Sometimes we think of an idea in English and wonder, “How can I say this in Spanish?” Well, the structure of the present perfect progressive tense in Spanish is very much like its English version. In this lesson, you’ll see how these sentences are put together. You’ll find that it’s not hard to understand and use this tense in both written and spoken Spanish.
- I have been waiting for you for hours
He estado esperando por horas
- You have been studying a lot of spanish
Has estado estudiando mucho español
- They have been saying this to you for long time
Ellos te han estado diciendo esto por mucho tiempo
In this articles we’ll cover:
- Present perfect progressive
- How to use it
- Conjugations
- Examples
- Practice time
- Final words
- Answers
Let’s get started!
Present perfect progressive
This tense is used to talk about an ongoing action that began in the past and is still happening. While it’s not always used in correct grammar like in English, native Spanish speakers often use it in everyday conversation. However, it’s not commonly used in formal writing or speech.
How to use the present perfect progressive
In order to use this tense, we will need this important formula:
Auxiliary verb Haber conjugated + the past participle of Estar + gerund of the main verb
For example:
- She has been talking to her boyfriend for 5 hours
Ella ha estado hablando con su novio por 5 horas
- We have been dating 3 months ago
Nosotros hemos estado saliendo hace 3 meses
- He has been crying all morning
Él ha estado llorando toda la mañana
Conjugations
| Subject pronouns | Auxiliary verb haber | Past participle of Estar |
| Yo | He | Estado |
| Tú | Has | Estado |
| Él/Ella/Usted | Ha | Estado |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | Han | Estado |
| Nosotros/Nosotras | Hemos | Estado |
And let’s review the gerunds of some regular verbs:
| Verbs ar | Gerundio (verbs -ando) |
| Trabajar | Trabajando |
| Estudiar | Estudiando |
| Pagar | Pagando |
| Caminar | Caminando |
| Verbs er | Gerundio (verbs -iendo) |
| Tener | Teniendo |
| Hacer | Haciendo |
| Comer | Comiendo |
| Verbs ir | Gerundio (verbs -iendo) |
| Vivir | Viviendo |
| Salir | Saliendo |
| Escribir | Escribiendo |
Let’s review some gerunds of irregular verbs as well.
| Verbs | Gerundio (verbs -yendo) |
| Destruir | Destruyendo |
| Oir | Oyendo |
| Leer | Leyendo |
| Caer | Cayendo |
| Ir | Yendo |
Examples
- My daughter has been going to karate classes
Mi hija ha estado yendo a clases de karate
- They have been working in new music
Ellos han estado trabajando en música nueva
- I have been eating cereal all day
Yo he estado comiendo cereal todo el día
- We have been buying healthy food
Nosotros hemos estado comprando comida saludable
- Have you been calling my mom?
¿Has estado llamando a mi madre?
- They have been waiting all morning
Ellos te han estado esperando toda la mañana
- Our TV has been failing since 2 weeks ago
Nuestro televisor ha estado fallando desde hace 2 semanas
- Our son has been reading more books
Nuestro hijo ha estado leyendo más libros
- Laura has been living in switzerland
Laura ha estado viviendo en Suiza
- You haven’t been going to class lately
Tú no has estado yendo a clase últimamente
Practice time
A. Fill in the blanks with the right conjugation
- Ellas _________ (cocinar) el desayuno desde las 6 am
- Nosotros _________ (construir) nuestra casa hace varios meses
- Ellos _________ (Huir) de los zombis desde hace 3 días
- El equipo ________ (practicar) para la competencia nacional
- Nuestro jefe _________ (viajando) mucho, últimamente
B. Make sentences with the following verbs
- Escribir
- Hablar
- Enviar
- Oír
- Traer
Final words
This tense is often used in daily conversation, but you won’t typically find it in a grammar textbook or dictionary. Even though it’s not traditionally used in formal situations (where the present perfect tense is preferred), it’s crucial to understand how and when native speakers use it in everyday speech.
Answers
A. Fill in the blanks with the right conjugation
- Ellas han estado cocinando (cocinar) el desayuno desde las 6 am
- Nosotros hemos estado construyendo (construir) nuestra casa hace varios meses
- Ellos han estado huyendo (Huir) de los zombis desde hace 3 días
- El equipo ha estado practicando (practicar) para la competencia nacional
- Nuestro jefe ha estado viajando (viajar) mucho, últimamente
B. Make sentences with the following verbs
- Escribir ____________________________
- Hablar _______________________________
- Enviar _____________________________
- Oír _____________________________
- Traer ____________________________