The present progressive is the verb tense you use when you want to express actions or feelings that are continuous or ongoing. This tense is comparable to the English progressive, which is done by using the verb “to be” plus an “ — ing” ending, as in “I am writing.” By comparison, in Brazilian Portuguese we use the verb estar plus the — ndo ending, as in Estou falando (I am talking). Here is how this verb tense is constructed.

Present Progressive Tense

As far as the use of progressive tenses, English speakers use the “ — ing” structures more often. For example, you use the “present” progressive in the sentence “I'm flying tomorrow” even though it is about the future. This particular usage is not permitted in Portuguese. We would instead use the regular present tense, as in Eu viajo amanhã (I fly tomorrow). Most commonly, the present progressive tense in Portuguese is used to reflect ongoing actions or to reflect situations at the moment of speech. As with many other structures in the language, it does not have to be describing an action; it could denote a non-action, as in Eu estou pensando (I'm thinking). Here are some other examples of action and non-action present progressive sentences: