Gerund

Question

Is gerund a verb tense and what does it mean'

Answer 1

Yes that's what I wanted to know really -there's no easy formula.

Answer 2

Thanks lazarus, I am aware of that -I went off on a bit of a tangent because I've wondered before if there were any way of predicting the endings of words like aprendizaje.

Answer 3

I don't know, and would have to search, but the number doesn't really matter. The point is that you can't assume what the suffix will be to turn a verb into a noun (as opposed to using a verb form as a noun as discussed by Lazarus). You just have to memorize them. Just as you memorized that the noun form of to know is knowledge, and not knowment, knowage, or something else.

Answer 4

I understand what James is trying to say, but you and Eddy are talking about different things. On one hand we have nouns created from verbs through suffixes, and on the other one, we have verbs functioning as nouns in a sentence. They are different things, but sometimes languages prefer one over the other. That's what James' inconsistency is all about.

English has copied from many languages, and therefore it has an endless display of prefixes and suffixes (notice that prefix has one f, but suffix two), but Spanish, being a naturally inflected language, has probably even more. The choice for these endings is very often random, so you have to learn them in both languages.

Now, coming back to the main topic, if you need a verb to function as a noun, it should be an infinitive (-ar, -er, -ir), and never a "gerundio" (-ando, -iendo).

Answer 5

You said there is a sort of pattern for some of them?
How many possible endings for these types of nouns are there'

Answer 6

But Tad wasn't asking about that noun, he was asking if there is a rule for forming such nouns from verbs. I replied that there isn't really such a rule. For example, while aprender is to learn and aprendizaje is learning (training, apprenticeship), it doesn't follow that comer is to eat and comizaje is eating.

Such nouns are formed in a number of ways in Spanish and in English, without much consistency.

Answer 7

Yes, aprendizaje is a masculine noun.

Hacer su aprendizaje - To serve one's apprenticeship
Dificultades de aprendizaje - Learning difficulties

Answer 8

Ah, that will vary with the verb. Although there are patterns, there is no consistent rule, unfortunately. But, then, there is no consistency in the way we do this in English, either.

Answer 9

OK I'm thinking of stuff like aprendizaje, presumaby from aprender -is aprendizaje a noun. Sorry my grammar is not up with yours and lazarus!

Answer 10

I Agree.

Answer 11

The noun form of Spanish verbs is the infinitive.

I like dancing = Me gusta bailar (note that we can use the infinitive here in English, as well)
Seeing is believing = Ver es creer

Sometimes the definite article is also used.

La brecha entre el saber y el hacer = The gap between knowing and doing

Answer 12

You only need to know the conjugation for "estar", which is the auxiliary verb used for these progressive constructions. Many Spanish gerunds are regular, but there are also quite a few irregular ones.

Answer 13

So how do you make nouns from verbs in spanish'

Answer 14

Thanks motley, I meant in Spanish lazarus. Sorry for the confusion. Do I just have to memorize the conjugations and are all the conjugations the same for one verb'

Answer 15

ing

estoy caminando = I am walking
estás manejando = you are driving
estamos leyendo = we are reading