Spanish gerunds (aka present participles) are words ending in -ando or -iendo; they are equivalent to English words ending in “-ing,” such as “running” or “cooking.” They are used to form progressive tenses, such as the Spanish present continuous, alongside the verb estar ("to be"), or as adverbsNo definition set for adverbsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. to describe the action of the verb it accompanies. For example: Juan está subiendo al autobús ("Juan is getting on the bus"). Or Or Ana salió corriendo ("Ana left running"). They can also be used to indicate location, to indicate two actions happening at the same time, and with certain types of verbs.
Contrary to English “-ing” forms, gerunds in Spanish (-ando/-iendo forms) are NOT used as adjectivesNo definition set for adjectivesLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., as nounsNo definition set for nounsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., or after prepositionsNo definition set for prepositionsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.. For example:
It’s an interesting program. → Es un programa interesante (adjective).
Running is fun. → Correr (infinitive) es divertido.
They take a nap after eating lunch. → Duermen la siesta después de comer (infinitive).
Not too hard, right? Ready to keep learning? Keep on reading to find out more!
When to use the gerund in Spanish?
The gerund has two main functions in Spanish: to form progressive tenses or to modify another verb. Let’s break down these uses!
With estar to form progressive tenses
Progressive tenses (past, present, future), formed with estar ("to be") and a gerund, describe actions viewed as continuous. For instance:
Estoy mirando la televisión. = Miro la televisión.
Do you want to know more about the Spanish present progressive tense? If so, check out this post!
Another popular progressive tense is the imperfect progressive. It describes an action being in progress at some point in the past. Like its present counterpart, the simple imperfect can also indicate that the action is in progress.
Estaba mirando la televisión. = Miraba la televisión.
With progressive tenses, object pronounsNo definition set for object pronounsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. and reflexive pronounsNo definition set for reflexive pronounsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. can be placed before estar or attached to the gerund.
Me estaba duchando. OR Estaba duchándome.
Some verbs, other than estar, can be used with the gerund with meanings that are very similar to the progressive to convey a sense of continuity. These verbs include andar ("to walk"), ir ("to go"), venir ("to come"), continuar/seguir ("to continue, to go on"), llevar ("to be doing something"), and quedarse ("to continue to do something"):
I’m thinking of what to do.
El bebé se quedó mirando mi pelo con asombro.
The baby kept looking at my hair in awe.
As an adverb, describing the action of the verb it accompanies
Gerunds can indicate manner, cause, and condition.
Manner
They describe the way in which the action of the verb they go after is being performed.
Entró a su cuarto corriendo.
She came into her room running.
What do you do when the gerund is a reflexive verbNo definition set for reflexive verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. and it’s used as an adverb? Where should you place the reflexive pronoun? Always put the reflexive pronoun attached to the gerund:
He talked to me while laughing.
Cause
The gerund can describe the reason why the action of the verb it accompanies happens. The clause that contains the gerund can go before or after the clause with the main verb:
Siendo un hombre honrado, no permitió que mancharan su nombre. = No permitió que mancharan su nombre, siendo un hombre honrado.
Being (=because he is) an honest man, he didn’t let them drag his name through the mud.
Condition
They indicate the condition under which the action of the verb they accompany happens. The clause with the gerund can go before or after the clause with the main verb:
Estando su hijo enfermo, no vendrá a la fiesta. = No vendrá a la fiesta, estando su hijo enfermo.
His son being sick (=if his son is sick), he won’t come to the party.
Two actions happening simultaneously
We use two verbs, one being conjugated (present, imperfect, etc.) and one being a gerund to indicate two simultaneous actions:
Caminando por el parque encontré una moneda de oro.
While walking in the park, I found a gold coin.
Alternatively, you can use mientras ("while") + imperfect to convey the same meaning:
Mientras caminaba por el parque encontré una moneda de oro.
While walking in the park, I found a gold coin.
To indicate location
Verbs of movement can be used in the gerund form to indicate location:
–¿Dónde está la tienda?
–Cruzando la calle.
–Where is the store?
–Across the street.
These gerunds are often paired with the verb estar ("to be") to be more specific about the location:
El baño está entrando a la izquierda.
The bathroom is after the entrance to your left.
Purpose with verbs of communication
We can use a gerund after a verb of communication, such as llamar ("to call"), escribir (un mensaje, un correo, etc.) ("to write (a message, an email, etc.)"), to indicate purpose.
He called me asking (=to ask) for help.
The gerund can be substituted with a purpose clause, para + infinitive:
Me llamó para pedir ayuda.
He called to ask for help.
After verbs of seeing and hearing
Both gerunds and infinitives can be used with verbs of seeing and hearing. When we use a gerund, the action is viewed as in progress; whereas when you use the infinitive, the action is completed.
Oigo a los vecinos discutir.
I hear the neighbors argue.
Oigo a los vecinos discutiendo.
I hear the neighbors arguing.
In the first example, the arguing occurs, but not necessarily at the exact time of speaking. However, in the second example, the arguing is taking place at the same time of speaking.
To qualify the object of a verb
We can use gerunds to qualify the direct object with verbs like: descubrir ("to discover"), pillar/agarrar ("to catch"), encontrar/hallar ("to find")
Encontré a mi perro mordiendo mis zapatos.
I found my dog chewing on my shoes.
Sometimes it could be confusing to figure out who is doing the action when we have two people involved. For instance, consider the following sentence:
Veo a María jugando en el jardín.
I see María playing in the garden.
Who’s playing in the garden? María? The person who sees María? The answer is María! However, if we wanted to say otherwise, then the appropriate subject pronoun is placed after the gerund.
Veo a María jugando yo en el jardín.
I see María while I’m playing in the garden.
When not to use the gerund
In English “-ing” verbs are used in more contexts than in Spanish: when used as a present participle they function as adjectives, adverbs, and verbs and when used as a gerund they function as nouns. In contrast, Spanish never uses gerunds as adjectives or nouns so let’s see what is used instead.
As an adjective
Spanish doesn’t use gerunds as adjectives. Instead, we simply use adjectives or past participles:
Mis clases son muy aburridas.
My classes are very boring.
There are two exceptions: hirviendo ("boiling") and ardiendo ("burning") are considered adjectives:
Necesito más agua hirviendo.
I need more boiling water.
Ponlo encima del fuego ardiendo.
Put it on top of the burning fire.
Would you like to know more ways Spanish deals with English present participles used as adjectives? Keep on reading here.
As a noun
Nouns in both languages can function as subjects, objects, or objects of a preposition. In English, gerunds are used as nouns in these three contexts, but in Spanish only infinitives are allowed. Let’s compare some examples:
As a subject
This includes verbs like gustar ("to be pleasing"). Recall that gustar is followed by its subject and this subject is either a noun (singular or plural) or an infinitive. In English when you like doing an activity, the verb “like” can be followed by either an infinitive or an “-ing” verb.
She likes swimming/to swim in the morning.
In Spanish, the infinitive is the only option:
Le gusta nadar por las mañanas. (Le gusta nadando por las mañanas.)Do you need to review the verb gustar and similar verbs? Learn more about it here.
As an object of the verb
In English an “-ing” verb can be used as the object of the verb (avoid, allow, suggest, consider, etc):
I couldn’t help listening to their conversation.
However in Spanish, an infinitive is used in this case if the subject is doing both actions:
No pude evitar oír su conversación.If there are two different subjects, then Spanish uses a relative clause:
No pude evitar que (tú) escucharas su conversación.
I couldn’t help you listening to their conversation.
After a preposition
In such cases, Spanish always uses an infinitive:
Es capaz de hacer cálculos complicadísimos sin usar una calculadora.
She can do extremely complicated math mentally without using a calculator.
Check out our post on Spanish infinitives to learn more!
In English you can replace a passiveNo definition set for passiveLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. infinitive with an “-ing” verb, for example:
My shoes need cleaning (= to be cleaned).
In such cases, Spanish uses a noun or a clause.
English fixed expressions
Some English expressions of the type “-ing + noun,” such as “changing room” (probador) are not translated using gerunds. Spanish has either a specific word or uses noun + de + infinitive/noun instead.
sleeping bag → saco de dormir
Click the link for a list with more Spanish expressions!
Summary
Spanish gerunds ending in -ando or -iendoare equivalent to English "-ing" verbs, and are used:
to form progressive tenses with estar,
as adverbs to describe the action of the verb it accompanies,
to indicate location, and;
to indicate two actions happening at the same time.
Conversely, gerunds are NOT used as:
fixed English “-ing” expressions.
Ready to practice? Check this activity, it has an answer key! Happy practicing.
Downloadable Resources
Elevate your language-learning journey to new heights with the following downloadable resources.
To embark on your next language adventure, join Mango on social!
