Gerund or Infinitive?

Question

today's word is "afán" and one of the examples is:

"El afán de los bebés es comunicarse con sus padres."

And the english translation is:

"The struggle for babies is communicating with their parents."

My question is, why is "comunicarse" used instead of "comunicando"?

Isn't "comunicando" the gerund for "comunicar".

I thought words that end with "ing" in english always end in 'ando' or 'iendo' and spanish.

Welcome to the forum, :) - 00494d19, Nov 10, 2011

Thanks! Love the site...frustrated with the examples & translations. I have found many errors and that makes it hard for beginners like me to learn the language correctly. - acontreras13, Nov 10, 2011

Welcome to the forum! - --Mariana--, Nov 10, 2011

Answer 1

In Spanish many times an infinitive is used instead of "ing" in English.

Look up "Infinitives and gerunds" on Google for some great articles. Here is a practice site for the topic.

Thanks! You guys are very helpful - acontreras13, Nov 10, 2011

Answer 2

I have found many errors and that makes it hard for beginners like me to learn the language correctly. - acontreras13

HI acon, I don't think you can find many errors, we are triple checking each reply now...as this is a relatively new thing, we hope to get rid of all mistakes.

Answer 3

Your theory is correct, the gerunds end in ando, iendo...

But we do not use gerund here

In Spanish we often use an infinitive when in English a gerund is used.

Reading is good for you.

Leer es bueno para ti.

Eating an apple a day ....

comer una manzana al día....

Thanks! I don't know the definition of an 'infinitive'. Apparently 'comunicarse' is not a conjugation because it is not listed in the conjugation table for 'comunicar'. I'm sooooo confused. - acontreras13, Nov 10, 2011

Answer 4

In English, words constructed by adding the ending -ing to a verb can either be present participles or gerunds. In Spanish, the present participle is called the gerundio: it is not the gerund and is used to form the progressive tense acting as a verb. The gerund is a way of expressing the verb as a noun, and Spanish uses the infinitive for this.

Answer 5

Thanks! I don't know the definition of an 'infinitive'. Apparently 'comunicarse' is not a conjugation because it is not listed in the conjugation table for 'comunicar'. I'm sooooo confused.

What you have to realize with "comunicarse" is that it is the exact same verb as "comunicar" except that it is presented in what is often referred to as pronominal form. The word pronominal simply means that it is accompanied by an object pronoun—in this case "se."

Try looking up some of the following topics:
Pronominal Verbs
Reflexive Verbs
The Use of "Se"
You should probably be able to find some helpful information regarding this particular form.