Gerundios and Se

Question

In the book I'm reading, there's a sentence that states "La brecha se extiende." I believe this is meant to mean "The gap is extending", rather than "The gap extends itself." I was wondering if a gerund could take the place of this, and how it would be used.

Could one say "La brecha se extendiendo"? Or would it need to be "La brecha extendiendose." Does that carry the same meaning, or does it need an estar, such as "La brecha está extendiendose."?

Gerundios con se estan confundiendome.

Answer 1

Yes you could, but only if - as you were watching the gap was widening, this is because the Spanish present progressive can only refer to actions actually in progress at the time of speaking (unlike English). So se extiende would probably be a much better choice.

In this case, doesn't the use of the present tense imply the same thing? - HombreConElPlan, Feb 17, 2013

Answer 2

Yes, you could say La brecha se está extendiendo or La brecha está extendiéndose, and it would mean the same as La brecha se extiende in this case.