Regular Verbs in Spanish Past Progressive Tense

Regular verbs in the Spanish past progressive tense adhere to a straightforward pattern when forming the gerund, the key component to describing actions in progress in the past.

Forming the Gerund of Regular Verbs

  1. -AR verbs: Remove the “-ar” ending from the infinitive and add “-ando.”
    • Example: Hablar (to speak) → Hablando (speaking)
  2. -ER and -IR verbs: Remove the “-er” or “-ir” ending from the infinitive and add “-iendo.”
    • Example: Comer (to eat) → Comiendo (eating)
    • Example: Vivir (to live) → Viviendo (living)

Constructing the Past Progressive Tense

Once you’ve formed the gerund, combine it with the imperfect tense of the verb “estar” (to be) to create the past progressive tense:

PronounEstar (Imperfect)Gerund (Example: Hablar)Past Progressive
Yoestabahablandoestaba hablando
estabashablandoestabas hablando
Él/Ella/Ustedestabahablandoestaba hablando
Nosotros/Nosotrasestábamoshablandoestábamos hablando
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedesestabanhablandoestaban hablando

Examples:

  • “Yo estaba caminando por el parque.” (I was walking through the park.)
  • “Tú estabas estudiando para el examen.” (You were studying for the exam.)
  • “Ellos estaban bailando en la fiesta.” (They were dancing at the party.)

Synonyms

  • English: Regular Past Progressive Verbs
  • Spanish: Verbos Regulares en Pretérito Imperfecto Progresivo

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