The pasado progresivo describes actions that were in progress at a point in the past, like "I was eating" or "You were sleeping" in English. It's formed using the imperfect tense of estar + gerund. The gerund is formed by removing -ar/-er/-ir and adding -ando (for -ar verbs) or -iendo (for -er/-ir verbs). It is used for:
- Actions that were happening at a specific moment in the past
- Background actions in past narratives
- Interrupted actions in the past
- Repeated or habitual actions in the past
- Describing past situations in progress
Regular Conjugations
| Pronoun | -AR | -ER/-IR |
|---|---|---|
| yo | estaba + -ando | estaba + -iendo |
| tú | estabas + -ando | estabas + -iendo |
| él/ella/ud. | estaba + -ando | estaba + -iendo |
| nosotros | estábamos + -ando | estábamos + -iendo |
| vosotros | estabais + -ando | estabais + -iendo |
| ellos/uds. | estaban + -ando | estaban + -iendo |
The imperfect of estar carries the person, and the gerund is the one the present progressive uses.
Regular -AR verb: hablar in Pasado Progresivo
An -er or -ir verb takes -iendo after estaba.
Regular -ER/-IR verb: comer in Pasado Progresivo
Common Irregular Gerunds
Only an -ir verb changes its stem in the gerund (e → i, o → u); poder → pudiendo is the exception.
| Infinitive | Gerund |
|---|---|
| decir | diciendo |
| dormir | durmiendo |
| ir | yendo |
| leer | leyendo |
| morir | muriendo |
| pedir | pidiendo |
| poder | pudiendo |
| servir | sirviendo |
| venir | viniendo |
Spelling Changes
For -er/-ir verbs:
- If stem ends in vowel: -iendo → -yendo (creer → creyendo)
- If stem ends in -ñ: -iendo → -endo (tañer → tañendo)
- If stem ends in -ll: -iendo → -endo (bullir → bullendo)