Reflexive Gerunds

Question

I found this on another site (spanish.about.com):

• Me abstengo de votar = I am abstaining from voting
• Me resigno a no tener dinero = I am resigning myself to having no money

I know reflexive verbs have different pronouns to non-reflexive verbs and that they can be added either before or after the verb ("Quiero me baño / Quiero bañarme").

Do reflexive verbs also have different gerunds compared to non-reflexive verbs? Like -ingo and -engo instead of -ando and -iendo? Can pronouns be added to the end of reflexive gerunds ("me abstengo / abestengome")?

Me quiero bañar or quiero bañarme ;) (quiero me baño doesn't work I'm afraid) - Kiwi-Girl, Jan 16, 2013

Answer 1

Hi Notedstrangeperson. No. Reflexive verbs do not have different gerunds (present participle forms) than non-reflexive verbs. In fact, abstengo and resigno are not in the present participle forms. They're in the simple present. Notice that the infinitive, in the case of abstener, is actually tener with a prefix. It conjugates just like tener, which in the first person singular of the present tense, is, of course, tengo. The confusion, I think, comes in because they're being translated in the English equivalent of the present progressive. This is not wrong. In fact, in English, the present progressive is used far more often than it is in Spanish. You might remember, for example, that Voy a ir a la tienda literally means "I go to go to the store," because Voy is in the simple present. It's just that we don't say it that way in English. Me abstengo de votar and Me resigno a. . . are not instances of the present progressive in Spanish; but rather, the simple present. As such, you cannot attach any pronouns to the simple present, conjugated forms. As you know, pronouns may be attached to infinitives and must be attached to conjugated forms of verbs only when the verb is in the imperative mood. Hope this helps!

Gracias. - Notedstrangeperson, Jan 16, 2013

De nada. - brian5764, Jan 16, 2013

Answer 2

Well,, first, those aren´t gerunds in the English sense (like the running, the swimming) which are a type of noun construct, but rather present progressive participles.

But no, they're not different, and they can go on the end. They also need an additional accent mark to preserve the original syllable stress. I think the below is a valid simple example, but naturally, someone please correct it, if not.

Estoy bañándome - o duchándome.

cheers. . R

Hi Rogspax. Well you're right in that a gerund in English (the –ing form of a verb being used in context as a noun) is not the same as a gerund in Spanish. In Spanish, a gerund is the same as the present participle form of a verb and is never a noun. - brian5764, Jan 16, 2013

You're also right that, at times, pronouns may be attached to the –ando or –iendo forms of verbs. Abstengo and resigno, though, are not such forms. They're simple present. - brian5764, Jan 16, 2013

Hola Rog, estoy de acuerdo con Brian sobre 'abstengo' etc sólo siendo el tiempo presente :) but as he said your other points were spot on, well done - Kiwi-Girl, Jan 16, 2013