Spanish Progressive Periphrases with Ir, Venir, and Andar

In this lesson, you will use + gerund for gradual development, + gerund for an activity or process extending up to a reference point, and + gerund for repeated, diffuse, or loosely ongoing activity. Conjugate the first verb for time and subject, and do not treat these expressions as complete synonyms of + gerund.

Ir + gerund: gradual development

— The situation is gradually improving.
— Prices are gradually rising.
— The project gradually progressed during the summer.

+ gerund often presents change or progression step by step across time.

Conjugate ir according to the reference time

Present:

— The problem is gradually disappearing.

Past:

— The problem gradually disappeared.

Future:

— The situation will gradually improve.

Venir + gerund: continuation up to a reference point

— I have been working on this project since January.
— The company has been reducing costs since last year.
— The team had been studying that option for months.

The expression commonly looks backward from the reference point to an earlier beginning or continuing process.

Use a duration clue with venir + gerund

— since January
— for months
— since last year

The time phrase often makes the continuing span especially clear.

Andar + gerund: repeated or diffuse ongoing activity

— Lately I have been looking around for another apartment.
— The neighbors have been saying that they will close the street.
— Pedro has been asking around for you.

+ gerund often presents the activity as repeated, distributed, or loosely ongoing. In some contexts it can also carry a speaker attitude, so it is not a neutral replacement for + gerund.

Compare with estar + gerund

Current focused activity:

— Right now I am looking for an apartment on a website.

Broader repeated search:

— Lately I have been looking around for a cheaper apartment.

The second has a broader time span and different aspectual perspective.

Literal movement versus periphrastic ir + gerund

Literal movement:

— I go to work on foot / walking.

Aspectual development:

— Traffic is gradually increasing.

In the first, means physical movement toward a destination. In the second, + gerund presents gradual change.

Literal venir versus aspectual venir + gerund

Literal:

— He / she is coming walking from the station.

Aspectual:

— He / she has been working on the project since January.

The second does not describe physical movement toward the speaker.

Do not force one periphrasis into another meaning

Gradual development:

— The temperature is gradually falling.

Continuation from an earlier point:

— The temperature has been falling since yesterday.

Repeated or diffuse activity:

— People have been talking about the drop in temperature.

Speaker perspective matters

These periphrases do more than locate an event in time. They show how the speaker views its development, continuation, or distribution across time.

A practical periphrasis method

Choose the aspectual meaning first: gradual development, continuation up to a reference point, or repeated/diffuse activity.
Use + gerund for gradual progression.
Use + gerund for activity extending from an earlier point toward the reference point.
Use + gerund for repeated, distributed, or loosely ongoing activity.
Conjugate , , or for subject and time.
Distinguish these uses from literal physical movement.
Do not treat them as complete synonyms of + gerund.

From Progressive Periphrases to Aspectual Stages

You can now describe how an activity develops, continues, or recurs across time. The next lesson teaches expressions for being about to start, continuing an activity, and spending a period without doing something.