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Teaching guidelines +/- 15 minutes

Learn how to express ongoing actions in Spanish using "estar + gerundio," featuring verbs like cultivando (cultivating), regando (watering), and jugando (playing). Practice with common verbs and their present continuous forms to describe current activities.
  1. For verbs ending in "-ar", replace the "-ar" ending of the infinitive with "-ando".
  2. For verbs ending in "-er" and "-ir", replace the "-er" or "-ir" ending of the infinitive with "-iendo".
Verbos (Verbs)Estar en presente (To be in present)Ejemplos (Examples)
CultivarEstoyEstoy cultivando un cactus en el jardín. (I am cultivating a cactus in the garden.)
RegarEstásTú estás regando las plantas. (You are watering the plants.)
OlerEstáLa niña está oliendo las flores. (The girl is smelling the flowers.)
MirarEstamosNosotros estamos mirando las flores. (We are looking at the flowers.)
SembrarEstáisVosotros estáis sembrando semillas. (You are planting seeds.)
JugarEstánLos niños están jugando. (The children are playing.)

Exceptions!

  1. Some gerunds are irregular. For example: Decir --> Diciendo

Exercise 1: Estar + gerundio

Instruction: Fill in the correct word.

Show translation Show answers

estás mirando, estamos sembrando, está cortando, estoy oliendo, está oliendo, estoy cultivando, están jugando, Está lloviendo

1. Oler:
Yo ... las hojas frescas del árbol.
(I am smelling the fresh leaves of the tree.)
2. Llover:
... sobre las flores del jardín.
(It is raining on the flowers in the garden.)
3. Oler:
Mi hermana ... las flores.
(My sister is smelling the flowers.)
4. Cultivar:
Yo ... un cactus en mi terraza.
(I am growing a cactus on my terrace.)
5. Jugar:
Los niños ... en el columpio.
(The children are playing on the swing.)
6. Regar:
El jardinero ... el césped.
(The gardener is cutting the grass.)
7. Mirar:
Tú ... las plantas del jardín.
(You are looking at the plants in the garden.)
8. Sembrar:
Nosotros ... semillas en la tierra.
(We are planting seeds in the soil.)

Exercise 2: Multiple Choice

Instruction: Choose the correct solution

1. Yo estoy ____ las plantas en la terraza.

(I am ____ the plants on the terrace.)

2. Ella está ____ un cactus en el salón.

(She is ____ a cactus in the living room.)

3. Nosotros estamos ____ las flores desde la ventana.

(We are ____ the flowers from the window.)

4. Los niños están ____ en el jardín.

(The children are ____ in the garden.)

5. Tú estás ____ semillas nuevas en la maceta.

(You are ____ new seeds in the pot.)

6. La niña está ____ las flores del jardín.

(The girl is ____ the flowers in the garden.)

Understanding the "Estar + Gerundio" Construction in Spanish

This lesson focuses on the Spanish grammatical structure "estar + gerundio," which is essential for describing ongoing or temporary actions in the present moment. This form is similar to the English present continuous tense (e.g., "I am doing"). It helps learners express what someone is doing right now.

How to Form the Gerundio

To use this structure, you combine the verb estar in the present tense with the gerund form of the main verb.

  • For verbs ending in -ar, change the ending to -ando. For example, cultivar becomes cultivando.
  • For verbs ending in -er or -ir, change the ending to -iendo. For example, regar becomes regando, and oler becomes oliendo.

Usage Examples with "Estar" in Present Tense

Here are some verbs and their conjugations using "estar" plus gerundio:

VerbEstar (present)Example
CultivarEstoyEstoy cultivando un cactus en el jardín.
RegarEstásTú estás regando las plantas.
OlerEstáLa niña está oliendo las flores.
MirarEstamosNosotros estamos mirando las flores.
SembrarEstáisVosotros estáis sembrando semillas.
JugarEstánLos niños están jugando.

Irregular Gerunds

Note that some verbs have irregular gerund forms. For example, the verb decir (to say) changes to diciendo rather than deciendo.

Differences Between Spanish and English Present Continuous

Unlike English, where the present continuous is always formed with "to be" + verb ending in "-ing," in Spanish it is critical to conjugate estar correctly according to the subject before adding the gerund. Spanish gerunds also change endings based on the verb type, and there are irregular forms you need to learn over time.

Useful phrases to remember:

  • I am watering the plants. – Estoy regando las plantas.
  • We are looking at the flowers. – Estamos mirando las flores.
  • The children are playing. – Los niños están jugando.

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