Using the infinitive; Is it correct that an -ing verb is translated as an infinitive?
I don't know if this is true or not but I've been wanting to use gerunds for a while, but wasn't sure what was correct in Spanish.
7 Answers
When the subject of a sentence is mentioned (as a noun), in English we can use a gerund or an infinitive depending on context. In Spanish only an infinitive can be used. In Spanish a gerund cannot be used as a noun.
This is a great question! The member also asked the question
How would you say "He is running"?
In this case, if I understand correctly, the response would be "(él) está corriendo" because "he" is the subject and "estar" (conjugated) is the verb.
Again, if I want to say "I am studying" it would be "Estoy estudiando".
Now consider the sentence
El juez considera todos los hechos antes de decidir un pleito.
The judge considers all the facts before deciding a case.
(this was a sentence from "la palabra del día" last Saturday, so I know it is correct)
Notice the present participle is used as a gerund in the English sentence, but the infinitive is used in the Spanish sentence. In this sentence, "deciding" is the name of an activity, a noun.
Consider the sign "No Smoking" in English. The Spanish equivalent is "No Fumar". Here again the infinitive is used because "smoking" is the name of an activity, a noun.
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I don't understand this well myself. I asked a high school Spanish teacher yesterday about the use of the infinitive form and she advised the only places to use the gerund form is immediately following a word like "estoy".
Depends on the part of speech. If the ing words functions as adjective you will find equivalents in Spanish ending iente, ante or dor For example viviente, sangrante, abrumador If it functions as noun the the infintive is used when there is no separate noun for it
Julian is absolutely correct the gerunds in English are translated as infinitives:
eg 1 He loves swimming is written in Spanish as/ = Le encanta nadar
or 2 reading is fun/enjoyable = leer es divertido
You need to be careful in some circumstances when translating the actions of Spanish verbs back to English. For example:
como = I eat /am eating or leo = I read/am reading
You only say/write estoy comiendo if you are actually eating at the time or estoy leyendo if you are actually reading at the time
The second set of examples above are examples of the present continuous or present progressive tense.
It also applies to the past progressive estaban comiendo = They were eating
estabas leyendo = You were reading
estaba estudiado = She was studying
I hope this helps 
I have been told that I can say the following:
I am leaving tomorrow. - Estoy saliendo mañana.
In other words the present continuous for the future.
In English it is OK - Is it Ok in Spanish?
I am running is what is called a "progressive tense." A progressive tense shows that one is right in the middle of an action. This can be past, present, or future. We conjugate the verb "to be" appropriately and then tack on the present participle. In Spanish, you conjugate estar appropriately and then tack on the present participle.
I am running = Estoy corriendo
She was running = Estaba corriendo
He will be running = Estará corriendo
We are running = Estamos corriendo
.
Now, in English, we also use present progressive for normal present, which Spanish doesn't do. Spanish reserves this construction to show being "in the middle of an action."
At any rate, when present participles (e.g., running / corriendo) are used in progressive tenses, they are not considered gerunds.
You only say/write estoy comiendo if you are actually eating at the time or estoy leyendo if you are actually reading at the time
So it sounds like I should no longer tell people "Estoy estudiano español," to mean "I'm studying Spanish," unless I'm studying at that moment.
Oops, I've been saying that wrong for years.
