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
1.
Saludar
con
un beso es habitual en la Argentina./ Greeting
with a kiss is customary in Argentina.
2.
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.
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