This introduction covers The Present Tense — Regular Verb Endings within Present tense + periphrastic future (ir a + inf) + present continuous for GCSE Spanish. Revise Present tense + periphrastic future (ir a + inf) + present continuous in Time Frames for GCSE Spanish with 13 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. Use this page as part of a wider topic revision path rather than treating it as an isolated fact. It is section 1 of 4 in this topic. Use this introduction to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
📚 The Present Tense — Regular Verb Endings
You already know this tense. The trick is that once you learn the endings, they work for every regular verb in that group — hablar, comer, vivir, and hundreds more.
| Persona | hablar (to speak) | comer (to eat) | vivir (to live) |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablo | como | vivo |
| tú | hablas | comes | vives |
| él/ella/usted | habla | come | vive |
| nosotros/as | hablamos | comemos | vivimos |
| vosotros/as | habláis | coméis | vivís |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hablan | comen | viven |
Regular verbs follow the pattern — learn the endings, not 37 separate forms. Note the accent marks on habláis, coméis, and vivís: these are required for full marks.
Practice questions for Present tense + periphrastic future (ir a + inf) + present continuous
Quick recall flashcards
Irregular gerundios — Group 1
ir → ?
decir → ?
oír → ?
ir → yendo
decir → diciendo
oír → oyendo
These are high-frequency verbs with unpredictable gerundio forms — memorise them
Important grammar note: How common is estar + gerundio in Spanish vs English?
LESS common in Spanish than the equivalent in English!
Spanish often uses the simple present where English uses '-ing':
• '¿Qué haces?' = 'What are you doing?' (NOT estás haciendo in casual speech)
• 'Vivo en Madrid.' = 'I am living in Madrid.' (NOT estoy viviendo)
Use estar + gerundio only to emphasise the action is in progress RIGHT NOW