# 06. The Present Progressive

> Source: [video link](https://youtube.com/watch?v=YHDZSHCt1DE&t=1399s)

The Spanish present progressive expresses an action happening **right now** (English "I am ___ing"). It's built with conjugated **estar** + the **gerund** (gerundio) of the action verb. The verb estar gets full coverage in the next chapter — here we focus on building the gerund and using it.

## Key Rules
- Formula: **conjugated *estar* + gerund**.
- **-ar verbs** → drop *-ar*, add **-ando**: *hablar → hablando*.
- **-er / -ir verbs** → drop ending, add **-iendo**: *comer → comiendo*, *vivir → viviendo*.
- Spelling rule: you cannot have three vowels in a row. Verbs whose stem ends in a vowel switch the *i* of *-iendo* to *y*: *leer → leyendo* (NOT *leiendo*), *traer → trayendo*, *oír → oyendo*.
- Stem-changing **-ir** verbs change their stem in the gerund:
  - *o → u*: *dormir → durmiendo*, *morir → muriendo*.
  - *e → i*: *decir → diciendo*, *pedir → pidiendo*, *sentir → sintiendo*.
- Subject pronoun is optional, but estar must agree with whoever is doing the action.

## Conjugation: estar (present indicative)

| Pronoun | Form |
|---------|------|
| yo | estoy |
| tú | estás |
| él / ella / usted | está |
| nosotros/as | estamos |
| vosotros/as | estáis |
| ellos/as / ustedes | están |

## Gerund Formation

| Infinitive | Type | Gerund |
|------------|------|--------|
| hablar | -ar | hablando |
| comer | -er | comiendo |
| vivir | -ir | viviendo |
| leer | -er (vowel stem) | leyendo |
| traer | -er (vowel stem) | trayendo |
| oír | -ir (vowel stem) | oyendo |
| dormir | -ir (o→u) | durmiendo |
| morir | -ir (o→u) | muriendo |
| decir | -ir (e→i) | diciendo |
| pedir | -ir (e→i) | pidiendo |

## Examples

| Spanish | English |
|---------|---------|
| Yo estoy hablando. | I am speaking. |
| Yo estoy comiendo. | I am eating. |
| Yo estoy viviendo en Madrid. | I am living in Madrid. |
| Yo estoy leyendo un libro. | I am reading a book. |
| Yo estoy durmiendo. | I am sleeping. |
| Yo estoy diciendo la verdad. | I am telling the truth. |

## Notes & Gotchas
- Don't use the present progressive for habitual or future actions the way English does ("I'm working tomorrow"). Spanish reserves it for actions in progress at this moment.
- Avoid common learner errors: *leiendo* → correct is *leyendo*; *dormiendo* → correct is *durmiendo*; *deciendo* → correct is *diciendo*.
- The full rules of *estar* (uses, accents, conjugation traps) are in the next chapter.