¡Hola! Could you help me understand the difference between saying “El hombre está cocinando” and “El hombre cocina”. Why is the “ndo” part added?
¡Hola!
The “-ndo” part is called the gerund or the present participle, which is a crucial part in forming the present progressive tense. The present progressive refers to an ongoing action that is happening right now. This is different from the simple present tense in that the present tense refers more to fixed routines, something that won’t change now.
This website helps explain the difference between the present tense and the present progressive in English grammar (which may help if English is your native language in order to get some background on how we use it in English). And this other website goes into more detail about the Spanish present progressive and when to use it versus the English one (a super helpful website, I highly recommend it).
In your examples, “el hombre cocina” is in the present tense, merely stating the fact that the man cooks. On the other hand, “el hombre está cocinando” lets us know that right now the man is cooking.
Choosing between either sentence depends on what meaning you are trying to convey. As mentioned in the second link above, the Spanish present tense is used when referring to a habitual action, something done routinely, and so you would choose the present tense “el hombre cocina todos los días” (the man cooks every day) to convey that meaning. However, if cooking is not a regular habit for the man, you would choose the present progressive “el hombre está cocinando” (the man is cooking) to indicate this unusual behavior which is happening right now.
