Stare + gerundio and Stare per + infinito

Stare + gerundio

Stare + gerundio, also called present progressive, is used to express an action that happens at the moment the person is speaking.

The present progressive is formed using the present tense or the imperfect of the verb stare followed by the gerund of the main verb.

The ending of regular verbs for the gerund are the following:

-ARE –> -ANDO – mangiare –> mangiando

-ERE –> -ENDO – prendere –> prendendo

-IRE –> -ENDO – sentire –> sentendo / preferire –> preferendo

Some irregular verbs in the gerund are:

Fare –> facendo

Bere –> bevendo

Dire –> dicendo

Sto lavorando e non posso essere disturbato. [I am working (right now), and I cannot be disturbed.]

Giacomo sta facendo la doccia e non può rispondere al cellulare. [Giacomo is taking a shower (right now), and he cannot answer the phone.]

Mentre stavo camminando in spiaggia, ho incontrato una collega. While I was walking on the beach, I met a colleague.]

Stare per + infinito

Stare per + infinito is used to describe an action that is about to take place.

The stare per + infinito is formed using the present tense or the imperfect of the verb stare followed by per and a verb in the infinitive.

Sto per arrivare in ufficio. Arrivo fra due minuti. [I am about to arrive at the office. I’ll be there in 2 minutes.]

Stavo per inviare un’e-mail, quando la connessione wifi è saltata in tutto l’ufficio. [I was about to send an email, when the wifi connection stopped working in all the office.]