Estar + Gerund in Portuguese: How to Say What You’re Doing Now

Build the pattern with estar plus a gerund

The pattern can also describe a temporary action in progress around the present. It is one useful way to talk about what someone is doing, but Portuguese may use the simple present in places where English uses the present continuous. Listen to the full sentence and learn which form fits the intended meaning.

Form gerunds from -ar, -er, and -ir verbs

For most regular verbs, replace -ar with -ando: falar becomes falando, estudar becomes estudando, and trabalhar becomes trabalhando. Replace -er or -ir with -endo or -indo: comer becomes comendo, aprender becomes aprendendo, and abrir becomes abrindo. Keep the ending on the main verb and conjugate estar separately.

This makes a reusable formula: subject + estar form + gerund. For example, você está falando and vocês estão falando differ in the form of estar, not in falando. Pronouns are common in learner examples; in real conversation, the subject may be clear from context.

Choose estar by subject, then make it negative or a question

The common forms are estou, está, estamos, and estão for eu, você/ele/ela/a gente, nós, and vocês/eles/elas. To make a negative sentence, put não before estar: Não estou trabalhando hoje (I’m not working today). To ask a question, use the same word order with a questioning tone or a question word: Você está esperando quem? (Who are you waiting for?).

Remember that a gente takes está: a gente está estudando. A common learner error is to use estão because a gente means “we.” Treat a gente as a singular grammatical subject and the form becomes predictable.

Describe a scene instead of translating word by word

Look at a photo or the room around you and describe three actions: what you are doing, what another person is doing, and what is happening outside. Then change one sentence into a question or a negative statement. This turns the grammar pattern into a short speaking drill you can repeat anywhere.

For a contrast with states and locations, review the Real Life Portuguese guide to ser vs. estar. This article focuses on estar followed by an action verb. Listening to short clips from I Speak Portuguese can help you hear how the pattern flows in connected speech, especially when estar is pronounced informally.