71.3 Referring to events which are in the present but not
in progress
In sentences such as ‘Your father’s calling you’, ‘Someone’s knocking at the door’, we
are referring to events which are in the present, but not necessarily in progress at the
moment of speaking. To talk about these we use the present tense.
Tu padre te llama.
Your father’s calling you.Alguien llama a la puerta.
Someone’s knocking at the door.
Ahora voy.
I’m coming right away.In the first two examples the action itself may have already taken place, while in the
third this has not yet started.71.4 Expressing timeless ideas or emotions
Ideas or emotions such as ‘Segovia is nice’, ‘I like Segovia’, ‘It’s an excellent idea’,
may be considered as timeless, in so far as they are not linked to any specific time. In
fact, they may be a reaction to a present, past or even a future event or situation. In
Spanish, as in English, these ideas or emotions are normally expressed with the
present tense.
Segovia es bonita. Segovia is nice.
Me gusta Segovia. I like Segovia.
Es una excelente idea. It’s an excellent idea.71.5 Referring to events taking place in the present
71.5.1 Estar+ gerund
In sentences such as ‘I’m writing a letter’, ‘The child is sleeping’, the action is taking
place at the moment of speaking. To refer to such events, Spanish usually uses estar, ‘to
be’, followed by a gerund (i.e. words like mirando, ‘looking’, comiendo, ‘eating’).
Sometimes, this construction may be accompanied by an expression of time signalling
the present moment, for example ahora‘now’, en este momento‘at this moment’. 20.1 (p. 96)
Ahora está preparando la cena.
He/she is preparing dinner now.
Estoy mirando la televisión.
I’m watching television.Están comiendo.
They’re eating.TALKING ABOUT THE PRESENT 71.3