Verbal periphrases: viewpoint on obligation, phase and duration
CEFR B2
What you will learn
- Separate obligation from inference in modal periphrases.
- Choose a phase periphrasis for beginning, repetition, interruption or recent completion.
- Use gerund periphrases to express continuity, accumulated duration and gradual development.
The idea
In a verbal periphrasis, the two verb forms behave as one predicate. The first verb carries person, number, tense and mood; the infinitive, gerund or participle names the event and helps express obligation, phase, duration or result. Not every adjacent pair of verbs is a periphrasis. In “Salió corriendo”, the gerund can describe manner; in “Sigue corriendo”, seguir presents the event as continuing. Meaning and syntactic unity matter.
With an infinitive or gerund periphrasis, an unstressed object pronoun normally has two controlled positions: “Lo voy a revisar / Voy a revisarlo” and “Lo sigue buscando / Sigue buscándolo”. The meaning stays stable, but written accents may be required after attachment.
Do not split the preposition away from the infinitive: “vuelve a intentarlo”, not “vuelve intentarlo”.
Complete present and imperfect paradigms: llevar + duration + gerund
| person | present with dos años | imperfect with dos años |
|---|---|---|
| yo | llevo dos años trabajando | llevaba dos años trabajando |
| tú | llevas dos años trabajando | llevabas dos años trabajando |
| él / ella / usted | lleva dos años trabajando | llevaba dos años trabajando |
| nosotros / nosotras | llevamos dos años trabajando | llevábamos dos años trabajando |
| vosotros / vosotras | lleváis dos años trabajando | llevabais dos años trabajando |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | llevan dos años trabajando | llevaban dos años trabajando |
How it sounds
- Se puso a ordenar el archivo.
- Seguimos buscando una alternativa.
- Deben de haber salido.
Your turn
Two or three, to check that the bit above landed.
Use the freshly closed shutter and key. Ahora mismo, Lucía ___ de cerrar la tienda; aún tiene la llave fuera. (acabar)
acaba — The visual establishes immediate recent completion, so acabar de plus infinitive is selected. Lucía takes third-person singular present: acaba.
Use four calendar pages and the continuing growth. Para el próximo agosto, la planta ___ cuatro meses creciendo junto a la ventana. (llevar)
llevará — The clause projects an accumulated duration to a future reference point. The singular subject planta selects future llevará plus the duration and gerund.
Use the stopped motor beginning again after yesterday's break. Present it as a completed event: Después de la pausa de ayer, el motor ___ a funcionar. (volver)
volvió — The same event resumes, so volver a plus infinitive expresses repetition. Ayer fixes the preterite: volvió.
What your own language pushes you to say
Wrong You must submit it today → Debes de entregarlo hoy.
Right You must submit it today → Debes entregarlo hoy.
For the explicit B2 contrast taught here, deber plus infinitive expresses obligation; deber de plus infinitive expresses an inference such as “Debe de estar cerrado”. Usage varies, so the distinction is a production control, not a claim that every speaker always maintains it.
Once it makes sense
The present tense: three endings and you can talkThe present perfect: a past event connected to nowVerb–preposition patterns: lexical government and clause architecture