Advanced Verb Structures

These verb structures are Higher-tier content in AQA GCSE Spanish (8692). Foundation students are not assessed on them, so if you are sitting Foundation you can skip this lesson.

Each structure below combines a common verb with an infinitive or a gerund to express an idea that a single tense cannot. They are exactly the kind of phrases that push writing and speaking into the higher mark bands:

• acabar de + infinitive — to have just done something
• seguir + gerund — to keep on / still be doing something
• present + desde hace — to have been doing something for a length of time
• plural reflexive / reciprocal verbs — to do something to each other

Learn them as ready-made patterns you can drop into any answer.

Acabar de followed by an infinitive means "to have just done something". Acabar is a regular -ar verb, so you simply conjugate it in the present and add de + the infinitive.

Person	acabar (present)	Example
yo	acabo	Acabo de llegar.
tú	acabas	Acabas de comer.
él/ella	acaba	Acaba de salir.
nosotros/as	acabamos	Acabamos de terminar.
ellos/ellas	acaban	Acaban de volver.

• Acabo de llegar a casa. — I have just arrived home.
• Acabamos de comer. — We have just eaten.

To say you had just done something, use the imperfect of acabar:

• Acababa de salir cuando llamaste. — I had just left when you called.

Although English uses "have just", Spanish uses the present of acabar here. Do not reach for the perfect tense.

Seguir + a gerund means "to keep on doing" or "to still be doing" something. Seguir is an e → i stem-changing verb, so learn its present carefully.

Person	seguir (present)
yo	sigo
tú	sigues
él/ella	sigue
nosotros/as	seguimos
vosotros/as	seguís
ellos/ellas	siguen

The gerund is formed -ar → -ando and -er/-ir → -iendo.

• Sigo estudiando español. — I keep studying / I am still studying Spanish.
• Sigue lloviendo. — It keeps raining / It is still raining.
• Seguimos viviendo en Madrid. — We are still living in Madrid.

The verb continuar works the same way: Continúo trabajando aquí (I keep working here).

To say how long you have been doing something that is still going on, Spanish uses the present tense plus desde hace + the length of time. This is one of the biggest differences from English, which uses "have been … -ing".

• Estudio español desde hace tres años. — I have been studying Spanish for three years.
• Vivo aquí desde hace cinco años. — I have been living here for five years.
• Trabajo en esta tienda desde hace seis meses. — I have been working in this shop for six months.

You can ask and answer the question two ways:

• ¿Cuánto tiempo hace que estudias español? — How long have you been studying Spanish?
• Hace tres años que estudio español. — I have been studying Spanish for three years.

Use desde on its own with a starting point (a date or year):

• Vivo aquí desde 2020. — I have lived here since 2020.

The verb stays in the present because the action is still happening. Using the preterite or perfect here is the classic mistake.

You already know singular reflexive pronouns (me, te, se). The plural pronouns are nos, os and se, used when the subject does the action to itself.

• Nos levantamos temprano. — We get up early.
• ¿Os laváis las manos? — Do you (all) wash your hands?

With a plural subject, the same pronoun can also be reciprocal, meaning the people do the action to each other.

Sentence	Reflexive meaning	Reciprocal meaning
Nos vemos todos los días.	–	We see each other every day.
Se escriben.	–	They write to each other.
Se quieren mucho.	–	They love each other a lot.

• Mis amigos y yo nos vemos todos los días. — My friends and I see each other every day.
• Los novios se abrazaron. — The couple hugged each other.
• Ana y Luis se conocieron en 2019. — Ana and Luis met (each other) in 2019.

If the meaning could be unclear, add el uno al otro or mutuamente to make "each other" explicit: Se ayudan el uno al otro (They help each other).

1. Using a past tense with acabar de

Acabo de llegar, not acabé de llegar, for "I have just arrived". Acabar stays in the present (or imperfect for "had just").

2. Using a past tense with desde hace

For an action still going on, Spanish uses the present: Vivo aquí desde hace cinco años, not he vivido or viví.

3. Forgetting the stem change in seguir

Seguir changes e → i: sigo, sigues, sigue. Writing seguo or sego is an error.

4. Wrong gerund endings

The gerund is -ando for -ar verbs and -iendo for -er/-ir verbs: estudiando, comiendo, viviendo. Do not mix them up.

5. Missing the reciprocal pronoun

"They love each other" needs the pronoun: Se quieren, not quieren. Without se, the sentence loses the "each other" meaning.