Participles as adjective

Question

Hi guys

While looking for the conjugations of the verb 'agotar' I noticed that the participle 'agotado' is also the adjective, just like we say in English exhausted. The same goes for 'aburrir', the participle aburrido is also the adjective.

Am I on the right track? If yes how common is that in Spanish?

Can the gerund be also used as an adjective, I mean can I use the gerund 'aburriendo' to mean boring and 'agotando' to mean exhausting?? If not how to say something is boring or exhausting?

Thanks

Answer 1

In English we use the present participle as a adjective. This is a reading room. That is a frying pan.

Spanish uses the past participle to form its adjectives (agotado, aburrido in your examples, but. of course, there are regular adjectives that are not participles)

In general, the phrases using the gerundio (very similar to English's present participle in that they are "ing" words) are normally used as adverbs.

These are generalities. I would not be surprised to find a adjective phrase using the gerundio (as is common in English), but that would not be its normal function

An adjective phrase. - Eddy, Jun 9, 2011

Good explanation. - Eddy, Jun 9, 2011

Both languages use both, actually. - RommpinCrab, Jun 9, 2011

Answer 2

My understanding is that you do not use a gerund as in English. To differentiate between bored and boring you use either ser or estar. El profesor está aburrido. = The professor is bored. (How he is) El profesor es aburrido. = The professor is boring. (What he is) (He is a boring person.)

Answer 3

The past participle can be used as an adjective (but it has to match gender and number), but the present participle usually cannot.

link

Answer 4

'Es aburrido' means boring and 'está aburrido' means bored, right?

So if I'm trying to ask someone if he's bored 'estás aburrido?' but by mistake I say "eres aburrido?' then it's a disaster.

"Ser" is used mainly to define and classify. If you ask "¿Eres...?", you want that person to define himself/herself for what he/she is. If you ask "¿Estás...?", you are asking about the current state (notice how similar "estar" and "state" are). People classified in terms of "boredom" refer to how boring they are, while in terms of state, you are saying how bored they are. The problem here is not the word "aburrido", but the choice of verb.

Answer 5

This discussion reminds me of a little joke in Spanish. SpanishPal, note the change from estar to ser in the last line when the doctor becomes annoyed.

Doctor: Señora, usted está médicamente obesa.

Paciente: ¡Qué! ¿Qué dice?

Doctor: Usted está demasiada gorda.

Paciente: ¡Yo quiero una segunda opinión!

Doctor: Bueno, tú eres fea también.

Very, very old joke. - 0074b507, Jun 9, 2011

Hahahaha. Thanks, dude. I wonder though why he used 'está. It's a physical description and 'ser' should be used here, right? - SpanishPal, Jun 9, 2011

Ser would mean that she is simply a fat person, there is no hope. This would not be a polite thing to say. Estar say that she is fat now, but implies that she could change. - Rob_TPA, Jun 9, 2011

That makes sense. Thanks again, Rob - SpanishPal, Jun 9, 2011

Sorry to spoil the joke, but is shout be "demasiado gorda". - lazarus1907, Jun 9, 2011

Answer 6

The general rule that is most helpful to me is that the gerundio is an adverb. Adverbs modify not only verbs but any other parts of speech except nouns. To correctly use the gerundio, it must somehow relate to the verb. If you want to translate an -ing form from English to Spanish you will probably want to use the infinitive. Reading about this issue alone has given me my money's worth out of my Spanish grammar book, although I'm not through with it yet.

Adverbs modify only verbs and adjectives. - lazarus1907, Jun 9, 2011

Answer 7

In English the -ed adjective (bored - exhausted) for example can only be used for things with feelings - humans or animals.

I am bored / exhausted. - A book can not be bored / but it can be boring.

The dog is bored / exhausted.

The -ing and -ed adjectives in English are needed because we only have one "to be" verb,

Spanish has two (ser and estar)

So

I am bored = Estoy aburrido.

I am boring = Soy aburrido.

So it is not necessary to use the -ing gerundio (aburriendo) as an adjective in Spanish.

The -ed adjs can be used for things like we can say the resources are exhausted or something is overused. - SpanishPal, Jun 9, 2011

True - but the resources themselves feel nothing - it is of importance to things can can "feel" - ian-hill, Jun 9, 2011

...a blessed event, a jaded past...I think that you are way off on that observation. - 0074b507, Jun 9, 2011

Answer 8

'Es aburrido' means boring and 'está aburrido' means bored, right?

So if I'm trying to ask someone if he's bored 'estás aburrido?' but by mistake I say "eres aburrido?' then it's a disaster.

Oh boy! That can cause a huge embarrassment!

Yes, that is correct. So watch out for "gordita". - Rob_TPA, Jun 9, 2011

Answer 9

I wonder if ser/estar aburrido plus other examples of ser/estar + past participles which change the meaning of the sentence are not a grammar issue related more to ser/estar usage than to how modifiers are constructed.

Yep. - lorenzo9, Jun 9, 2011

Yes, you are correct but Spanish pal also asked how to say something is boring or exhausting. - Rob_TPA, Jun 9, 2011

Answer 10

You're doing awesome! Here's the link to the SpanishDict lesson about this

http://www.spanishdict.com/learn/show/73

Thank you. - SpanishPal, Jun 12, 2011

Answer 11

There is no "gerund" in Spanish. This term is used (as a mis-translation) by people who have been exposed to formal Spanish grammar without having a corresponding background in English grammar. The "gerund" (in English) is a verbal form used as a noun. The only verbal form in Spanish that can be used as a noun is the infinitive (in English the infinitive can also be used as a noun).

The "gerundio" (present participle) can be used to form progressive tenses or as an adverb (in Spanish). Similarly, the present participle (in English) can be used to form continuous tenses or as an adjective.

Past participles can, of course be used as adjectives in both languages.

P.S. Verb forms with an "ing" suffix may, or may not, be gerunds (it depends on how the word is used).