A mi abuelo le gustaba comer leyendo.
What does "comer leyendo" mean? Thanks.
4 Answers
Le gustaba comer: He liked eating. Leyendo: reading
He liked eating while he was reading. He liked reading and eating at the same time.
Since comer is a noun in this sentence what part of speech is leyendo?
I know that there are always exceptions, but isn't the present participle (gerundio) seldom used as a noun or adjective (except for those ante, iente words)?
Since comer is a noun in this sentence what part of speech is leyendo?
I suspect that the situation is similar to English. When an infinitive/gerund is used as a noun, it retains some of its verbal "nature" (e.g. can take a direct object "I like reading books.", can be modified by an adverb "I like eating slowly.", etc.) The gerundio (participle) in Spanish is often used as an adverb and, I think that is the case here (and adverb modifying the "verbness" of comer).
A mi abuelo le gustaba leer mientras estaba comiendo. A mi me gusta tomar copas mientras estoy viendo un partido de fútbol en la tele.
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