Gerundios (present participle in Spanish)
How do you know if you're supposed to use the gerundio (-ando/-iendo) or just the infinitive? I've read some explanations but I'm still unsure about it. For example, on the "Gerunds" page here on spanishdict:
"Pasé el día leyendo." "I spent the day reading." Is it correct or not to say, "Pasé el día por leer."
"Ver es creer." "Seeing is believing." I assume that infinitives don't necessarily include the "to" in front of the verb like ver isn't always "to see". But when I look at "Ver es creer", I kind of see "to see is to believe". Wait, I guess that is the same thing, isn't it?
Is it one of those things which I'll learn as time passes by and I hear it or is there a way to know?
Is this example I made correct? (I was at a park working out and thinking this because I'm moving into my college dorms in a few days lol). "Pronto, no voy a estar aquí y no poderé ver los niños jugando." "Soon, I'm not going to be here and I won't be able to see the kids playing."
Thanks, Michael
1 Answer
"Ver es creer." "Seeing is believing."
This is an example of a minor difference between Spanish and English. English can use a present participle as a "gerund." This "gerund" can be used as a subject in English. In Spanish you have to use the infinitive.
Nadar es divertido. Swimming is fun. Comer tacos es algo que me encanta hacer.
Eating tacos is something that I love to do.
Your other uses of the present participle as in "Pasé el día leyendo," and "Pronto, no voy a estar aquí y no podré ver a los niños jugando." are OK, except for the errors that I corrected in bold. The irregular future stem for "poder" is "podr-." And you forgot the personal "a" before "los niños."
