THE GERUND EL GERUNDIO

1
THE GERUND EL GERUNDIO

• Similar to the English ending -ing but not
  always

2

REGULAR FORMS OF THE GERUND

• The gerund is formed by adding the endings ando
  or iendo to the stem of the verb
• Verbs ending in ar ando e.g. hablar hablando
• Verbs ending in -er or -ir iendo e.g. beber
  bebiendo salir - saliendo

3
IRREGULARITIES

• If the last letter of the verb stem is a vowel,
  -iendo becomes yendo e.g. creer cre-er
  creyendo
• When a verb is irregular in the 3rd person
  singular of the preterite, the gerund follows the
  same pattern of irregularity e.g. pedir pidió
  pidiendo

4
USES OF THE GERUND

• With the verb estar to form the continuous tenses
  e.g. Los estudiantes están preparando el
  proyecto final
• To describe the action of a verb e.g. Ganó dinero
  invirtiendo en la bolsa
• To indicate simultaneous actions e.g. Llegaron
  cantando

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FURTHER USES OF THE GERUND

• With some verbs to reinforce the sense of
  duration and continuity of an action e.g.
  Llevamos mucho tiempo esperando una respuesta
• To indicate the cause of an action e.g. Sabiendo
  que no tenía mucho tiempo se fue en taxi
• To indicate a condition for something to happen
  e.g. Permaneciendo unidos venceremos

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SPANISH VS ENGLISH GERUND

• Sometimes equivalent, e.g. Salieron gritando
  (They left screaming)
• Other uses not equivalent, especially when in
  English the gerund functions as a noun or
  adjective. When it is a noun, Spanish uses the
  infinitive, e.g I like swimming (Me gusta
  nadar). If it functions as an adjective in
  English, then a Spanish adjective will be used,
  e.g. Its a worrying business (Es un asunto
  preocupante)