Spanish · Chapter 33 · Lesson 15 · Grammar primer
The gerund (-ndo): adverbial uses and the -ing traps
The gerund as an adverb of manner (salió corriendo, aprendo escuchando) and with seguir / ir + verb, plus the three places English -ing tempts you wrongly: as a subject, after a preposition, and modifying a noun.
The short version
The gerund is an adverb, not a noun
Spanish -ando and -iendo describe how or by what means another action happens: salió corriendo, aprendo escuchando música. What it never does is the noun jobs English hands to -ing. It cannot be a subject (fumar es malo), it cannot follow a preposition (antes de salir), and it cannot hang off a noun.
Salió corriendo.
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