Estar + Gerund: Saying What Is Happening Now

In this lesson, you will learn how to say what is happening right now in Spanish using a present-tense form of — to be plus a gerund.

This structure is especially useful when you want to describe an action that is in progress at the moment of speaking.

The basic structure

The pattern is:

+ gerund

For example:

— I am working.
— You are studying.
— He / she is eating.
— We are speaking.
— They are drinking water.

The form of changes with the subject. The gerund does not change for person or number.

Reviewing estar in the present tense

Subject	Spanish	English
— I	— I am	I am
— you	— you are	you are
/ / — he / she / you	— he / she is; you are	he / she is; you are
/ — we	— we are	we are
/ — you all	— you all are	you all are
/ / — they / you all	— they are; you all are	they are; you all are

You already know these forms of . Now you will combine them with a gerund.

Forming the gerund of -AR verbs

For a regular -AR verb, remove -ar and add -ando.

Infinitive	Gerund	English
— to work	— working	working
— to study	— studying	studying
— to speak	— speaking	speaking
— to listen	— listening	listening

Using -AR gerunds with estar

— I am working.
— You are studying.
— He / she is speaking.
— We are listening.

Forming the gerund of -ER verbs

For a regular -ER verb, remove -er and add -iendo.

Infinitive	Gerund	English
— to eat	— eating	eating
— to drink	— drinking	drinking

Using -ER gerunds with estar

— I am eating.
— You are drinking water.
— He / she is eating rice.
— We are drinking coffee.

Forming the gerund of regular -IR verbs

For a regular -IR verb, remove -ir and add -iendo.

Infinitive	Gerund	English
— to live	— living	living
— to write	— writing	writing

Using -IR gerunds with estar

— I am living here.
— He / she is writing a message.
— We are writing the answer.

The two main gerund endings

Verb type	Gerund ending	Example
-AR	-ando	— speaking
-ER	-iendo	— eating
-IR	-iendo	— writing

For this lesson, these two endings are the main formation pattern to remember.

Talking about what you are doing now

Use + gerund when you describe your own action in progress.

— I am studying Spanish.
— I am working.
— I am eating.
— I am drinking coffee.
— I am writing a message.

Talking about what another person is doing

Use + gerund with , , or .

— is studying.
— Carlos is working.
— He / she is eating a salad.
— He / she is writing a message.

Talking about what several people are doing

Use or with the gerund.

— We are studying Spanish.
— We are working.
— They are eating.
— They are speaking in Spanish.

The gerund does not change with the subject

Compare:

— I am working.
— You are working.
— He / she is working.
— We are working.
— They are working.

The form — working stays the same. Only changes.

Using ahora — now

The word — now is useful when you want to emphasize that the action is happening at this moment.

— I am working now.
— He / she is studying now.
— We are eating now.

Using en este momento — at this moment

You can also say — at this moment.

— I am studying at this moment.
— They are working at this moment.

Asking what someone is doing

A very useful question is:

— What are you doing?

For this lesson, learn — doing / making as the common gerund of — to do / to make.

Person A: — What are you doing?

Person B: — I am studying.

Another example:

Person A: — What are you doing?

Person B: — I am writing a message.

Hacer becomes haciendo

The common verb — to do / to make has the gerund — doing / making.

— I am making the meal.
— He / she is exercising.
— We are doing an activity.

Learn as a useful high-frequency form.

Asking what another person is doing

Use:

— What is he / she doing? / What are you doing?

Person A: — What is doing?

Person B: — She is working.

Asking what several people are doing

Use:

— What are they doing? / What are you all doing?

Person A: — What are they doing?

Person B: — They are studying Spanish.

Making a negative sentence

Put no before the form of .

— I am not working.
— You are not studying.
— He / she is not eating.
— We are not speaking.
— They are not writing.

Answering a yes-or-no question

Use familiar question intonation with + gerund.

— Are you working?

Possible answers are:

— Yes, I am working.
— No, I am not working.

Using familiar place information

You can add a location to the sentence.

— I am working in the office.
— He / she is studying at the university.
— We are eating in the restaurant.
— They are working in the hotel.

Using familiar objects

You can also add the object of the action.

— I am reading the message.
— He / she is writing the address.
— We are listening to the audio.

For this lesson, learn — reading as the common gerund of — to read.

Leer becomes leyendo

— to read forms the common gerund — reading.

— I am reading.
— He / she is reading the text.
— We are reading the message.

Learn as a useful high-frequency form rather than trying to derive a larger spelling rule here.

Using estar + gerund in a classroom context

— I am reading the text.
— I am listening to the audio.
— I am writing the answer.
— We are speaking in Spanish.

Using estar + gerund in a workplace context

— I am working in the office.
— I am reading the message.
— I am writing the address.
— We are doing an activity.

Using estar + gerund with food and drink

— I am eating rice.
— He / she is eating a salad.
— We are drinking water.
— They are drinking coffee.

A short conversation about the present moment

Person A: — What are you doing?

Person B: — I am working.

Person A: — Are you in the office?

Person B: — Yes, I am in the office.

A short study conversation

Person A: — What are you doing?

Person B: — I am studying Spanish.

Person A: — Are you reading?

Person B: — No, I am listening to the audio.

A short food conversation

Person A: — What is Carlos doing?

Person B: — He is eating.

Person A: — What is he eating?

Person B: — He is eating rice with chicken.

Describing two people at the same moment

— is studying and Carlos is working.

Another example:

— is eating and Carlos is drinking coffee.

Using pero for contrasting current actions

You can connect two ideas with — but.

— I am working, but is studying.

This uses a connector you already know.

Do not forget estar

The gerund does not normally describe an action in progress by itself in this structure. Use a form of with it.

Correct:

— I am working.

The complete beginner pattern is + gerund.

Do not conjugate the gerund

The gerund does not take present-tense endings for different subjects.

Compare:

— I am studying.
— We are studying.
— They are studying.

— studying stays unchanged.

Choosing the correct form of estar

Choose from the subject, then add the gerund.

— I → — I am working.
— you → — You are working.
— → — is working.
— we → — We are working.
— they → — They are working.

Building a sentence step by step

To say “We are studying Spanish”:

Choose the subject — we.
Use — we are.
Form — studying from — to study.
Add — Spanish.

The result is:

— We are studying Spanish.

Building another sentence step by step

To say “She is eating rice”:

Choose — she is.
Form — eating from — to eat.
Add — rice.

The result is:

— She is eating rice.

A practical formation method

Use this sequence when you want to say what is happening now:

Identify the subject.
Choose the correct present-tense form of .
For a regular -AR verb, form the gerund with -ando.
For a regular -ER or -IR verb, form the gerund with -iendo.
Add an object, place, or time expression if useful.
Use no before for a negative sentence.

From Actions Happening Now to Reading Short Chats

You can now use + gerund to say what someone is doing right now, form regular gerunds, ask and answer simple questions, and make negative statements. The next lesson applies this language to reading short Spanish chats about current activities.