8.13 Estar with gerundio |
Formation of the continuous |
subject | form of estar | + gerund | ||||
presente | imperfecto | indefinido | perfecto | pluscuamperfecto | ||
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Yo | estoy | estaba | estuve | he estado | había estado | comiendo |
Tú | estás | estabas | estuviste | has estado | habías estado | comiendo |
Él | está | estaba | estuvo | ha estado | había estado | comiendo |
Nosotros | estamos | estábamos | estuvimos | hemos estado | habíamos estado | comiendo |
Vosotros | estáis | estabais | estuvisteis | habéis estado | habíais estado | comiendo |
Ellos | estan | estaban | estuvieron | han estado | habían estado | comiendo |
There are different meanings with different constructions |
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I
worked and she studied (at this time) |
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I was working and while she was studying. |
The first sentence means more the
general situation at some time in the past. The second
sentence tells us exactly what they were doing at a
point of time.
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I ate there (regularly) until I learned that there are cockroaches in the kitchen. Then I didn't go anymore. |
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I was eating there (- let's say lunch) until I got to know that there were cockroaches in the kitchen. Then I left (immediately). |