next week.
No worries, I know you’ve been busy lately. I think you need to take some time for yourself, though.
Believe me, if I could, I would be taking some sun at the beach right now.
Do you think that after the play you will be less busy?
I’m sorry, Miriam, but I don’t think so. My father’s birthday is in two weeks, so I will be traveling to my hometown to celebrate with him.
That’s too bad, but don’t worry. I hope everything goes well with the play and say hi to your dad from me when you see him.
Thank you so much for your wishes. And as soon as I’m free, I’ll let you know to get together.
Tiempos verbales progresivos – Progressive tenses
Though progressive structures in Spanish are considered verbal periphrases and not verbal tenses by most Spanish grammarians, for the sake of familiarity for English speakers, we will be referring to them as tenses in this lesson.
The progressive tenses in Spanish allow us to describe an action in progress at some point in the past, present, or future. In some cases, they can even refer to hypothetical scenarios.
But before we go into detail, let’s go over some examples of progressive sentences.
Listen to Week 24 Day 2 Track 2
- Lucía se está lavando la cara. (Lucía is washing her face.)
- Carlos estaba durmiendo cuando lo llamé. (Carlos was sleeping when I called him.)
- Si yo tuviese tiempo, estaría recorriendo la ciudad contigo. (If I had the time, I’d be exploring the city with you.)
- Marcos y Vanesa han estado pasando mucho tiempo juntos últimamente. (Marcos and Vanesa have been spending a lot of time together lately.)
- No puedo creer que ellos estén ganando tanto dinero. (I can’t believe they’re earning that much money.)
Listen to Week 24 Day 2 Track 3
Presente progresivo – Present progressive
As the name suggests, the present progressive tense describes an action in progress at the moment of speaking, e.i., the present.
Let’s listen to the following examples:
- ¿Qué estás haciendo aquí? (What are you doing here?)
- Mis vecinos se están gritando muy alto. (My neighbors are yelling at each other pretty loudly.)
- Gabriel está escribiendo una novela basada en su vida. (Gabriel is writing a novel based on his life.)
Speaking Practice Exercise 1
To form a sentence with the present progressive, we will need the correct present conjugation of estar and a verb with a gerund ending, known in English as the present participle.
Listen to Week 24 Day 2 Track 4
Estar | Header |
|---|---|
yo estoy | nosotros, nosotras estamos |
tú estás | ellos, ellas, ustedes están |
él, ella, usted está | Cell |
- ¿Qué estás haciendo aquí?
- Mis vecinos se están gritando muy alto.
The present progressive tense might not be as common in Spanish as it is in English. This is because we can use the simple present to mean almost the exact same thing. It is often only when we want to put additional emphasis on the duration of the action that we use the present progressive.
This way, both of the following examples basically mean the exact same thing:
Listen to Week 24 Day 2 Track 5
- ¿Qué estás haciendo aquí? (What are you doing here?)
- ¿Qué haces aquí? (What are you doing here?)
It is important to note as well that we can’t use the present progressive to talk about future actions, as we can in English. In this case, the simple present tense is preferred in Spanish.
- ¿José viene mañana? (Is José coming tomorrow?)
- El lunes voy al odontólogo. (On Monday I’m going to the dentist.)
Listen to Week 24 Day 2 Track 6
Pretérito imperfecto progresivo – Imperfect progressive
This is the more common of the two past progressive tenses. It refers to an action that was in progress during a specific time in the past.
Let’s listen to the following examples:
- Yo no te devolví la llamada porque estaba preparando el almuerzo. (I didn’t call you back because I was making lunch.)
- A las 8 p.m. yo todavía me estaba arreglando. (At 8 p.m. I was still getting ready.)
- ¿Sobre qué crees que ellos estaban discutiendo? (What do you think they were arguing about?)
To form a sentence with the imperfect progressive, we will need the correct imperfect conjugation of estar and a verb with a gerund ending.
Listen to Week 24 Day 2 Track 7
Estar | Header |
|---|---|
yo estaba | nosotros, nosotras estábamos |
tú estabas | ellos, ellas, ustedes estaban |
él, ella, usted estaba | Cell |
- Yo no te devolví la llamada porque estaba preparando el almuerzo.
- A las 8 p.m. yo todavía me estaba arreglando.
Similarly to the present progressive tense, the imperfect progressive tense is not as common in Spanish as it is in English. Instead, we can use the imperfect tense with almost no difference in meaning. The imperfect progressive tense only emphasizes the durational nature of the action.
This way, both of the following examples basically mean the exact same thing:
Listen to Week 24 Day 2 Track 8
- Estaba lloviendo cuando tú llegaste. (It was raining when you arrived.)
- Llovía cuando tú llegaste. (It was raining when you arrived.)
Speaking Practice Exercise 2
Listen to Week 24 Day 2 Track 9
Pretérito indefinido progresivo – Preterite progressive
This structure is less common than the imperfect progressive, and though the way we use both structures is kind of similar, the preterite progressive emphasizes that the action in question had a clear end to it.
Let’s listen to the following examples:
- Yo te estuve llamando ayer y no contestaste. (I was calling you yesterday but you didn’t pick up.)
- Hoy nosotras estuvimos recorriendo toda la ciudad buscando los vestidos para la boda. (Today we were going all over town looking for the dresses for the wedding.)
- Carlos estuvo viendo televisión hasta que Paula llegó. (Carlos was watching TV until Paula arrived.)
To form a sentence with the preterite progressive, we will need the correct indefinite preterite conjugation of estar and a verb with a gerund ending.
Listen to Week 24 Day 2 Track 10
Estar | Header |
|---|---|
yo estuve | nosotros, nosotras estuvimos |
tú estuviste | ellos, ellas, ustedes estuvieron |
él, ella, usted estuvo | Cell |
- Yo te estuve llamando ayer y no contestaste.
- Hoy nosotras estuvimos recorriendo toda la ciudad buscando los vestidos para la boda.
As mentioned before, what distinguishes the two progressive pasts in Spanish is that one emphasizes the duration of the action while the other tells us the action had a clear end.
See the subtle difference between these two sentences:
Listen to Week 24 Day 2 Track 11
- Yo estaba estudiando cuando Luis me vino a buscar. (I was studying when Luis came to pick me up.)
- Yo estuve estudiando hasta que Luis me vino a buscar. (I was studying until Luis came to pick me up.)
Listen to Week 24 Day 2 Track 12
Futuro progresivo – Future progressive
This structure describes an action in progress in the future.
Let’s listen to the following examples:
- Mañana estaremos tomando el sol en la playa. (Tomorrow we will be taking some sun on the beach.)
- A partir del mes que viene estaré buscando un nuevo lugar para vivir. (Starting next month I will be looking for a new place to live.)
- El fin de semana estaremos celebrando mi cumpleaños. (This weekend we will be celebrating my birthday.)
To form a sentence with the future progressive, we will need the correct future conjugation of estar and a verb with a gerund ending.
Listen to Week 24 Day 2 Track 13
Estar | Header |
|---|---|
yo estaré | nosotros, nosotras estaremos |
tú estarás | ellos, ellas, ustedes estarán |
él, ella, usted estará | Cell |
- Mañana estaremos tomando el sol en la playa.
- A partir del mes que viene estaré buscando un nuevo lugar para vivir.
We can also use the future progressive to make assumptions about what might be occurring in the present.
Listen to Week 24 Day 2 Track 14
- No veo a Carlos en ningún lado. Estará hablando con su ex. (I don’t see Carlos anywhere. He must be talking to his ex.)
- Ya son las 3 p.m. Seguro ellos estarán llegando a la isla. (It’s 3 p.m. already. They must be arriving at the island.)
Listen to Week 24 Day 2 Track 15
Perfectos progresivos – Perfect progressive
These structures work similarly to their English counterparts. The perfect progressive tense, pretérito perfecto progresivo refers to activities that started at some point in the past and continue during the time of speaking. Pluscuamperfecto progresivo, on the other hand, speaks of ongoing actions in the past that have ended.
Let’s listen to the following examples:
- Yo he estado pensando en renunciar a mi trabajo. (I’ve been thinking about quitting my job.)
- Horacio y Sandra han estado saliendo por unos meses. (Horacio and Sandra have been seen each other for a couple of months.)
- Luis había estado viendo la televisión por horas hasta que se fue la luz. (Luis had been watching the TV for hours until the lights went off.)
- Carmen y yo nos conocíamos muy bien porque habíamos estado viviendo una al lado de la otra por años. (Carmen and I knew each other very well because we had been living next to each other for years.)
To form a sentence with the preterite perfect progressive, we will need the correct preterite perfect conjugation of haber, the past participle of estar and a verb with a gerund ending.
Listen to Week 24 Day 2 Track 16
Estar | Header |
|---|---|
yo he estado | nosotros, nosotras hemos estado |
tú has estado | ellos, ellas, ustedes han estado |
él, ella, usted ha estado | Cell |
- Yo he estado pensando en renunciar a mi trabajo.
- Horacio y Sandra han estado saliendo por unos meses.
To form a sentence with the pluperfect progressive, we will need the correct pluperfect conjugation of haber, the past participle of estar and a verb with a gerund ending.
Listen to Week 24 Day 2 Track 17
Estar | Header |
|---|---|
yo había estado | nosotros, nosotras habíamos estado |
tú habías estado | ellos, ellas, ustedes habían estado |
él, ella, usted había estado | Cell |
- Luis había estado viendo la televisión por horas hasta que se fue la luz.
- Carmen y yo nos conocíamos muy bien porque habíamos estado viviendo una al lado de la otra por años.
Listen to Week 24 Day 2 Track 18
Condicional progresivo – Conditional progressive
As the name suggests, we use this progressive structure in conditional scenarios, mostly hypothetical or unreal.
Let’s listen to the following examples:
- Si yo no me hubiese enfermado, ahora estaría cenando con mis amigos en un buen restaurante. (If I hadn’t gotten sick, I would now be having dinner with my friends in a good restaurant.)
- Si tú no me importaras, yo no estaría escuchando todo lo que dices. (If you weren’t important to me, I would not be listening to everything you’re saying.)
- Si hoy fuera domingo, estaría durmiendo toda la mañana. (If today was Sunday, I would be sleeping all morning.)
To form a sentence with the conditional progressive, we will need the correct conditional conjugation of estar and a verb with a gerund ending.
Listen to Week 24 Day 2 Track 19
Estar | Header |
|---|---|
yo estaría | nosotros, nosotras estaríamos |
tú estarías | ellos, ellas, ustedes estarían |
él, ella, usted estaría | Cell |
- Si yo no me hubiese enfermado, ahora estaría cenando con mis amigos en un buen restaurante.
- Si tú no me importaras, yo no estaría escuchando todo lo que dices.
WEEK 24 DAY 2 REVIEW:
Today we went over each of the progressive tenses in Spanish. We covered how to form a sentence in these tenses and, most importantly, how and when to use them. Remember that in most Spanish textbooks, they consider these structures verbal periphrases and not tenses themselves. That being said, give these structures a try and in no time you’ll be able to use them confidently.