Grammatica · Verbi · B1 · 13 min
In the middle of it: progressives and periphrases
estoy comiendo, je suis en train de manger, sto mangiando, estou comendo: aspect built from little verbs.
Per ora le spiegazioni sono in inglese; gli esempi sono in tutte le lingue.
Latin had no progressive: CANTŌ meant both 'I sing' and 'I am singing'. Every sister can still use its plain present that way (¿Qué haces? 'What are you doing?'). On top of it, the sisters built periphrases: a small verb (stand, go, come, finish) plus an infinitive or gerund, to say 'in the middle of', 'about to', 'just did', 'keep doing'. Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Catalan made their progressive from Latin STĀRE 'to stand' plus the gerund. French uses a phrase, être en train de; Romanian has no progressive at all.
| Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | Catalan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| in the middle of | estoy leyendo | je suis en train de lire | sto leggendo | estou lendo (Portugal: estou a ler) | — (citesc acum) | estic llegint |
| about to | estoy a punto de salir | je suis sur le point de partir | sto per uscire | estou prestes a sair | sunt pe punctul de a pleca | estic a punt de sortir |
| have just | acabo de llegar | je viens d'arriver | sono appena arrivato | acabei de chegar | tocmai am ajuns | acabo d'arribar |
| going to | voy a salir | je vais sortir | — (esco tra poco) | vou sair | o să ies | — (sortiré) |
| keep doing | sigo trabajando | je continue à travailler | continuo a lavorare | continuo trabalhando (Portugal: a trabalhar) | continui să lucrez | continuo treballant |
| stop doing | dejo de fumar | j'arrête de fumer | smetto di fumare | paro de fumar | mă las de fumat | deixo de fumar |
| usually do | suelo cenar tarde | d'habitude, je dîne tard | di solito ceno tardi | costumo jantar tarde | de obicei iau cina târziu | solc sopar tard |
| gradually | va mejorando | s'améliore peu à peu | va migliorando (literary) | vai melhorando | se îmbunătățește treptat | va millorant |
Several of these are traps between sisters. 'Go' + infinitive is a future in Spanish, French and Portuguese, but in Catalan vaig sortir means 'I went out', and Catalan grammar frowns on 'go' for the future. 'Go' + gerund means 'gradually' in Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan, so Catalan va millorant 'is getting better' sits beside va millorar 'got better'. French says 'I come from arriving' (je viens d'arriver) for 'I've just arrived', where Spanish and Catalan say 'I finish arriving' and Italian and Romanian use an adverb (appena, tocmai). Latin SOLĒRE 'to be used to' survives as Spanish and Catalan soler (Italian solere and Portuguese soer are literary); the others say 'usually'.
Lisbon and São Paulo part ways
Brazilian Portuguese uses estar + gerund like Spanish: estou comendo. European Portuguese replaced the gerund with a + infinitive: estou a comer, continuo a trabalhar, though the south of Portugal (Alentejo, Algarve) keeps the gerund. Central Italian speech has a similar 'stand at' + infinitive (Roman sto a mangià), and Italian standard stare per 'be about to' uses yet another preposition. Brazil loves the gerund so much that office-speak like vou estar enviando 'I'll be sending' has a name, gerundismo, and is widely mocked.
Che fai? — Sto cucinando.
¿Qué haces? —Estoy cocinando.
Qu'est-ce que tu fais ? — Je fais la cuisine.
O que você está fazendo? — Estou cozinhando.
Ce faci? — Gătesc.
Què fas? — Estic cuinant.
What are you doing? — I'm cooking.
The question usually takes the plain present (Brazil prefers the gerund here too); French and Romanian answer with it as well. Romanian ce faci? also means 'how are you?'.
Non chiamarmi adesso, sto lavorando.
No me llames ahora, que estoy trabajando.
Ne m'appelle pas maintenant, je suis en train de travailler.
Não me liga agora, estou trabalhando.
Nu mă suna acum, lucrez.
No em truquis ara, que estic treballant.
Don't call me now, I'm working.
en train de stresses 'right in the middle of'; je travaille alone would also do.
Il treno sta per partire.
El tren está a punto de salir.
Le train est sur le point de partir.
O trem está prestes a sair.
Trenul e pe punctul de a pleca.
El tren està a punt de sortir.
The train is about to leave.
Portugal says comboio for train. Romanian can also say stă să plece, and of the weather stă să plouă 'it's about to rain'.
Sono appena arrivato.
Acabo de llegar.
Je viens d'arriver.
Acabei de chegar.
Tocmai am ajuns.
Acabo d'arribar.
I've just arrived.
Portuguese puts acabar in the past; Latin America often says recién llegué.
È seduta vicino alla finestra.
Está sentada junto a la ventana.
Elle est assise près de la fenêtre.
Ela está sentada perto da janela.
E așezată lângă fereastră.
Està asseguda a prop de la finestra.
She's sitting by the window.
Positions are states: a participle, not a gerund. Spanish está sentando would mean she is seating someone.
Le cose stanno migliorando piano piano.
Las cosas van mejorando poco a poco.
Les choses s'améliorent petit à petit.
As coisas vão melhorando aos poucos.
Lucrurile se îmbunătățesc treptat.
Les coses van millorant a poc a poc.
Things are slowly getting better.
Abito qui da tre anni.
Llevo tres años viviendo aquí.
J'habite ici depuis trois ans.
Moro aqui há três anos.
Locuiesc aici de trei ani.
Fa tres anys que visc aquí.
I've been living here for three years.
Spanish has a periphrasis for duration, llevar + time + gerund. The others use the present with 'since': depuis, da, há, de, fa … que.