Verbal Periphrases in Spanish

Overview

Verbal periphrases (perifrasis verbales) are constructions where two verbs combine to express meanings that a single verb cannot. The first verb (the auxiliary) is conjugated and carries grammatical information, while the second appears as an infinitive, gerund, or past participle. English has similar constructions ("keep talking," "stop eating," "start working"), but Spanish has a much richer and more systematic set.

At the C1 level, you likely already use some periphrases naturally, such as ir a + infinitive for the near future or estar + gerund for ongoing actions. Now it is time to expand your repertoire with advanced constructions that add precision to your expression: doing something again (volver a), stopping (dejar de), having just done something (acabar de), and expressing probability (deber de).

These constructions are extremely common in spoken Spanish and give your speech a natural, idiomatic quality that cannot be achieved through simple verb tenses alone.

How It Works

Categories of Verbal Periphrases

Verbal periphrases fall into three structural types based on the form of the second verb:

Periphrasis + Infinitive

Construction	Meaning	Type
volver a + inf.	to do again	Repetitive
dejar de + inf.	to stop doing	Terminative
acabar de + inf.	to have just done	Recent completion
ponerse a + inf.	to start suddenly	Inchoative (beginning)
echarse a + inf.	to burst into	Inchoative (sudden)
deber + inf.	must, should (obligation)	Modal
deber de + inf.	must (probability)	Modal
llegar a + inf.	to manage to, to end up	Achievement
venir a + inf.	to end up, to amount to	Approximative
ir a + inf.	to be going to	Future intention
tener que + inf.	to have to	Obligation
haber de + inf.	to be supposed to	Obligation (formal)
acabar por + inf.	to end up doing	Result

Periphrasis + Gerund

Construction	Meaning	Type
seguir/continuar + ger.	to keep on doing	Continuative
llevar + time + ger.	to have been doing for	Duration
ir + ger.	to gradually do	Progressive
andar + ger.	to go around doing	Habitual/scattered

Periphrasis + Past Participle

Construction	Meaning	Type
llevar + pp.	to have done (cumulative)	Resultative
tener + pp.	to have done (result)	Resultative
dejar + pp.	to leave done	Resultative

Key Distinction: deber vs. deber de

This is one of the most important distinctions in Spanish periphrases:

Construction	Meaning	Example
deber + inf.	obligation (must/should)	Debes estudiar. (You must study.)
deber de + inf.	probability (must be)	Debe de estar en casa. (He must be at home — probably.)

In practice, many native speakers blur this distinction, using deber for both. However, careful speakers and writers maintain it, and you should aim to do so as well.

Examples in Context

Spanish	English	Note
Volvió a llamar tres veces.	He called again three times.	Repetition
Dejó de fumar hace un año.	He stopped smoking a year ago.	Cessation
Acabamos de llegar.	We just arrived.	Recent action
Se puso a llover de repente.	It suddenly started to rain.	Sudden beginning
Debe de estar en casa.	He must be at home (probably).	Probability
Debes terminar esto hoy.	You must finish this today.	Obligation
Llegó a comprender la situación.	He managed to understand the situation.	Achievement
Sigue trabajando a pesar de todo.	She keeps working despite everything.	Continuation
Llevo dos horas esperando.	I've been waiting for two hours.	Duration
Anda buscando trabajo por todas partes.	He's going around looking for work everywhere.	Habitual/scattered action
Se echó a reír sin motivo.	She burst out laughing for no reason.	Sudden onset
Viene a costar unos cien euros.	It amounts to about a hundred euros.	Approximation
Llevo leídas cincuenta páginas.	I've read fifty pages (so far).	Cumulative result

Common Mistakes

Confusing deber and deber de

• Wrong: Debo de hacer los deberes. (meaning obligation)
• Right: Debo hacer los deberes. (obligation) / Debe de ser tarde. (probability)
• Why: Deber de expresses probability or conjecture, while deber without de expresses obligation. Mixing them up changes the meaning.

Using acabar de in Past Tenses Incorrectly

• Wrong: Acabé de llegar. (meaning "I had just arrived")
• Right: Acababa de llegar. (imperfect for "I had just arrived")
• Why: Acabar de is typically used in the present (acabo de) or imperfect (acababa de). Using it in the preterite changes the meaning to "I finished arriving," which is different.

Dropping the Preposition in Fixed Periphrases

• Wrong: Volvió llamar.
• Right: Volvió a llamar.
• Why: Each periphrasis has a fixed structure. Volver requires a before the infinitive. Dropping it breaks the construction.

Overusing estar + gerund Instead of Specific Periphrases

• Wrong: Está buscando trabajo por todas partes. (when you mean scattered, repeated action)
• Right: Anda buscando trabajo por todas partes.
• Why: While estar + gerund is always grammatical, specific periphrases like andar + gerund add nuance. Andar buscando implies moving around, searching here and there, which estar buscando does not capture.

Usage Notes

Verbal periphrases are far more common in spoken Spanish than in formal writing. In conversation, constructions like volver a hacer, acabar de llegar, and ponerse a llorar appear constantly. Academic and journalistic prose tends to favor single-verb equivalents when possible.

The construction llevar + time + gerund (Llevo tres años viviendo aquí) has no simple English equivalent — it translates to "I've been living here for three years." This is one of the most useful periphrases for everyday communication and replaces the more cumbersome hace tres años que vivo aquí.

In Latin American Spanish, andar + gerund sometimes carries a slightly negative connotation, implying aimlessness or impropriety: Anda diciendo mentiras (He goes around telling lies). In Spain, this connotation is less marked.

Pronoun placement with periphrases is flexible: the pronoun can attach to the infinitive/gerund (Voy a hacerlo) or precede the conjugated verb (Lo voy a hacer). Both are correct, though the pre-verbal position is more common in speech.

Practice Tips

• Replace simple verbs with periphrases: Take simple sentences and rewrite them using periphrases. Instead of Llamó otra vez, write Volvió a llamar. This builds your active command of these structures.

• Practice llevar + gerund with real timelines: Describe your daily activities using duration: Llevo diez minutos leyendo, Llevo un año estudiando español. This periphrasis is extremely useful and underused by learners.

• Create a periphrasis journal: For one week, note every verbal periphrasis you hear in Spanish media or conversation. Categorize them by type (beginning, ending, repetition, obligation, probability). This reveals how frequently they appear in natural speech.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Gerund Uses