Estar (in the past) + gerundio

[Haroonharry]

I've searched the internet and dictionaries high and low for an explanation of the following concept....

Estar (in the past) + gerund:

Using the below sentences as examples of the type of (past) tenses I want to use estar with a gerund for.

He estado trabajando desde las 8am. / Estuvo saliendo con Juan el año pasado.

Is anyone able to explain estar (in the past) + gerund and any example sentences to get the point across?

Thanks.

[Rusty]

I changed your title. You're talking about the present participle, not the gerund, although there are plenty of people who insist on using the latter. They should first check an English dictionary for the correct meaning and then check a grammar book for the correct usage. Gerunds and present participles may look exactly alike in English, but they are not interchangeable in function.

The Spanish equivalents are el gerundio y el infinitivo, respectively. Unlike their English counterparts, they do not look alike. Just like their English counterparts, however, they are not interchangeable in function.


The construct you're talking about is one of the continuous or progressive tenses - el pretérito continuo. The progressive tenses are often overused by most English speakers trying to learn Spanish.
The preterite continuous fixes an ongoing action in a set framework of time.

Esta mañana estaba viendo la tele. (was happening this morning, may still be happening - the time frame isn't set in stone)
Esta mañana estuvo viendo la tele. (was only happening this morning, had a start and end - this has a definite time frame)

[aleCcowaN]

He estado trabajando desde las 8am = I have been working since 8 a.m.

Estuvo saliendo con Juan el año pasado. = She was dating Juan last year

Using this, you can imagine what your assignment or exam is and write some examples. Then you can check them later here in this thread. Don't mind if your examples have mistakes, we can correct them and provide explanations. But we can't provide express solutions to homework, assignments, tests and practices.