“Estou a falar”: how Portugal says what's happening now

Brazil says “estou falando”. Portugal says “estou a falar”. One small word, and you instantly sound European.

The form

For an action in progress, European Portuguese uses estar a + infinitive: estou a ler, estás a ouvir?, estamos a jantar. It's the equivalent of English “-ing”.

In the past and with other verbs

Estava a sets the scene in a story: Estava a dormir quando o telefone tocou. Andar a means “to have been doing lately”: Ando a aprender piano. Continuar a means “to keep doing”: Continua a chover.

And the gerund?

You will hear estou falando in the south of Portugal (Alentejo and Algarve) and in Brazilian Portuguese. In most of Portugal, and in standard European Portuguese, estar a + infinitive is the form to learn.