Gerund in Spanish (el gerundio)
Exercises
- Practice the gerund Score -/-
- Do you know the gerund? Score -/-
- More practice of the gerund Score -/-
In Spanish, the verb form that ends in -ndo is called the gerundio. It is used in compound verb forms, such as estoy cantando. (I'm singing). This -ing form, in English can also be used as an adjective or a noun.
Examples:
- What are you doing?
- The setting sun.
- Swimming is fun.
Lesson Outline
Hide- 1.Gerund formation in Spanish
- 2.Uses of the gerundio in Spanish
- 2.1.To form continuous tenses with estar
- 2.2.To Express Ongoing Actions
- 2.3.As Adverbs
- 3.Frecuent use of verbs with gerund
- 4.The gerund of irregular verbs
- 4.1.Highly irregular verbs
- 4.2.Verbs with vowel changes e→i e→ie
- 4.3.Verbs with -uir
Gerund formation in Spanish
To form the gerund of regular –ar verbs, take off the –ar ending of the infinitive and add –ando. To form the gerund of regular –er and –ir verbs replace the endings with –iendo.
| Verbs in -ar | Verbs in -er | Verbs in -ir |
|---|---|---|
|
Ending replaced by –ANDO
|
Ending replaced by –IENDO |
Ending replaced by –IENDO |
| hablar → hablando | comer → comiendo | vivir → viviendo |
| viajar → viajando | beber → bebiendo | salir → saliendo |
Uses of the gerundio in Spanish
To form continuous tenses with estar
- Estoy trabajando (I am working)
- Estamos comiendo (We are eating)
To Express Ongoing Actions
Gerundios can be used with verbs like ir , seguir , andar and venir , to emphasize the idea of an ongoing action.
- Anda buscando su movil. (He is walking around looking for his phone)
- Vas saliendo del estado de meditación. (You are gradually coming out of the meditation state)
- Seguimos estudiando las candidaturas. (We keep on studying the application forms)
- Vengo sintiendo una gran paz interior. (I've been feeling a great peace inside of me)
As Adverbs
Gerundios can function as adverbs, modifying the action of another verb in the same phrase.
- Pasé el día leyendo. (I spent the day reading)
- Cantando y bailando, se fueron de la fiesta. (Singing and dancing, they left the party)
Frecuent use of verbs with gerund
| Verb in Spanish | Verb in English | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| estar + gerund | to be doing something |
Qué estás haciendo? (What are you doing?) Estoy estudiando (I am studying) |
| empezar + gerund | to begin doing something | La profesora empieza la clase pasando lista. (The teacher starts the lesson by doing the registration) |
| llevar + gerund | to be doing something a a period of time | Cristina lleva 3 meses viviendo en Barcelona. (Cristina is living in Barcelona for 3 months now) |
| ir + gerund | to start doing something | Álvaro va empezando a caminar. (Álvaro is gradually doing his first steps) |
| continuar/seguir + gerund | to keep doing something | Patricia sigue trabajando en Valencia (Patricia is still working in Valencia) |
| acabar/terminar + gerund | to end up doing something | Terminan graduandose en el colegio. (They end up graduating at school) |
The gerund of irregular verbs
Some verbs have an irregular gerund form.
Highly irregular verbs
| Infinitive | Gerund |
|---|---|
| ser (to be) | siendo |
| ir (to go) | yendo |
| decir (to say) | diciendo |
| ver (to see) | viendo |
| poder (to be able to) | pudiendo |
| dar (to give) | dando |
| venir (to come) | viniendo |
| dormir (to sleep) | durmiendo |
| leer (to read) | leyendo |
| oir (to ear) | oyendo |
| traer (to bring) | trayendo |
| caer (to fall) | cayendo |
| morir (to die) | muriendo |
Verbs with vowel changes e→i e→ie
All verbs with a vowel change from e to i or ie in the present also have a vowel change in the gerund.
- pedir → pidiendo
- seguir → siguiendo
- reir → riendo
Verbs with -uir
For all the verbs ending in -uir, i becomes y.
- destruir → destruyendo
- construir → construyendo
You can practice the gerund form with the exercises. Good luck!
Practise with a private teacher on Skype!
- Private Skype lessons
- Learn any topic
- Flexible appointments
French&Spanish lessons
I teach: French, Spanish
I’m French, currently living in the Netherlands.I lived in Paris for almost twenty years, and I know very well my country (and of course... my language, French, my mother tongue). I taught French for two years in Spain, conversation class about culture essentially.In Paris, I was Spanish teacher, I have the Agregation degree which is the highest degree for teaching in France, I'm bilingual. I've participated too in several editorial projects about Spanish teaching and DELE preparation. I have a Spanish Studies Master and I'm currently doing a research about the Spanish and Sefardi Judaism. I have a French as foreign language and a Religious Studies Masters too. I enjoy sharing what I know. I’m a very eclectic person and curious about everything. To give you an idea, my interest (and sometimes hobbies) are: philosophy, spirituality and religions in general, meditation, psychology and psychoanalysis, history, geography, literature, writing (in particular creative writing, and I’m used to write everyday), art (painting, photography), sciences (vulgarisation level) and cultural matters in general. I travel a lot (as a backpacker), sometimes by foot, and the places I know well are France, the Netherlands, Italy and Serbia.One of my qualities is my capacity of adaptation, I enjoy preparing documents to help the student to acquire autonomy, but I love speaking too, and it’s the best way to learn a language.I'm waiting for your message, please when contact me, explain quickly who you are, why you want to study French and what you are looking for exactly.See you soon. Read more
Spanish and German for all levels!
I teach: German, Spanish
So with me you can learn all the tipps to improve or learn German. I also worked as an Engineer for several years so we can as well work on your... vocabulary in a technical level. I am a great fan of new cultures and languages. Feel free to contact me for a class :) Read more
Very experienced teacher!
Italian, English, Spanish Private Lessons for Everybody
I teach: English, Italian, Spanish
Dear all,Would you like to learn a new language such as Italian, English or Spanish in a smooth, accessible and fun way? Then, it would be a... great idea to embark on an exciting journey together!My big priority is to make sure that my students will learn a new language and get much more familiar with a new culture as fast as possible by doing dynamic and funny activities which suit everyone’s needs and passions. Song lyrics, texts from your favourite books, literature, parts of movies, news, TV series, traditional recipes may be only some of the instruments that we can use in order to make the learning process more efficient and focused on using the new language in different fields.I have a Bachelor’s degree in Languages and Literature from the University of Verona (Italy) and a Master’s Degree, cum Laude, in Languages and Media from the University ‘Cattolica’ in Milan (Italy) and Chapman University in Orange, California (USA).If you are a proper beginner, if you already know a few words but you don’t dare to speak to anyone yet, if you are already very confident with the language but you still want to get to a higher level of proficiency, if you want to know better about one of these cultures, than this is a perfect course for you.A nice introductory chat can help both of us to understand which is the starting level and which is the goal of the course in order to tailor a proper class according to your need.Join the course and you will be immediately immersed in a new culture and in a heartbeat you will speak a new language!See you soon!Maddalena Read more
