A2 (Elementary)Lesson 1: Present Continuous & Gerund
This is where the present continuous stops being a table and becomes a conversation: you use estar + gerund to say what's happening right now, add markers like agora and ainda, and lean on the continuar / andar / ficar + gerund forms from the last lesson to say that something is still going, has been going lately, or just keeps happening.
The core move: estar + gerund → Estou trabalhando. (I'm working.)
The question you'll hear all day: O que você está fazendo? (What are you doing?)
The progress check: Como está indo? (How's it going?)
Markers that pin it to now: agora, agora mesmo, neste momento, ainda, no momento
Still going → continuar + gerund: Continuo esperando. (I'm still waiting.)
Lately → andar + gerund: Ando estudando muito. (I've been studying a lot.)
Keeps happening → ficar + gerund: Ele fica reclamando. (He keeps complaining.)
Two things at once → enquanto: Ouço música enquanto trabalho. (I listen to music while I work.)
estar + gerund (Estou fazendo…) for what's happening now · continuar / andar / ficar + gerund for still / lately / keeps · time markers: agora, agora mesmo, neste momento, ainda, no momento
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Real conversations aren't just "I work" — they're "I'm working on it right now," "I've been sleeping badly lately," and "ugh, it keeps raining." Describing what's happening at this exact moment is the engine of small talk, phone calls, and every "so, what are you up to?" Get comfortable with estar + gerund plus a handful of time words and you can field the two questions you'll hear constantly — O que você está fazendo? and Como está indo? — without freezing up and diving for the dictionary. Best of all, you already own most of the parts; this lesson just teaches you to snap them together.
You already have the machine from the last lessons: estar (conjugated) + the gerund in -ando / -endo / -indo. To say an action is in progress right now, that covers about 90% of everything you need.
Ela está cozinhando. (She's cooking.)
Nós estamos vendo um filme. (We're watching a movie.)
Drop in agora mesmo or neste momento to nail it firmly to this second.
O que você está fazendo? (What are you doing?) — the everyday opener.
Como está indo? / Como estão as coisas? (How's it going? / How are things?)
Answer in the same shape you were asked: — Estou fazendo o jantar. / — Está indo tudo bem. The question basically hands you the structure for your reply.
"O que você está fazendo aí?" (What are you doing there?)
"Estou fazendo o almoço." (I'm making lunch.)
"A gente está estudando para a prova." (We're studying for the test.)
"Neste momento estou trabalhando." (Right now I'm working.)
"O bebê está dormindo, fala baixo." (The baby is sleeping, keep your voice down.)
"Espera, estou pensando." (Wait, I'm thinking.)
"Ainda estou esperando o ônibus." (I'm still waiting for the bus.)
Verbs that describe a state rather than an action usually skip the gerund:
❌ Estou sabendo a resposta. → ✅ Sei a resposta. (I know the answer.)
❌ Estou tendo um carro. → ✅ Tenho um carro. (I have a car.)
You're describing how things are, not something in motion — so the plain present wins.
For rain or sun happening right now, use estar + gerund, not the bare present:
✅ Está chovendo. (It's raining — right now.)
The plain Chove muito aqui means it rains a lot here in general, not at this moment.
Brazilians love the gerund so much that they invented a mocked way of over-using it, nicknamed gerundismo. It's the call-centre reflex of stacking ir + estar + gerund — "Vou estar transferindo a sua ligação" ("I'll be transferring your call") — where a plain "Vou transferir" says exactly the same thing. Linguists point out it breaks no real grammar rule, but it's widely blamed on clumsily translated English phone scripts and remains one of Brazil's favourite speech habits to poke fun at.
Sources: Gerúndio e gerundismo — PrePara Enem
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