by + gerund as "by doing something "
n English we commonly use "by" + gerund to say things like "by saving your money you will be able to retire" or "by exercising you will lose wieght." In Spanish how do you say these kinds of things? Just the gerund alone? Could you say, for example, haciendo ejercicios bajarás peso. ? Are there other ways to form that construction? Al hacer ejercicios bajarás peso? Haga ejercicios bajarás peso?
3 Answers
As a grammar point:
Generally what we call a gerund in English - the "-ing" form of a verb functioning as a noun - is the infinitive in Spanish rather than the present participle form. I would translate you first example as "Por hacer ejercicios bajarás peso."
Other examples: Me gusta hablar español com mis amigos. I like speaking Spanish with my friends. Entender españól is más difícil en escuchar lo que en leerlo. Understanding Spanish is more difficult in listening to it than in reading it.
Until you get more fluent (perhaps as our new member, georgeir, is), it may be best to avoid using the present participle form as a gerund and using the infinitive instead.
Yeah, just the gerund:
Haciendo deporte bajarás de peso
Trabajando duro lograrás tus metas
But in spanish it's more common to say it like this:
[what] {how}
[Bajarás de peso] {haciendo deporte}
[Lograrás tus metas] {trabajando duro}
Now, "bajar de peso"=lose weight
Al hacer ejercicio bajarás de peso
And finally, "haga" it's a very soft way to give an order.
Por favor, haga lo que le digo. (Please, do as I say)
The tense is named "presente subjuntivo".
Venga por aquí. (Come this way)
Duerma bien. (Sleep well)
Wow, thank you everyone! I love this site. I really appreciate it when I get truly helpful guidance. So, let's be sure I have this right:
To say "By exercising you will lose weight," I can say: 1) Haciendo ejercicios bajarás de peso; 2) Por hacer ejercicios bajarás de peso; 3) Bajarás de peso haciendo ejercicios; or 4) Al hacer ejercicios bajarás de peso.
