Present Continuous / Verbos – Presente Contínuo
Present Progressive (Present Continuous) – refers to an action that is happening or “going on” right now.
Example:
- I am studying now – Eu estou estudando agora.
Observe that in English to compose that structure, was used the person I, verb to be conjugated according to the person – “I am” and the action that is happening with the suffix “ing” added to the verb.
Forming this kind of structure in Portuguese is easy and very similar to English. You just need the person, conjugate in the present tense verb estar according to the person that you want to refer, and finally use theaction that is going on right now.
There are 3 equivalents for “ing” in Portuguese. Each equivalent depends on the termination of the verb in its infinitive form.
Type of verbs Equivalent to “ing” in Portuguese:
- Verbs ending in ar - ANDO
- Verbs ending in er - ENDO
- Verbs ending in ir - INDO
In the chart below, observe how to add the suffix to the verb. You must drop the termination of the verb and add the suffixes “ando”, “endo” and “indo”
| Infinitive | Suffix |
|---|---|
| Falar (to speak) | falANDO (speaking) |
| Comer (to eat) | comENDO (eating) |
| Dormir (to sleep) | dormINDO (sleeping) |
Now observe how to form the Present Progressive in Portuguese:
| Language | Person | Verb estar (to be) conjugated with action that is happening right now with the appropriate suffix |
|---|---|---|
| English | She | is eating |
| Portuguese | Ela | está comendo |
Examples:
- Eu estou comendo. – I’m eating.
- Ela está comendo. – She is eating.
- Ele está comendo. – He is eating.
- Você está comendo. – You are eating
- A gente está comendo. – We are eating.
- Nós estamos comendo. – We are eating.
- Elas estão comendo. – They are eating.
- Vocês estão comendo. – You are eating.