Seguir + Gerund and Llevar + Time: Ongoing Activities in Spanish
Seguir + Gerund and Llevar + Time: Ongoing Activities in Spanish
In this lesson, you will use seguir + gerund to say that an activity continues and llevar + a time expression + gerund to measure how long the activity has been continuing.
Seguir + gerund means to continue doing something
Conjugate seguir and keep the second verb in the gerund.
- — I am still studying Spanish.
- — You are still working here.
- — Ana still lives in Madrid.
- — We are still waiting.
- — They are still talking.
Present forms of seguir
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| — I continue | |
| — you continue | |
| / / | — he / she continues; you continue |
| / | — we continue |
| / | — you all continue |
| / / | — they / you all continue |
Do not omit the gerund when the action must be named
. — I continue can be possible only when the activity is already completely clear from context.
— I am still studying directly names the continuing activity.
Llevar + time + gerund measures duration
Use a conjugated form of llevar, then the duration, then the gerund.
- — I have been studying Spanish for two years.
- — You have been working here for three months.
- — Ana has been waiting for an hour.
- — We have been living in Valencia for six months.
Present forms of llevar
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| — I have been | |
| — you have been | |
| / / | — he / she has been; you have been |
| / | — we have been |
| / | — you all have been |
| / / | — they / you all have been |
The English gloss “have been” is only a practical translation of this duration structure. Llevar has other meanings in other contexts.
Continuation versus measured duration
Compare:
- — I am still working here.
- — I have been working here for three years.
The first emphasizes continuation. The second measures how long the activity has continued.
Compare llevar with desde hace
These two sentences can express very similar continuing-duration information:
- — I have been studying Spanish for two years.
- — I have been studying Spanish for two years.
The first uses llevar + duration + gerund. The second uses the present tense with desde hace + duration.
Keep the duration attached to llevar
Correct:
— We have been living here for six months.
The expression seis meses belongs between llevar and the gerund in this basic pattern.
Ask how long the activity has continued
Use:
— How long have you been studying Spanish?
Possible answer:
— I have been studying Spanish for one year.
Ask whether an activity still continues
Person A: — Are you still working at the hotel?
Person B: — Yes, I still work there.
Combine continuation and duration
Person A: — Do you still live in Madrid?
Person B: — Yes. I have been living there for five years.
A practical ongoing-activity method
- If you want to emphasize that the activity continues, use seguir + gerund.
- If you want to measure its duration, use llevar + duration + gerund.
- Conjugate seguir or llevar for the subject.
- Keep the second action in the gerund.
- Use desde hace + duration with the present as an alternative duration pattern.
- Do not drop the gerund when the continuing activity needs to be named explicitly.
From Ongoing Activities to Listening for Duration
You can now say that an activity continues and state how long it has been continuing. The next lesson trains you to understand how long activities have continued in short Spanish personal accounts.