Perífrasis verbales comunes → common verb periphrases (also: common verbal periphrases)
B1Common verb periphrases in Spanish (Perífrasis verbales comunes)
Together the parts form a single verbal idea: they add information about time, aspect (for example: ongoing or completed), attitude, obligation, possibility, or other shades of meaning that a single verb might not express alone.
Examples:
- estoy comiendo — I am eating (estar + gerund: progressive)
- voy a estudiar — I am going to study (ir a + infinitive: near future)
- tengo que ir — I have to go (tener que + infinitive: obligation)
- he hablado — I have spoken (haber + participle: perfect)
Note: grammars sometimes treat compound tenses like haber + participle as a different category, but learners benefit from seeing them with other periphrastic constructions because the form is a conjugated auxiliary + non-finite form.
- To express aspect: whether an action is ongoing, finished, repeated, beginning, or ending (estoy comiendo, he comido, voy a llegar, acabó de llegar).
- To express modality or attitude: obligation, permission, desire, probability (tengo que, hay que, poder, deber de, querer).
- To mark time and immediacy: near future (ir a), just-finished (acabar de).
- To form passive or result states: ser/estar + participle.
- To create causative or permissive meanings: hacer + infinitive, dejar + infinitive.
- Auxiliary (conjugated) + infinitive
- Auxiliary (conjugated) + gerund
- Auxiliary (conjugated) + past participle
Sometimes a small preposition or particle appears between the parts: ir a, tener que, acabar de, dejar de, volver a, ponerse a, echarse a.
Important points about form and grammar:
- Only the auxiliary is conjugated; the second verb stays in its non-finite form.
Example: yo voy a leer, tú vas a leer, él va a leer.
- The auxiliary can appear in any tense or mood, and that tense/mood determines the time or attitude of the whole periphrasis.
Example: iba a salir (I was going to leave), vaya a salir (subjunctive used in some subordinate clauses).
- Pronouns can be placed before the conjugated auxiliary or attached to the infinitive or gerund. With haber + participle, pronouns must precede the auxiliary. See the dedicated section on pronoun placement.
Main types of common Spanish periphrases (with examples)
- Estoy comiendo. — I am eating.
- Estamos estudiando para el examen. — We are studying for the exam.
Seguir / continuar + gerundio expresses continuation.
- Sigo trabajando en el proyecto. — I keep working on the project.
- Continúa lloviendo. — It continues to rain.
Llevar + gerundio (with a time expression) expresses duration up to the present.
- Llevo dos años viviendo en Madrid. — I have been living in Madrid for two years.
- Llevan semanas esperando. — They have been waiting for weeks.
Ir / andar + gerundio indicate gradual change or an ongoing, often repeated action.
- Va mejorando poco a poco. — It is getting better little by little.
- Anda diciendo lo mismo a todo el mundo. — He keeps saying the same thing to everyone.
- He terminado el informe. — I have finished the report.
- Habíamos visto la película antes. — We had seen the movie before.
Acabar de + infinitive expresses an action that has just happened.
- Acabo de llegar. — I have just arrived.
- Acabó de llamar. — He just called.
Estar + participio shows a resulting state (the result of a previous action).
- La puerta está cerrada. — The door is closed (now).
- Los exámenes están corregidos. — The exams are graded.
- Voy a estudiar esta tarde. — I am going to study this afternoon.
- Iremos en coche. — We will go by car.
Estar a punto de + infinitive / estar por / estar para + infinitive express being about to do something.
- Estoy a punto de salir. — I am about to leave.
- Está por terminar el trabajo. — He is about to finish the job.
- Estoy para salir. — I’m about to leave (used in some varieties).
- Tengo que estudiar para el examen. — I have to study for the exam.
Deber + infinitive can mean obligation or advisability.
Deber de + infinitive is often used to express probability (must / probably). The distinction is subtle and regional.
- Debes pedir perdón. — You should apologize (advice/obligation).
- Debe de estar enfermo. — He must be sick (probability).
Hay que + infinitive / (hubo que, había que) impersonal obligation: one must / people must.
- Hay que reciclar. — People must recycle / You must recycle.
- Hubo que esperar tres horas. — We had to wait three hours.
- ¿Puedo entrar? — May I come in?
- Ella puede correr una maratón. — She can run a marathon.
Querer + infinitive desire or willingness.
- Quiero verte mañana. — I want to see you tomorrow.
Soler + infinitive expresses habitual actions (used mainly in the present or imperfect).
- Suelo levantarme a las siete. — I usually get up at seven.
Dejar + infinitive allows or permits; dejar de + infinitive means to stop doing something.
- Mis padres me dejan salir los sábados. — My parents let me go out on Saturdays.
- Dejé de fumar el año pasado. — I stopped smoking last year.
- Empezó a llover. — It began to rain.
Ponerse a / echarse a / romper a + infinitive express sudden or emotional starts.
- Se puso a gritar. — He began to shout (suddenly).
- Rompió a llorar. — She burst into tears.
- Echó a correr. — He started running.
- Volvió a llamar veinte minutos después. — He called again twenty minutes later.
- Vuelve a intentarlo. — Try again.
- La carta fue escrita por Ana. — The letter was written by Ana.
Estar + participle marks the result or state after an action; the participle agrees with the subject in gender and number.
- Las ventanas están abiertas. — The windows are open.
- El profesor hizo repetir la frase a los alumnos. — The teacher made the students repeat the sentence.
Dejar + infinitive can mean allow.
- Mi madre me dejó ir al concierto. — My mother let me go to the concert.
- Only the auxiliary is conjugated: yo estoy hablando, tú estás hablando, él está hablando.
- With haber + participle used for perfect tenses, the participle does not agree with the object: He leído las cartas (not *he leídas las cartas).
- With ser or estar + participle the participle usually agrees with the subject: Las cartas están escritas.
Pronoun placement with periphrasis
- With an infinitive the object pronoun can attach to the infinitive or appear before the auxiliary: Voy a verlo = Lo voy a ver.
- With a gerund the pronoun usually appears before the conjugated verb or attached to the gerund: La estoy buscando = Estoy buscándola.
- With haber + participle, the pronoun must come before the auxiliary: Lo he visto (not *He visto lo).
- With affirmative commands based on infinitive forms, pronouns attach to the infinitive or imperative: Dímelo, Ve a verlo.
- Literal translation of English progressive. English uses the progressive more often than Spanish. Say Pienso que for I think, not *Estoy pensando que (only use estoy pensando if you mean you are in the process of thinking about a particular issue).
- Correct: Pienso que está bien. — I think it's fine.
- Less natural: Estoy pensando que está bien.
- Misusing the gerund when the subject changes. The subject of the gerund must be the same as the auxiliary. If subjects differ, use a different structure (cuando + clause, al + infinitive, que + subjunctive, etc.).
- Incorrect: *Vi a María, hablando con Pedro. (if María is not the subject of the main verb)
- Better: Vi a María mientras hablaba con Pedro. or Vi a María, y ella hablaba con Pedro.
- Wrong agreement with participles after haber. Do not make the participle agree with the direct object after haber.
- Incorrect: *He comidas las manzanas.
- Correct: He comido las manzanas.
- Confusion between deber and deber de. Use deber to express obligation/advice and deber de to express probability (many speakers use them interchangeably, but beware of the difference in formal contexts).
- Debes estudiar más. — You should study more (advice).
- Debe de ser tarde. — It must be late (probability).
- Pronoun placement errors. Remember pronouns precede the conjugated auxiliary or attach to the non-finite verb; they cannot attach directly to the participle in perfect tenses.
- Incorrect: *He verlo.
- Correct: Lo he visto or He visto lo? No — use Lo he visto.
- estar + gerundio: Estoy leyendo. — I am reading.
- seguir + gerundio: Sigo leyendo. — I keep reading.
- llevar + gerundio: Llevo tres horas leyendo. — I have been reading for three hours.
- ir a + infinitive: Voy a leer. — I am going to read.
- haber + participle: He leído ese libro. — I have read that book.
- acabar de + infinitive: Acabo de leerlo. — I just read it.
- tener que + infinitive: Tengo que leerlo. — I have to read it.
- deber + infinitive: Debes leerlo. — You should read it.
- poder + infinitive: Puedo leerlo ahora. — I can read it now.
- querer + infinitive: Quiero leerlo. — I want to read it.
- soler + infinitive: Suelo leer por la noche. — I usually read at night.
- empezar a + infinitive: Empezó a leer. — He began to read.
- ponerse a + infinitive: Se puso a leer. — He started reading (suddenly).
- echarse a / romper a + infinitive: Rompió a llorar. — He burst into tears.
- dejar de + infinitive: Dejó de fumar. — He stopped smoking.
- volver a + infinitive: Volvió a llamar. — He called again.
- ser + participle: El proyecto fue aprobado. — The project was approved.
- estar + participle: El proyecto está aprobado. — The project is approved (result/state).
- hacer + infinitive: Me hizo llorar. — He made me cry.
- Auxiliary (verbo auxiliar): the conjugated verb in a periphrasis (estar, ir, tener, haber, etc.).
- Infinitive (infinitivo): the basic, unconjugated verb form: hablar, comer, vivir.
- Gerund (gerundio): the -ando / -iendo form: hablando, comiendo, viviendo.
- Past participle (participio): the -ado / -ido form or irregular forms used for perfects and passives: hablado, comido, vivido, escrito.
- Aspect: grammatical category that shows whether an action is completed, ongoing, habitual, etc.
- Modal meaning: obligation, permission, ability, probability, desire.
- Learn periphrases by meaning and by pattern (which non-finite form they use: infinitive, gerund, participle).
- Pay attention to small prepositions: a, de, por can change meaning (volver a vs. acabar de vs. ir a).
- Practice pronoun placement: decide whether to put the pronoun before the auxiliary or attached to the infinitive/gerund.
- Notice differences with English: Spanish uses progressive less often and often prefers simple present to express general truths or planned future actions.
This guide covers the most common Spanish periphrastic constructions you will meet in conversation and writing. Keep a short list of these patterns and practice with real sentences; the more you see them in context, the easier their meanings and restrictions will become.