ing form after me gusta?
i have always confused about that do we have to use continuous form after me gusta like in english ? i have seen : me gusta ver exposicion. (is this one correct?) thanks a lot for answering .
6 Answers
I think your question has been properly answered, but just to say something...
The -ing ending in English has two functions, and the one called gerund is actually used to make verbs behave as nouns:
- Something is fun.
- Learning is fun.
Notice that "learning" replaces the (pro)noun "something". Another example below:
- I like something.
- I like dancing.
English is more flexible in the way these gerunds (verbs ending in -ing that behave as nouns), but the closest Spanish counterpart is the infinitive:
- Quiero algo.
Quiero comer.
Algo es divertido.
- Correr es divertido.
Note about terminology: in "I'm working" there is not gerund (it is called "present progressive"). Unfortunately, the equivalent of this phrase in Spanish ("Estoy trabajando") uses a verbal form called "gerundio", which is close to the present progressive... and has nothing to do with the English gerund. To sum up:
- English gerund = (very often) Spanish infinitive
- English present progressive = (very often) Spanish "gerundio"
Chen:
Bosque gave you a very good answer regarding English -ing verb forms and Spanish gerundios (-ando / -iendo) . Here's another take on the subject. I gave this answer to the following question:
I'm reviewing gerundios and having some trouble discerning when they're not appropriate. What I believe to be true is that they are the replacement for the English "ing" in which case--should I feel like saying, What I like most about learning is it seems to me that using 'aprendiendo=learning' makes sense. Is that alright?
When I use a translator (eg: Google Translate) it corrects that sentence to "What I like most about to learn es" (lo que más me gusta de aprender es)
Spanish gerundios and the English -ing form of verbs are replacements for each other only in a very limited number of situations such as with the progressive tenses.
Estoy leyendo
I am reading
In many other cases the Spanish infinitive takes the place of the English gerund.
Me gusta bailar. I like dancing.
We could also say, in English, in this case: I like to dance.
But you can NEVER use the Spanish gerundio (-ando / -iendo form) in this case. English gerunds and Spanish infinitives can sometimes be used as nouns, but Spanish gerundios cannot be used as nouns. Note in this case, that both the English gerund and the Spanish infinitive ARE being used as nouns. You could substitute baseball, Florida or many other nouns for "learning" and the same is the case with "aprender"
By the way, many people regret that the term for the Spanish words ending in -ando or -iendo is gerundio, which is very similar to gerund. They regret this because grammatically they are used differently much more often than they are used in the same way. Gerund = gerundio is a very, very false notion.
In fact, just to show you how similar, in many cases, the Spanish infinitive is to the English gerund...here are two rules of grammar.
English rule: only the gerund can follow a preposition, never an infinitive. Here, one can say: about learning is..., but never about to learn is...
Spanish rule: only the infinitive can follow a preposition, never a gerund. You actually have an example of this rule in your sentence since "de" is a preposition. de aprender es..., never de aprendiendo es....
I suggest you study the grammar articles on infinitives and gerunds which you can find under Language Guide: Articles on Verbs.
Another major difference: English -ing verbs are often used as adjectives. Spanish gerundios should not be used as adjectives.
Running shoes
Zapatos de correr
Also, please note that I am not saying that an English -ing verb can always be replaced by an infinitive or preposition + infinitive. There are many other possibilities that I won't cover here. In general, there are no simple rules...always replace this with that. Many factors need to be considered when translating from one language to the other.
If you are not already enrolled in a structured class to learn Spanish, we have a very good course which you can access under the main menu under Learn Spanish and then click on SpanishDict Video course. You will learn how to use gerundios and infinitives in these lessons and maybe 100 other things that are different between English and Spanish. Good luck with your learning.
No, you never use the continuous in this situation. My changes to your sentence are below.
What follows gusta is a subject.
We use the gerund as a noun in English
The gerundio is not used as a noun in Spanish
Me gusta ver la exposición.
It is pleasing to me to see the exhibition/ Seeing the exhibition is pleasing to me.
More naturally: I like seeing the exhibition.
Here seeing the exhibition is a noun. Not an adverb. The act itself is the noun, not simply the exhibition, but rather the act of seeing the exhibition.
Example as noun:
Correr es divertido. Running is fun. It is fun. Noun, I can replace running with it.
Example as an adverb:
Subí las escaleras corriendo. I went up the stairs running. You cannot replace running with it, rather it modifies the verb, subir, it is how you went up the stairs.
Progressive tense example:
Estoy corriendo. I am running (right now). Again, it does not work as a replacement for running.
The Spanish gerundio only correlates to the English gerund when used in the progressive tenses, or as an adverb.
In the original sentence, it works as a replacement. I like it. It is pleasing to me.
Here is a link that may be of use: http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/COURSES/GERUND.HTM
Just a short comment and a question.
When I was studying English I was taught that the "ing" form of a verb was called the present participle. Now when the present participle is used as a noun, and especially as a subject or direct object of a verb, it is only in this case that it is called a "gerund"
Examples. Running is fun. (Running is the subject)
I love running. (Running is the direct object.)
The question is: Am I correct in this??
Hi chen, nice to meet you, welcome to the forum 
you already have some very nice answers, but just in case...
In short:
gustar is followed by the infinitive in Spanish, unlike "like" which is followed by the gerund (the gerund is only used as a noun, but not everybody knows the correct term, so most people refer to it as a "gerund"
I am a teacher...I should know, right 
(technically: present participle)
I like going out.
me gusta salir.
he likes speaking English.
le gusta hablar inglés.
A brief comment about -ings in English for Spanish speakers.
It is my opinion that IF an "ing" can be used in English it will be more often than not.
Es mi opinión que SI un "ing" se puede utilizar en Inglés que lo será más a menudo que no.
I like eating pizza. Instead of - I like to eat pizza. (eating pizza = a noun phrase)
I like running. Instead of - I like to run.
Running is my favourite hobby. - Never - To run is my favourite hobby.
