what is the spanish way of using -ing
The way I identify it is using "ando" though I'm a still mostly confused Ex-mirar and mirando Is There more to it then just adding ando to the end of the word Tips,
5 Answers
Perhaps one thing that is confusing you is that Spanish present participles (often the equivalent to our -ing words, such as comiendo, hablando, escribiendo etc) can not be used as gerunds.
Gerunds in the English language are -ing words used as nouns.
Eg. I don't like reading.
Instead you must use the verb infinitive.
No me gusta leer.
you're right with "ando" (mirando, caminando, jugando, etc), it can also be "endo" depending on the word (example: yendo (going) from verb 'ir', or comiendo (eating)
Kiwi-Girl is correct in explaining that many times you must use the Spanish infinitive form of the verb instead of the -ando / -endo form in place of the English -ing verb.
Where you DO use it, similar to English, is in the Present Progressive case. This case deals with something that has started to happen previously and is/was continuing to happen.
He is running. (Él) está corriendo.
He was running. (Él) estaba corriendo.
Most often you will use a conjugated form of the verb estar, but there are a few other verbs that are frequently used in this fashion as well. One example is seguir which means to continue:
He continues swimming. (Él) sigue nadando.
There are two regular endings: -ar verbs go to -ando while -er/-ir verbs go to -iendo, and there are a large number of common irregular forms.
Main uses are:
- Progressive tenses, e.g. está nevando = it's snowing // estaba nevando = it was snowing etc
- As a kind of qualifying 'adverb', e.g. entré cantando en la casa = I came into the house, singing
- To mean 'by', e.g. trabajando, se gana dinero = by working you earn money
- To mean 'having', e.g. habiendo dicho esto = having said this
- To mean 'after', e.g. en haciendo = after doing
You don't use the Spanish equivalent of -ing as a noun. Instead you use the infinitive, e.g. me gusta cantar = I like singing.
You don't use it where we would in English with on/upon. Instead, again, you use the infinitive, e.g. al entrar en la casa = upon entering the house...
whats ex-mirar?
