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Quedarse + gerund for continuous actions in Spanish
There are different ways to express continuity in Spanish. One of them is with the verb "quedarse".
It is formed with the verb quedar in its reflexive form followed by the gerund of the main verb.
Quedar(se) [conjugated] + [gerund of main verb]
The nuance here is "to continue doing something" or "to carry on doing something".
This structure can be used in all tenses.
Have a look and listen to these examples:
Miguel siempre se queda mirándome a los ojos cuando estamos juntos.Miguel always looks [continuously looks] into my eyes when we are together.
Remember to use the gerund form (English -ing form) after the verb quedarse.
Se quedó mirando al bebé con dulzura.
Se quedó mirar/mira/mirado al bebé con dulzura.
She kept looking at the baby sweetly.
Extra note: It is important to know that in Spanish, this sometimes implies that the action "suddenly starts at that moment and then continues". For example: I am walking and cross paths with a man, then he suddenly looks at me (he wasn't looking at me before) and doesn't look away but carries on looking. In this case I'd say:
For other ways of expressing continuity of an action see also Using Spanish verbs seguir/continuar + present participle = to keep on [doing something]
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