In Brazilian Portuguese, continuous tenses are the equivalents to the tenses that use “-ing” verbs in English. They are formed using the auxiliary verb estar meaning to be and the main verb in its gerund form (ending in -ndo). For instance:
There are four major continuous tenses in Brazilian Portuguese — the present continuous, the imperfect continuous, the preterite continuous, and the future continuous. The tense you form will depend on the tense of the auxiliary verb. All four are used to describe ongoing situations and events in the past, present, or future.
Do you want to know more about how to use them in Brazilian Portuguese? Let’s start!
How to form the continuous tenses in Brazilian Portuguese?
All of the continuous tenses are formed with the auxiliary estar meaning to be + gerund (-ndo form) of the main verb: but which tense you use for estar determines which continuous tense you’re forming.
various tenses
gerund
verb + -ndo
The example above is in the present continuous, because estar in the present tense. If estar was in the imperfect tense, the verb would be in the imperfect continuous tense. If estar was in the future tense, we’d have the future continuous.
Estar meaning to be → A chart with the forms of estar that can be used in the continuous tenses is provided below.
Subject Pronouns Auxiliary verb estar meaning to be eu meaning Iestouestavaestiveestareitu meaning youestásestavasestivesteestarásvocê meaning you, sg.ele meaning he, itela meaning she, itestáestavaesteveestaránós meaning weestamosestávamosestivemosestaremosvós* meaning you, formalestaisestáveisestivestesestareisvocês meaning you, pl.eles, elas meaning theyestãoestavamestiveramestarãoGerund → The gerund is almost always formed by replacing the -r at the end of the infinitive form with -ndo.
falar meaning to speak ⇒ falando meaning speaking
fazer meaning to do/make ⇒ fazendo meaning doing/making
comer meaning to eat ⇒ comendo meaning eating
sorrir meaning to smile ⇒ sorrindo meaning smiling
conversar meaning to talk ⇒ conversando meaning talking
assistir meaning to walk ⇒ assistindo meaning watching
For a more detailed discussion of this form, check out our post on Brazilian Portuguese gerunds!
Below, we will talk about the different forms and uses of each of these continuous tenses, as well as their contrasts with English and with other Brazilian Portuguese verb tenses.
How to use the continuous tenses in Brazilian Portuguese?
All of the continuous tenses in Brazilian Portuguese are used to describe ongoing or continuing actions. However, the present continuous, imperfect continuous, preterite continuous, and future continuous are all used a little differently. Let’s have a look!
How to use the present continuous in Brazilian Portuguese?
The present continuous in Brazilian Portuguese is used to talk about a situation in progress at the moment of speaking. This tense by combining the present tense of estar with the gerund.
The present continuous is also used to talk about a repeated or unfinished action that started in the past and that is still continuing into the present.
Though this second use of the present continuous is preferred by native speakers in everyday contexts, it is considered informal. In a formal context, you are more likely to hear the present perfect tense used for this purpose.
How to use the imperfect continuous tense in Brazilian Portuguese?
Like the imperfect tense, the imperfect continuous tense describes an action or event that was in progress in the past and has no clear beginning or end. We use the imperfect continuous, rather than the imperfect, to emphasize the ongoing nature of the activity. This tense is roughly equivalent to the past continuous (was verb-ing) in English.
The imperfect continuous is formed with estar conjugated in the imperfect tense and the main verb in the gerund -ndo form.
How to use the preterite continuous in Brazilian Portuguese?
The preterite continuous in Brazilian Portuguese is used to emphasize that a situation started, and finished at some particular time in the past, but it went on for some time (ex: ano passado meaning last year). It is formed by combining estar meaning to be in the preterite tense the gerund -ndo, and it can be translated into English using either the simple past or past continuous tenses.
HOWEVER, the preterite continuous tense is not used often in Brazilian Portuguese. Instead, we tend to use the simple preterite.
How to use the future continuous in Brazilian Portuguese?
In Brazilian Portuguese, the future continuous t is used to refer to facts, actions, plans, and intentions that will be in progress in the future. This tense is equivalent to the English future progressive.
The future continuous is formed by combining estar meaning to be in the simple future tense with the gerund.
However, the future continuous is a very formal way to express ongoing actions and events in the future in Brazilian Portuguese.
In informal written and spoken language, you’ll more often hear the future tense of estar formed by combining ir meaning to go in the simple present with the infinitive estar. This future form of estar can be used before the gerund form, just like the simple future was above.
Here’s a quick review of the present tense conjugations for ir:
| Subject Pronouns | ir meaning to go |
|---|---|
eu meaning I | vou |
tu meaning you | vais |
você meaning you, sg.ele meaning he, itela meaning she, it | vai |
nós meaning we | vamos |
vós* meaning you, formal | ides |
vocês meaning you, pl.eles, elas meaning they | vão |
The future continuous is often used to emphasize that an event continues within a specific length in time or at a particular point in time, like na semana que vem meaning next week.
In contrast, when the duration is not a priority or when the future event does not continue for any significant amount of time, the simple future or future with ir should be used.
Can you form continuous tenses with other auxiliary verbs?
The continuous tenses can also be formed with verbs other than estar meaning to be. For example, the verb andar meaning to walk can function as an auxiliary verb to mean “to be doing something.”
There are also other verbs in Brazilian Portuguese that can adopt a progressive meaning and be followed by a verb in the gerund:
| Verb | Meaning without gerund | Meaning with gerund |
|---|---|---|
andar | to walk | to be doing something |
vir | to come | to continue doing something |
ficar | to stay | to be doing something |
continuar / seguir | to continue | to go on doing something |
ir | to go | to keep doing |
acabar | to finish | to end up doing something |
viver | to live | to always be doing something |
Where to place object and reflexive pronouns with the continuous tenses?
In continuous tenses, place object and reflexive pronouns before the gerund or attached to the end of the gerund with a hyphen. For example:
⇓
Nós estamos preparando-o para a apresentação.
If you want to know more about object pronouns and reflexive pronouns and their placement in Brazilian Portuguese, read our posts on these topics!
Summary
In this post, we learned about the continuous tenses in Brazilian Portuguese, which are formed by combining the auxiliary verb estar meaning to be the gerund. We reviewed each of the four continuous tenses: the present continuous, the imperfect continuous, the preterite continuous and the future continuous.
Here’s a recap:
Present Continuous:
to talk about a situation in progress at the moment of speaking OR to talk about a repeated or unfinished action that started in the past and continues into the present
estar meaning to bepresent tense
gerund
Eu estou estudando para a prova de inglês.Translation: I am studying for an English test.Imperfect Continuous:
to express an action or event that was in progress in the past and has no clear beginning or end
estar meaning to beimperfect tense
gerund
Carlos estava estudando para a prova de inglês quando você ligou.Translation: Carlos was studying for the English test when you called me.Preterite Continuous:
to emphasize an ongoing situation that started and finished at a particular time in the past
estar meaning to bepreterite tense
gerund
Estivemos visitando muitas cidades na última semana.Translation: We visited many cities in the last week. / We were visiting many cities in the last weekFuture Continuous:
to refer to actions, facts, plans, and intentions that will be in progress in the future
estar meaning to befuture tense
gerund
Infelizmente, estaremos viajando quando você chegar.
Infelizmente, vamos estar viajando quando você chegar.Translation: Unfortunately, we will be traveling when you arrive.
Now that you know all about the subject, why not practice the continuous tenses in Brazilian Portuguese with this activity?
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