Overview

The gerund, also known as the present participle, is used to express several continuous actions in Spanish. You can find the gerundio right under the definition when you conjugate a word using our conjugator.

The Gerund

To form the gerund of regular verbs, drop the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, -ir) and add -ando to the stem of -ar verbs and -iendo to the stem of -er and -ir verbs.

How to Form the Gerund

There are a few irregular gerund endings which help to maintain pronunciation:

Unstressed I Between Vowels

If the stem of -er or -ir verbs ends in a vowel, -iendo changes to -yendo.

• Whenever an unstressed i appears between two vowels, the spelling always changes to a y, not just in the following gerunds.

Yendo Gerunds

Irregular IR

Ir (to go) is irregular in many tenses. If you were to treat it as a regular -ir verb, take away the -ir, you would be left with simply -iendo. When the [ie] combination is stressed, it changes to a [y], making the gerund for ir: yendo.

No Need for I Here

If the stem of -er or -ir verbs ends in ll or ñ, -iendo changes to -endo. (Since ll and ñ already have an i sound in them, it is not necessary to add it to the gerund ending.)

Ñendo Gerunds

There are also some verbs that need a stem-change before adding the gerund ending to maintain pronunciation:

• Any -er or -ir verb that has a stem-change in the third person preterite (e->i, or o->u) will have the same stem-change in the gerund form.

Stem-Change Gerunds

Uses of the Gerund

1. The progressive tenses

See the progressive reference for a full explanation, examples, and irregulars. The progressive tenses describe an ongoing action where the verb estar indicates tense.

Present Progressive

estar + present participle * Él estaba leyendo. (He was reading.) * Estoy pensando en ti. (I am thinking about you.)

2. As an Adverb

The gerund can function as an adverb, modifying the action of another verb in the same phrase.

• Pasé el día leyendo. (I spent the day reading.)
• Viviendo en España, era fácil hablar español. (Living in Spain, it was easy to speak Spanish.)

3. To Express Continuous Action

When used in conjunction with andar, ir, seguir, or venir, the gerund emphasizes the idea of a continuous, ongoing action.

• Anda buscando sus llaves. (He is walking around looking for his keys.)
• Vas saliendo de la enfermedad. (You are gradually coming out of your sickness.)
• Seguimos estudiando los libros. (We keep on studying the books.)
• Vengo sintiendo un gran consuelo. (I´ve been feeling a great comfort.)

When NOT to Use the Gerund

1. As a noun

English nouns that end in -ing are expressed using infinitives, not gerunds in Spanish.

• Me gusta hablar español. (I like speaking Spanish.)
• Ver es creer. (Seeing is believing.)
• Correr es bueno para la salud. (Running is good for your health.)

2. As an adjective

English adjectives that end in -ing are also expressed using infinitives or other conjugated verbs, not gerunds in Spanish.

• Tengo los zapatos de correr. (I have running shoes.)
• ¿De quién es el bebé que llora? (Whose is this crying baby?)

3. To Express the Future

In English, it is common to use the present progressive to express an event that will happen the future. Spanish uses the present tense or the future tense to do this.

• Salimos el lunes. (We are leaving on Monday.)
• Irémos a España mañana. (We are going to Spain tomorrow.)

Exercises

Part 1: Write out the gerund/100045/present participle for each given infinitive.

Example: saltar -> saltando

1. bañar
2. leer
3. salir
4. bailar
5. dar
6. ir
7. comer
8. hablar
9. escribir
10. dormir

Part 2: For each sentence, choose the word that fits and write its gerund to complete the sentence.

Example: Mi mamá está ___|\___|\___|\___|__ la cena. -> cocinando

Word Bank

escribir dormir servir sacar hervir

1. La camarera está ___|\___|\___|\___|__ el café.
2. Estoy ___|\___|\___|\___|\___|_ los huevos.
3. Los niños están ___|\___|\___|\___|\___|__, porque es muy tarde.
4. Nosotros estamos ___|\___|\___|\___|\___|\___| muchas fotos.
5. Mi padre está ___|\___|\___|\___|\___|\___| un libro de la historia argentina.

Answers

Part 1

1. bañando
2. leyendo
3. saliendo
4. bailando
5. dando
6. yendo
7. comiendo
8. hablando
9. escribiendo
10. durmiendo

Part 2

1. sirviendo
2. hirviendo
3. durmiendo
4. sacando
5. escribiendo