"olo" ending
How does the ending "olo" change the meaning of a word? What, for example, is the difference between hacíendo" and "haciéndolo?" Could the latter be a participle? Could it mean "making" or "becoming" or something like that?
2 Answers
The word haciendo is a present participle like verbs in English that end in -ing. Haciendo means doing. The word lo means it and in Spanish when you add it after the verb in the present participle form you attach it to the end of the present participle. The correct spelling in Spanish would be haciéndolo with the written accent. So if you want to say something like an answer to the question "Are you doing your homework?" "Yes, I'm doing it." doing it is haciéndolo.
Jubilado's answer is great.
So, first, just to make explicit what he said, the ending is not 'olo', but 'lo' as the first of those two 'O's is built right into the present participle, haciendo.
Second, it is "lo" because it is a singular masculine object pronoun. Referring to other thing(s), that "lo" ending could just as well have manifested as "los", "la" or "las"
Any of those four are just place holders, direct object pronouns, such as it or them, that we often use to avoid repetition.
We don´t say: I have the keys. I am going to give you the keys. We say: I have the keys. I´m going to give them to you.
It is the same in Spanish. it´s just that they often attach that object pronoun to the end of a verb or present participle. (other option is before the conjugated verb, but I´ll leave all but one example as attached to the end, since that was your question.
I am already making the cakes. Ya estoy haciendo los pasteles.
I am already making them. Ya los estoy haciendo, Or, Ya estoy haciéndolos.
I'm already preparing the food (la comida). Ya estoy preparándola.
I am fixing the forks (las barras) right now. Estoy reparándolas ahora mismo.
etc etc.
Hope that helps.
