01 · Still at it
Sigo estudiando español todos los días.
I keep studying Spanish every day.
Sigo plus a gerund is how you say still without a separate word for still — the continuing is baked into the verb.
andbefluent.com/spanish/geronimo
Geronimo
Say what you're still doing, just did, and usually do — out loud, naturally.
Seguir + gerundio is how you say you're still at it: Sigo estudiando español todos los días — I'm still studying, I keep studying. For how long, use llevar + time + gerundio: Llevo tres años viviendo aquí — and the order matters (time before the gerund). Round it out with soler for habits (Suelo desayunar a las siete), acabar de for what just happened (Acabo de llegar a casa), and ir + gerundio for gradual change (Voy mejorando poco a poco). These five frames are what make intermediate Spanish sound lived-in rather than translated.
Below: each frame with its phrases, the regional words locals swap in, the order mistakes to dodge — and how you get them into your mouth by talking, not by drilling conjugations.
The warm-up pack
Five small frames that make "still doing it", "just did it" and "usually do it" sound lived-in.
01 · Still at it
Sigo estudiando español todos los días.
I keep studying Spanish every day.
Sigo plus a gerund is how you say still without a separate word for still — the continuing is baked into the verb.
02 · Not anymore
Ya no sigo viviendo en esa ciudad.
I no longer live in that city.
Negate seguir and you're marking an ending — you did keep living there, and then you stopped.
03 · Getting better, bit by bit
Voy mejorando poco a poco.
I'm gradually getting better.
Voy plus gerund tracks a change happening in slow motion — not one leap, a drift over time.
04 · A slow slide the other way
Los problemas van aumentando.
The problems keep increasing.
Same frame, an unwanted direction — ir plus gerundio doesn't care whether the change is good or bad, only that it's gradual.
05 · Just happened
Acabo de llegar a casa.
I just got home.
Acabar de is the phrase for something that JUST happened — seconds ago, not this morning.
06 · Just happened, plural
Acaban de publicar los resultados.
They just published the results.
The subject changes but the shape doesn't — acaban de is exactly the same "just happened" frame, just plural.
07 · Had just happened
Acababa de salir cuando empezó a llover.
I had just left when it started to rain.
Put acabar de in the imperfect and it moves the "just happened" moment back into the past — had just left, right when it started raining.
08 · What you usually do
Suelo desayunar a las siete.
I usually have breakfast at seven.
Soler plus infinitive is the natural way to describe a routine — no separate word for usually needed.
09 · What you used to do
Solía vivir en Madrid.
I used to live in Madrid.
Solía is soler in the imperfect, and it means used to — a habit that isn't true anymore.
10 · How long you've been at it
Llevo tres años viviendo aquí.
I've been living here for three years.
Llevar plus time plus gerund answers "how long" — and the order matters: the time comes before the -ndo verb, never after.
11 · Asking someone else the same thing
¿Cuánto tiempo llevas esperando?
How long have you been waiting?
Flip it into a question with the same skeleton — llevas, then the time, then the gerund. It's how you'd actually ask, not "since when do you wait".
FLUENT
Finally, someone to talk to in Spanish.
Ten-minute spoken lessons. A teacher who answers back — and gently fixes what you got wrong.
First 10 lessons freeandbefluent.com/spanish/geronimoRegional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Argentina | Caribbean |
|---|---|---|---|
| just now | apenitas | recién | ahora mismo |
| a ton of time | un chorro de tiempo | un montón | añales |
| I usually… | suelo | solés | acostumbro |
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Carla
Your grammar teacher for this pack
No timeline worksheets, nothing to conjugate on paper — in the Geronimo lessons you talk, and Carla keeps the frames coming. She asks how long you've been learning Spanish and you answer with llevo + time + gerund; she has you flip Hace tres años que vivo aquí into Llevo tres años viviendo aquí — same meaning, different skeleton — and then asks what you're still working on (sigo…) and what your mornings usually look like (suelo…). Out loud, in the moment.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 6 lessons and Geronimo is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
Llevar + time + gerund: Llevo tres años viviendo aquí, Llevamos una hora hablando. The equivalent frame Hace tres años que vivo aquí means the same thing — natives use both.
To still be doing or keep doing something: Sigo estudiando español todos los días, Seguía lloviendo cuando salimos. Continuar works the same way: Continúa trabajando en el mismo proyecto.
To usually do something: Suelo desayunar a las siete. In the imperfect it means used to: Solía vivir en Madrid. In casual Latin American speech people often just say siempre or normalmente instead.
Acabar de = to have just done something: Acabo de llegar a casa. Terminar de = to finish doing it: Terminé de trabajar a las seis. Recent moment versus completed task.
Ir + gerund: Voy mejorando poco a poco — I'm gradually getting better; Los problemas van aumentando — the problems keep growing. It paints change over time, not a snapshot.