What's Happening Right Now

Up until now, we've been giving verbs two translations in the present tense: "I speak" or "I am speaking," "I go" or "I am going." That's because English overuses the -ing form — we say "I'm doing it tomorrow" and "I'm eating with her later," which are really future, not right now.

In Spanish, the -ing form exists but is ONLY used to show what you're doing right now, in this moment. If someone interrupts you, you'd say estoy hablando (I am speaking). If someone calls asking for Pablo and he's eating, you'd say está comiendo.

Since what you're doing right now is a state, you always use estar with the gerund.

Formation

• -AR verbs: remove -ar, add -ando → hablando, preparando, esperando, desayunando, cocinando

• -ER/-IR verbs: remove -er/-ir, add -iendo → comiendo, vendiendo, saliendo

Desayunar = to have breakfast. Beautiful etymology: des- (un-) + ayunar (to fast) = "to un-fast" = "to break fast" — exactly like English "breakfast"! El desayuno = breakfast (the noun is the same as the "I" form).

Critical rule: Do NOT use estar + gerund for future events. "I'm preparing it later" = Lo preparo más tarde (NOT estoy preparándolo más tarde).

Pronoun placement with the gerund: Lo estoy preparando OR Estoy preparándolo — both work.

Sentences practiced