Use of present participle -ando / -iendo (gerund) as adjective...

Question

I'm not sure if I can use the present participle form of the verb as an adjective as I could in English or French, and if so whether I should make it agree.

For example, can I say:

• El muchacho riendo = the laughing boy

And if so, should I say:

• La chica riendO = the laughing girl

Or is it:

• La chica riendA = the laughing girl

If so, is it:

• Las chicas riendAS= the laughing girls...

¿?

Answer 1

In Spanish, the participle and the gerund has no gender since the verb tenses have no gender. Returning to your question, I can say a relative no, because you start your deduction with a mistake:

El muchacho riendo = the laughing boy : is not a correct traslation

The laughing boy, could be translated as: El muchacho sonriente, but never as a gerund form of the verb.

So, your other examples should be:

La chica sonriente (sonriente is an "English" adjective because it is the same in male or female form)

Las chicas sonrientes

On the other hand, participles also act as adjetives but the different with other languages is that, in Spanish, the adjetives have gender and number. So, the participle form have no gender except if it is used as an adjetive.

PD: Your example is funny: Rienda/s mean rein/s

reins, txtaboy, typo. Good explanation. - annierats, Dec 10, 2014

Answer 2

I agree with Txustaboy, however, we can also add a suffix of dor to many verbs to change them to adjectives and in this case we may this as well:

Laughing boy ..... el chico reidor

Laughing girl ..... la chica reidora

Yes, thanks. This is the kind of advice I was looking for. - Faldaesque, Dec 11, 2014

Answer 3

El muchacho, riéndo, dijo que no = the boy, laughing, said no.

The laughing boy = el muchacho que ríe. (that laughs) (riénte? I don't know if that word exists or can be formulated)

Gracias. this is very useful too, & I'm heartened to see that I wasn't entirely wrong. - Faldaesque, Dec 11, 2014

You're welcome. :) - chileno, Dec 11, 2014

Answer 4

Thanks, Txustaboy. Doesn't 'sonriente' mean 'smiling' as opposed to 'laughing' ? And at least I made you sonreír (quizás reír) and learnt a new Spanish word for 'rEIn' (which is usually used in the plural in English, reins).

Could you please give me an example of a gerund being used as an adjective ?

I think that the gerund form can´t be used as adjective literally (or I can´t remember any). Sonriente is the old form of the gerund of the verb sonreir - txustaboy, Dec 10, 2014

So, what's the way around it ? How do I form this kind of adjective from a Spanish verb or express the equivalent idea ? - Faldaesque, Dec 10, 2014

In French 'the laughing cow' becomes 'la vache qui rit'. Is it similar in Spanish ? 'La vaca que ríe' ? ? - Faldaesque, Dec 10, 2014

Yes, la vaca que ríe is a soft cheese commercial name - txustaboy, Dec 10, 2014