Lesson 34: English words ending 'ing' in Spanish

In English we say 'I'm preparing the food tomorrow' to talk about something in the future. In Spanish making a verb end 'ing' can only refer to right now.

But before we dive into the detail let's learn a new verb.

Desayunar - to have breakfast

While in English we need to use 'have' to show what we are doing (or did) with the first mean of the day in Spanish this is a one word verb a bit like "to lunch".

It also has the same routes as English even though it looks completely different. "Breakfast" means to "break" the "fast". In Spanish:

'des' means "un".
'ayunar' means "to fast".

Spanish	English
Desayunar	To have breakfast
Desayuno	I have breakfast / I'm having breakfast
El desayuno	The breakfast

Esperar Recap

Now just a memory jogger on this verb so we can consider something with an 'ing' ending.

Spanish	English
Esperar	To wait / to hope
Espero	I wait / I'm waiting

Now if you notice we give two translations in English here. "I wait" and "I'm waiting". Ending verbs with "ing" is much more popular in English whereas in Spanish the simple present tense is usually used.

'lo hace mañana' - DIRECT TRANSLATION: "he does it tomorrow"
'lo hace mañana' - USUALLY TRANSLATED AS: "he is doing it tomorrow"

And this usual translation can confuse Spanish learners because Spanish does actually have an 'ing' ending for verbs. However these verb endings are only used when we want to show what we are doing right now at this moment.

But before we get to it we have to decide whether to use 'estar' or 'ser' as the verb to use for the am/is/are bit before the verb so the question is - Is this going to be a characterstic of a person or a state.

I won't tell you that yet, if you have done the last few lessons you should be able to think it out!

Next up the verb ending changes:

for 'ar' verbs we take off 'ar' and add 'ando'
for 'er' and 'ir' verbs we take off the 'er' or the 'ir' and add 'iendo'.

Now because these sentences always start with "to be" the 'ando' or 'iendo' verb we are talking about never changes.

Spanish	English
Hablar	To speak
Hablo	I speak / I'm speaking
Estoy hablando	I'm speaking (right now)

So in describing what you are doing now both 'Hablo' and 'Estoy hablando' could be used. 'Estoy hablando' is the one you use if you want to emphasis the point - like when someone interrupts you.

Let's see that with another verb.

Spanish	English
Estoy esperando aquí	I'm waiting here (right now)

The real difference is that you can't say "I'm talking with her tomorrow" using the 'ando' ending or "I'm eating with her tomorrow" using the 'iendo' ending. These endings are only for what is happening right now and they are less widely used because they are only there if you want to emphasize the point. Otherwise you would just use the normal form of the verb like 'Hablo'.

Spanish	English
Preparar	To prepare
Preparo	I prepare / I'm preparing
Lo preparo mañana	I'm preparing it tomorrow
Lo preparo más tarde	I'm preparing it later
Estoy preparando	I'm preparing (right now)
Lo estoy preparando	I'm preparing it (right now)
Estoy preparando lo	I'm preparing it (right now)

Just a reminder there at the end that the 'lo' placement is flexible. You can stick to putting it before the changed verb but be aware you might hear it at the end even though the second verb is a changed verb.

Back to breakfast!

Spanish	English
Estamos desayunando	We are having breakfast (right now)

Now we said

for 'ar' verbs we take off 'ar' and add 'ando'
for 'er' and 'ir' verbs we take off the 'er' or the 'ir' and add 'iendo'.

So for a verb like 'comer' ("to eat"):

Spanish	English
Estoy comiendo	I'm eating (right now)
Está comiendo	He is eating (right now)

And with 'vender' ("to sell"):

Spanish	English
Lo venden	They sell it
Lo venden mañana	They are selling it tomorrow
Están vendiendo lo	They are selling it (right now)
Lo están vendiendo	They are selling it (right now)

Lesson 35: 'ing' Practice - Being, Leaving and Buying