The Progressive, or Gerund, is a tense used in Galician grammar to express ongoing actions or states. It is constructed by combining the verb “estar” (to be) in the present tense with the gerund form of the main verb.
For example, to say “I am reading” in Galician, we would say “Estou lendo”, where “estou” is the first person singular present form of “estar” and “lendo” is the gerund form of “ler” (to read).
The Progressive is used to talk about actions that are happening at the moment of speaking or actions that are in progress over a longer period of time. It can also be used to indicate future actions or to express annoyance or irritation.
In addition to its use as a tense, the Progressive can also be used as a noun and as an adjective in Galician. As a noun, it refers to the action itself, for example, “O ler é unha das miñas actividades preferidas” (Reading is one of my favorite activities). As an adjective, it describes something that is happening at the moment, for example, “A música que está soando é moi bonita” (The music that is playing is very beautiful).