Quote:
Originally Posted by laepelba
Estudio español para hablar con la gente de la Ciudad de México. Voy a visitarla en mayo."
... the software I am using to learn Spanish uses the "estar + gerund" construction quite a bit. It seems to me that to say "Estudio" is to say "I study" and to say "Estoy estudiando" is to say "I am studying". Is it an English-ism to want to say "I am studying Spanish ... (This is proper English.)
|
Estar + gerundio is the present progressive form. This is frequently overused by English speakers (mostly because Spanish courses 'overteach' it).
The present indicative
estudio can be translated
I study, I do study and I am studying. You will use the present indicative tense much more often than the present progressive.
The present progressive should be used when you are in the very act of doing something, at that precise moment. In other words, you should not say
estoy estudiando unless you have book in hand and are interrupted by someone. If annoyed by the interruption, or if you wanted to be left alone, it would be then be appropriate to say
estoy estudiando.