Gerundio/ gerund

The gerund is also called the present participle; however, the gerund is NOT the equivalent to the English gerund. It may NOT be used as a noun as in English. The English gerund is normally translated into Spanish as an infinitive.

EXAMPLES

7. Saludar con un beso es habitual en la Argentina./ Greeting with a kiss is customary in Argentina.

8. Abrir los negocios los domingos es raro./ Opening the stores on Sundays is rare.

HOW TO FORM THE GERUND

1. The gerund is formed by removing the infinitive endings, -ar, -er, and -ir and by adding -ando to -ar and -iendo to -er and -ir as follows:

Infinitive	Cancelar/ to cancel	vender/ to sell	salir/ to go out
Gerund	Cancelando/ canceling	vendiendo/ selling	saliendo/ going out

2. If the -er or -ir verb stem ends in a vowel, add -yendo instead of -iendo to form the gerund as follows:

Infinitive	Gerund
oír/ to hear	oyendo/ listening
caer/ to fall	cayendo/ falling

Verbos irregulares / Irregular Verbs

There are many irregular verbs, but we are going to list only the following:

Infinitive	Gerund
decir/ to tell	diciendo
dormir/ to sleep	durmiendo
pedir/ to request	pidiendo
venir/ to come	viniendo
ir/ to go	yendo
poder/ to be able	pudiendo
sentir/ to feel	sintiendo
mentir/ to lie	mintiendo
preferir/ to prefer	prefiriendo
servir/ to serve	sirviendo
repetir/ to repeat	repitiendo
seguir/ to continue	siguiendo
reír/ to laugh	riendo

WHEN TO USE THE GERUND:

1. The gerund is used in the present progressive.

EXAMPLES

• Estoy estudiando./ I am studying.

• Ana está durmiendo./ Ana is sleeping.

2. The gerund is used as an adverb to describe another verb.

EXAMPLES

• Terminamos nuestro proyecto gritando./ Screaming, we finished our project.

• Nuestro cliente nos pagó sonriendo./ Smiling, our client paid us.

3. The gerund is used to express how something is done and also as a modifying phrase that is subordinate to another verb.

EXAMPLES

• Bajando los precios ganaremos la competencia./ By lowering the prices, we'll beat the competition.

• Abriendo más sucursales tendremos más clientes./ By opening more branches, we'll have more customers.

NOTE: When a sentence begins with a verbal phrase and is positive, the gerund is used. However, to form the negative of a sentence beginning with a verbal phrase, the preposition sin is used instead of the word no. Also note that sin needs to be followed by an infinitive (bajar and abrir)

• Sin bajar los precios no ganaremos la competencia./ Without lowering the prices, we cannot beat the competition.

• Sin abrir más sucursales no tendremos más clientes./ Without opening more branches, we won't have more customers.

4. To express a continuous action, the gerund is used with the verbs continuar/ to continue and seguir/ to follow.

EXAMPLES

• El acusado seguía hablando aunque el juez se lo había prohibido./ The accused kept on talking although the judge had prohibited him to do so.

• Las ganancias continuaron incrementando durante la recesión. / The profits continued to increase during the recession.

5. To describe an action in progress, the gerund is used with the verbs andar/ to go or walk and ir/ to go.

EXAMPLES

• El reportero anda difamando mi persona./ The reporter goes around slandering my character.

• La sociedad va destruyendo el medio ambiente./ The society goes on destroying the environment.

PRESENTE PROGRESIVO/ Present progressive

Unlike the present indicative, which can express many different actions, the present progressive is very specific. It only expresses an action that is in progress at the moment. For instance, in the following example:

Present
Hablo	I speak (in general)
	I do speak (every day)
	I will speak (immediate future)
Progressive
Estoy hablando	I am speaking (right now)

The present progressive is formed with the present tense of estar + gerund (-ing form). Review how to form GERUND.

EXAMPLES

• La compañía está revelando los secretos./ The company is revealing the secrets.

• El gerente está arriesgando su puesto./ The manager is risking his job.

• Ustedes están cosiendo la ropa./ You are sewing the clothes.

• Los empleados se están suscribiendo al Economista./ The employees are signing up for the Economist.

• Me estoy yendo a mi casa./ I am on my way home.

• El caso está siendo investigado./ The case is being investigated.

NOTE: In Spanish, the present progressive is never used to express a future action. The present tense is used in expressions that would require the present participle in English.

EXAMPLES

• El interventor sale mañana para Méjico (México can also be spelt with x). / The auditor is leaving tomorrow to Mexico.

• Los pasajeros llegan mañana a la mañana./ The passengers are arriving tomorrow morning.