COUNTDOWN TO SPANISH

NOTE

When it is necessary to use two verbs in succession, the first verb is

conjugated and the second verb remains in the infinitive:

Yo quiero salir. I want to go out.

Ellos pueden bailar. They can dance.

THE PRESENT PROGRESSIVE

Whereas the present tense expresses what the subject generally does
at any given time, the present progressive expresses what the subject is
doing now. The present progressive is formed as follows: estar (conjugated)
+ present participle (gerund—the -ing form).
Gerunds are formed as follows:
• From -ar verb infinitives, drop -ar and add -ando: Yo estoy
cantando. (I’m singing.)
• From -er and -ir verb infinitives, drop -er or -ir and add -iendo:

Él no está comiendo. He’s not eating.

Estamos escribiendo We’re writing a poem.

un poema.

For -er and -ir verbs whose stems end in a vowel, add -yendo:
creer (to believe) creyendo

leer (to read) leyendo

oír (to hear) oyendo

traer (to bring) trayendo

• Stem-changing -ir verbs change the stem vowel from e to i and from
o to u:
decir (to say, tell) diciendo

dormir (to sleep) durmiendo

morir (to die) muriendo

pedir (to ask) pidiendo

sentir (to feel) sintiendo

venir (to come) viniendo

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