Continuous forms of the verb

French has an equivalent of the Spanish continuous: je suis en train de parler ‘I’m (in the process of) speaking’ emphasizes an ongoing action in much the same way as estoy hablando, but the Spanish continuous is used much more frequently. Students who know French well should note that if en train de . . . is impossible in French, the continuous will usually be impossible in Spanish. Je pars demain = salgo mañana. *Je suis en train de partir demain/*Estoy saliendo mañana are both impossible for ‘I’m leaving tomorrow’ (but see 15.5[b]).