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Present Continuous in Portuguese | Lesson 8
- Monday March 18th, 2019
- Posted by: Guest
- Category: Learn the Portuguese Language and Portuguese Grammar
We saw earlier, in lesson 7, the difference between ser and estar (verb to be). Now let’s learn a verb tense called Presente Contínuo (Present Continuous) in Portuguese. Using the present continuous we can express actions that are happening at this right moment or actions that we do on a regular basis.
ELA ESTÁ ANDANDO DE BICICLETA. (She is riding a bike.)
Present Continuous Formation:
Verb to be (estar) in the present (Presente do Indicativo) + gerund (gerúndio)
Gerund:
- Falar – falando
- Comer – comendo
- Partir – partindo
► We remove the letter r from the infinitive and add -ndo
Example: falar – fala + ndo = falando
Let’s see some examples:
─ Eu estou estudando português agora. Você pode me ligar mais tarde? (I’m studying Portuguese now. Can you call me later?)
─ Claro, ligo depois. (yes, I will call you later.)
─ Alex está estudando português no Rio de Janeiro. (Alex is studying Portuguese in Rio de Janeiro.)
─ Que legal! (That’s cool.)
─ O que eles estão fazendo agora? (What are they doing now?)
─ Eles estão dormindo. (They are sleeping.)
─ A senhora Ana está comendo agora. Quer deixar recado? (Mrs. Ana is having lunch now. Do you want to leave a message?)
─ Não, obrigada. Eu ligo mais tarde. (No, thank you. I will call her later.)
Exercises:
1. Write 5 sentences using the Present Continuous in Portuguese
2. Using the Present Continuous, tell us what you are doing in Brazil.
3. What are they doing?
a)
Answers:
1. Personal answer.
2. Personal answer.
3. a) Ela está bebendo água (She is drinking water.); b) Ele está cantando (He is singing); c) Eles estão dormindo (They are sleeping).