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(to be) and the main verb in its gerund form (ending in -ndo). For instance:
José está preparando o almoço.
José is preparing lunch.
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!
All of the continuous tenses are formed with the auxiliary estar(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
Está chovendo agora.
It is raining now.
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(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(to be) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Present | Imperfect | Preterite | Future | |
eu(I) | estou | estava | estive | estarei |
tu(you) | estás | estavas | estiveste | estarás |
você(you, sg.)ele(he, it)ela(she, it) | está | estava | esteve | estará |
nós(we) | estamos | estávamos | estivemos | estaremos |
vós*(you, formal) | estais | estáveis | estivestes | estareis |
vocês(you, pl.)eles, elas(they) | estão | estavam | estiveram | estarão |
Gerund → The gerund is almost always formed by replacing the -r at the end of the infinitive form with -ndo.
falar(to speak) ⇒ falando(speaking)
fazer(to do/make) ⇒ fazendo(doing/making)
comer(to eat) ⇒ comendo(eating)
sorrir(to smile) ⇒ sorrindo(smiling)
conversar(to talk) ⇒ conversando(talking)
assistir(to walk) ⇒ assistindo(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.
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!
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.
Marta, o que você está fazendo agora?
Marta, what are you doing right now?
Eu estou saindo de casa para me encontrar com a Sofia.
I am leaving home to meet Sofia.
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.
Eu estou estudando Português numa escola chamada Wizard.
I have been studying Portuguese in a school called Wizard. (informal)
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.
Eu tenho estudado Português numa escola chamada Wizard.
I have been studying Portuguese in a school called Wizard. (formal)
The English present perfect continuous (has been verb-ing) is equivalent to the Brazilian Portuguese present perfect.
Meu amigo tem me visitado muito ultimamente porque estou doente em casa.
My friend has been visiting me lately because I am sick at home.
There are some circumstances where the present continuous is not used in Brazilian Portuguese:
❌ To express a future action
Although in English we can say, “I am traveling tomorrow” to refer to a future plan, in Brazilian Portuguese we must use the simple present or one of the future tenses.
Eu viajo amanhã.
Eu viajarei amanhã.
Eu vou viajar amanhã.
I am traveling tomorrow.
❌ To talk about frequency and habitual actions
To talk about the frequency of an event or habitual actions, it is more common to use the simple present.
Eu sempre falo com a Cristina.
I’m always talking to Cristina.
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.
Eu estava caminhando pela escola quando te vi.
I was walking through school when I saw you.
In some instances, the imperfect continuous tense can be used to talk about an action that started in the past and stopped recently. Here, the imperfect continuous in Brazilian Portuguese is equivalent to the English present perfect continuous:
Eu estou com fome porque estava trabalhando sem parar até agora.
I am hungry because I have been working non-stop until now.
Por que está molhado lá fora? Estava chovendo?
Why is it wet outside? Has it been raining?
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(last year)). It is formed by combining estar(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.
Eu estive estudando muito o ano passado.
I studied a lot last year. / I was studying a lot last year.
HOWEVER, the preterite continuous tense is not used often in Brazilian Portuguese. Instead, we tend to use the simple preterite.
Eu estudei muito o ano passado.
I studied a lot last year.
The imperfect and preterite continuous are both used to emphasize the ongoing nature of an event that took place in the past. What is the difference?
The imperfect continuous is used if there is no precise time given for the start or end of the situation. The closest English parallel here is the past continuous:
João estava morando em São Paulo quando nos conhecemos.
João was living in São Paulo when we met.
The preterite continuous, on the other hand, is used to emphasize an ongoing situation that started and finished at a particular time in the past. Here, the English equivalent is the either simple past tense or past continuous.
João esteve morando em São Paulo em 2020.
João lived in São Paulo in 2020.
lit. lit. João was living in São Paulo in 2020.
Remember, though, that the preterite continuous is rarely used, so you’ll more often here the simple preterite instead:
João morou em São Paulo em 2020.
João lived in São Paulo in 2020.
lit. lit. João was living in São Paulo in 2020.
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(to be) in the simple future tense with the gerund.
Eu estarei trabalhando na semana que vem.
I will be working next week.
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(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.
Eu vou estar trabalhando na semana que vem.
I will be working next week.
Here’s a quick review of the present tense conjugations for ir:
Subject Pronouns | ir(to go) |
|---|---|
eu(I) | vou |
tu(you) | vais |
você(you, sg.)ele(he, it)ela(she, it) | vai |
nós(we) | vamos |
vós*(you, formal) | ides |
vocês(you, pl.)eles, elas(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(next week).
Vi na previsão do tempo que vai estar chovendo depois do almoço.
I saw in the weather forecast that it will be raining after lunch.
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.
Vi na previsão do tempo que choverá / vai chover depois do almoço.
I saw in the weather forecast that it will rain after lunch.
The continuous tenses can also be formed with verbs other than estar(to be). For example, the verb andar(to walk) can function as an auxiliary verb to mean “to be doing something.”
Andamos falando de ti ultimamente.
We have been talking about you lately.
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 |
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 trabalho para a apresentação.
We are preparing the work for the presentation.
⇓
Nós estamos o preparando para a apresentação.
Nós estamos preparando-o para a apresentação.
We are preparing it for the presentation.
If you want to know more about object pronouns and reflexive pronouns and their placement in Brazilian Portuguese, read our posts on these topics!
In this post, we learned about the continuous tenses in Brazilian Portuguese, which are formed by combining the auxiliary verb estar(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
present tense
gerund
Eu estou estudando para a prova de inglês.
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
imperfect tense
gerund
Carlos estava estudando para a prova de inglês quando você ligou.
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
preterite tense
gerund
Estivemos visitando muitas cidades na última semana.
We visited many cities in the last week. / We were visiting many cities in the last week
Future Continuous:
to refer to actions, facts, plans, and intentions that will be in progress in the future
future tense
gerund
Infelizmente, estaremos viajando quando você chegar.
Infelizmente, vamos estar viajando quando você chegar.
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?
