Reading Short Spanish Chats About Current Activities
Reading Short Spanish Chats About Current Activities
In this lesson, you will read short Spanish chat messages about what people are doing right now. You will use the estar + gerund structure from the previous lesson to identify the current action, the person doing it, and sometimes the place.
Useful chat questions
- — What are you doing?
- — Where are you?
- — Are you working?
- — Are you studying?
Useful short answers
- — I am working.
- — I am studying.
- — I am eating.
- — I am reading.
- — I am writing a message.
Chat 1: work
Person A: — Hello. What are you doing?
Person B: — I am working.
Person A: — Where are you?
Person B: — I am in the office.
The key information is that Person B is working now and is in the office.
Chat 2: study
Person A: — Are you working?
Person B: — No, I am studying Spanish.
Person A: — Are you at home?
Person B: — Yes, I am at home.
The negative no helps you reject the first activity and identify the real one.
Chat 3: food
Person A: — What are you doing?
Person B: — I am eating rice with chicken.
Person A: — And Ana?
Person B: — Ana is drinking coffee.
Two people can be doing different actions at the same moment.
Chat 4: classroom activity
Person A: — What are you doing?
Person B: — I am reading the text.
Person A: — And Carlos?
Person B: — He is writing the answer.
The subject pronoun can be omitted when the context makes the person clear.
Chat 5: a change of activity
Person A: — Are you reading?
Person B: — No, now I am listening to the audio.
The word ahora — now is a strong clue that the message describes the current activity.
Reading for the person
First identify who performs the action.
- — I am working.
- — He / she is working.
- — We are working.
- — They are working.
The form of estar gives you the main subject clue.
Reading for the current action
Then identify the gerund.
- — working
- — studying
- — eating
- — drinking
- — reading
- — writing
The gerund tells you what action is in progress.
Reading for the place
Some chats include a location after the activity.
- — I am working in the office.
- — I am studying at home.
- — We are eating in the restaurant.
Reading for a negative
Do not miss no before estar.
- — I am not working.
- — He / she is not studying.
- — They are not eating.
Chat 6: identifying the correct activity
Person A: — What is Marta doing?
Person B: — She is not working. She is studying.
The first sentence removes one possibility. The second gives the current activity.
Chat 7: identifying the place and action
Person A: — Where are you?
Person B: — I am in the restaurant.
Person A: — What are you doing?
Person B: — I am eating.
The chat gives location first and activity second.
Chat 8: several people
Person A: — What are Ana and Carlos doing?
Person B: — Ana is studying and Carlos is working.
When two names are given, read each clause separately.
Short chat-reading task
Read:
Person A: — Hello, Luis. What are you doing?
Person B: — I am writing a message.
Person A: — Are you in the office?
Person B: — No, I am at home.
The current action is writing a message, and the place is home.
A practical reading method
- Find the form of estar.
- Identify who the subject is.
- Find the gerund and identify the current action.
- Notice no if the sentence is negative.
- Look for ahora or a location phrase if present.
- Read each speaker's message separately before combining the information.
From Current-Activity Chats to Choosing the Right Present Form
You can now read short Spanish chats and identify who is doing what right now and where the action is happening. The next lesson compares the Spanish present simple with the present progressive so you can choose the form that best matches the meaning.