infinitive case and a gerund
what is the difference between the infinitive case and a gerund and when do I use them?
1 Answer
Okay, I have time to write an answer now:
The infinitive is the unconjugated verb- the base of everything, what you find in the dictionary
They all end in ar, er or ir.
I know you have seen them. Hablar, ser, estar, venir, ir, etc.
I will quote from my link on the gerund: http://users.ipfw.edu/Jehle/COURSES/gerund.htm
Introduction: The gerund (gerundio) is a special, invariable form of the verb which always ends in -ndo in Spanish, for example: hablando, comiendo, viviendo. An alternate name for it is simply “the -ndo form”. In English it is translated as the “-ing” form of the verb (for example, “speaking”), which has lead to the frequent mistake of calling this form the “present participle”. The gerund is a verb form which has an adverbial function, not an adjectival function like a participle, nor a noun function like an infinitive.
To form the gerund, remove the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, or -ir) of a verb and add -ando for -ar verbs, and -iendo for -er and -ir verbs:
caminar > caminando; volver > volviendo; abrir > abriendo.There are a few special cases
Uses. The gerund is primarily used: with estar to form the progressive tenses; with verbs of motion and seguir/continuar; to introduce an adverbial phrase or express “by (do)-ing (something)”.
The gerund in adverbial phrases To express “by (do)-ing (something)” when it comes after a verb, normally the gerund is used :
The gerund can also be used to introduce a phrase with a “by the way”-type meaning, or causal (“because” or “since”) or temporal (“while”, “when”) meanings:
After verbs of perception —for example, ver, mirar, notar, oír, escuchar— the gerund (or the infinitive) may be used to describe how or when the action is being performed.
Cautions. A few things mentioned above may need to be repeated:
The gerund is a verb form with an adverbial function; do not use it as a noun. Use the infinitive as the object of a preposition or as the subject of a verb: después de descansar = “after resting”; Leer es divertido = “Reading is fun”.
Do not overuse the progressive tenses, since they are used far less frequently in Spanish than in English, and do not use them unless you are portraying an action as truly being in progress.
Remember that “by (do)-ing (something)” is normally expressed with the gerund and not por + infinitive [which means “because of (do)-ing (something)” or “for the sake of (do)-ing something”.
There is more substance and many examples at the link that I did not bring over- I simply quoted the basics. This is a link well worth studying closely.
