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Gerund (-ndo): Adverbial Uses and the Mistakes to Avoid (salió corriendo)",null,{"type":49,"value":50,"toc":870},"minimark",[51,56,91,124,129,135,163,169,189,208,212,222,272,278,282,288,293,304,335,357,361,371,400,403,407,425,448,467,471,623,627,630,687,690,760,764,778,799,814,837,841],[52,53,55],"h1",{"id":54},"the-gerund-as-an-adverb-and-the-ing-traps","The Gerund as an Adverb, and the -ing Traps",[57,58,59,60,64,65,68,69,64,72,75,76,79,80,83,84,83,87,90],"p",{},"The Spanish gerund is the verb form ending in ",[61,62,63],"strong",{},"-ando"," (for ",[61,66,67],{},"-ar"," verbs) or ",[61,70,71],{},"-iendo",[61,73,74],{},"-er"," and ",[61,77,78],{},"-ir"," verbs): ",[61,81,82],{},"hablando",", ",[61,85,86],{},"comiendo",[61,88,89],{},"viviendo",". It looks like the English \"-ing\", and that resemblance is a trap, because English \"-ing\" does far more jobs than the Spanish gerund is allowed to do.",[57,92,93,94,97,98,101,102,105,106,109,110,113,114,117,118,123],{},"At its core, the Spanish gerund is an ",[61,95,96],{},"adverb",". It describes ",[61,99,100],{},"how",", or ",[61,103,104],{},"by what means",", another action happens - or it names a second action going on ",[61,107,108],{},"at the same time",". That is nearly the whole of its independent life. Everything English does with \"-ing\" that is not adverbial - subjects, objects, things after prepositions, adjectives before nouns - Spanish does with a different form, usually the ",[61,111,112],{},"infinitive",". This page is not about ",[61,115,116],{},"estar + gerundio",", the present progressive; that has ",[119,120,122],"a",{"href":121},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fpresent-progressive","its own page",". Here we cover the gerund standing on its own, and the mistakes English speakers import.",[125,126,128],"h2",{"id":127},"the-gerund-as-an-adverb-of-manner-and-means","The gerund as an adverb of manner and means",[57,130,131,132,134],{},"This is the gerund doing its proper job. It tells you ",[61,133,100],{}," the main verb happens:",[136,137,138,145,151,157],"ul",{},[139,140,141,144],"li",{},[61,142,143],{},"Salió corriendo."," (He ran out - literally \"he went out running\".)",[139,146,147,150],{},[61,148,149],{},"Llegó cantando."," (She arrived singing.)",[139,152,153,156],{},[61,154,155],{},"Entró gritando."," (He came in shouting.)",[139,158,159,162],{},[61,160,161],{},"Contestó sonriendo."," (She answered with a smile \u002F smiling.)",[57,164,165,166,168],{},"Or it tells you ",[61,167,104],{}," something is achieved:",[136,170,171,177,183],{},[139,172,173,176],{},[61,174,175],{},"Aprendo escuchando música."," (I learn by listening to music.)",[139,178,179,182],{},[61,180,181],{},"Se hizo rico trabajando duro."," (He got rich by working hard.)",[139,184,185,188],{},[61,186,187],{},"Aprobó estudiando cada noche."," (She passed by studying every night.)",[57,190,191,192,195,196,199,200,203,204,207],{},"A quick test: if the English \"-ing\" could be rephrased as ",[61,193,194],{},"\"by doing X\""," or ",[61,197,198],{},"\"while doing X\"",", the Spanish gerund is usually right. ",[61,201,202],{},"Aprendo escuchando"," = \"I learn ",[61,205,206],{},"by"," listening\". Good.",[125,209,211],{"id":210},"the-gerund-with-verbs-of-motion-and-continuation","The gerund with verbs of motion and continuation",[57,213,214,215,195,218,221],{},"The gerund also pairs with a small family of verbs to say an action ",[61,216,217],{},"keeps going",[61,219,220],{},"unfolds gradually",". These are worth memorising as a set:",[136,223,224,238,252,262],{},[139,225,226,229,230,233,234,237],{},[61,227,228],{},"seguir \u002F continuar + gerund"," - to keep on doing: ",[61,231,232],{},"Sigue lloviendo."," (It's still raining.) ",[61,235,236],{},"Continuó hablando."," (He carried on talking.)",[139,239,240,243,244,247,248,251],{},[61,241,242],{},"ir + gerund"," - to do something gradually: ",[61,245,246],{},"Va mejorando."," (It's slowly getting better.) ",[61,249,250],{},"Voy entendiendo."," (I'm gradually getting the hang of it.)",[139,253,254,257,258,261],{},[61,255,256],{},"venir + gerund"," - to have been doing (building up over time): ",[61,259,260],{},"Vengo diciéndolo desde hace años."," (I've been saying it for years.)",[139,263,264,267,268,271],{},[61,265,266],{},"andar + gerund"," - to go around doing (often with a hint of disapproval): ",[61,269,270],{},"Anda buscando trabajo."," (He's going around looking for work.)",[57,273,274,275,277],{},"These all share the same logic as ",[61,276,116],{},": a live verb plus the gerund to colour the action as ongoing. The difference is the flavour each helper verb adds - continuation, gradual change, accumulation.",[125,279,281],{"id":280},"the-three-traps-where-ing-is-not-the-gerund","The three traps: where -ing is NOT the gerund",[57,283,284,285,287],{},"Now the mistakes. English \"-ing\" reaches into three areas the Spanish gerund is banned from. In all three, Spanish uses the ",[61,286,112],{}," or rewrites with a relative clause.",[289,290,292],"h3",{"id":291},"_1-not-as-a-noun-or-subject-use-the-infinitive","1. Not as a noun or subject - use the infinitive",[57,294,295,296,299,300,303],{},"When \"-ing\" is the ",[61,297,298],{},"subject"," or names an ",[61,301,302],{},"activity",", English is treating it as a noun. Spanish uses the infinitive for that, never the gerund:",[136,305,306,317,323,329],{},[139,307,308,311,312,316],{},[61,309,310],{},"Fumar es malo."," (Smoking is bad.) - never ",[313,314,315],"em",{},"fumando es malo",".",[139,318,319,322],{},[61,320,321],{},"Ver es creer."," (Seeing is believing.)",[139,324,325,328],{},[61,326,327],{},"Me gusta cocinar."," (I like cooking.)",[139,330,331,334],{},[61,332,333],{},"Nadar es buen ejercicio."," (Swimming is good exercise.)",[57,336,337,338,341,342,83,345,348,349,351,352,356],{},"Rule of thumb: if you could put ",[61,339,340],{},"\"the\""," in front of the English word - ",[313,343,344],{},"the smoking",[313,346,347],{},"the learning"," - it is a noun, so Spanish wants the ",[61,350,112],{},". This is where the gerund and ",[119,353,355],{"href":354},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Finfinitive-uses","the many uses of the infinitive"," part company.",[289,358,360],{"id":359},"_2-not-after-a-preposition-use-the-infinitive","2. Not after a preposition - use the infinitive",[57,362,363,364,367,368,370],{},"After any preposition (",[61,365,366],{},"de, en, sin, para, por, antes de, después de","...), Spanish uses the ",[61,369,112],{},". English puts \"-ing\" here; Spanish does not:",[136,372,373,382,388,394],{},[139,374,375,378,379,316],{},[61,376,377],{},"antes de salir"," (before leaving) - never ",[313,380,381],{},"antes de saliendo",[139,383,384,387],{},[61,385,386],{},"después de comer"," (after eating).",[139,389,390,393],{},[61,391,392],{},"sin decir nada"," (without saying anything).",[139,395,396,399],{},[61,397,398],{},"para aprender"," (in order to learn).",[57,401,402],{},"If a preposition sits in front, the next verb is an infinitive. No exceptions.",[289,404,406],{"id":405},"_3-not-as-an-adjective-describing-a-noun-use-que-verb","3. Not as an adjective describing a noun - use que + verb",[57,408,409,410,83,413,416,417,420,421,424],{},"English lets \"-ing\" modify a noun directly: ",[313,411,412],{},"a box containing books",[313,414,415],{},"a man carrying a bag",". Spanish rewrites this with a ",[61,418,419],{},"relative clause"," (",[61,422,423],{},"que"," + a conjugated verb):",[136,426,427,436,442],{},[139,428,429,432,433,316],{},[61,430,431],{},"una caja que contiene libros"," (a box containing books) - never ",[313,434,435],{},"una caja conteniendo libros",[139,437,438,441],{},[61,439,440],{},"un hombre que lleva una maleta"," (a man carrying a suitcase).",[139,443,444,447],{},[61,445,446],{},"una carta que explica todo"," (a letter explaining everything).",[57,449,450,451,454,455,458,459,462,463,466],{},"The only real exceptions are two frozen adjectives: ",[61,452,453],{},"ardiendo"," (burning) and ",[61,456,457],{},"hirviendo"," (boiling), as in ",[61,460,461],{},"agua hirviendo"," (boiling water) and ",[61,464,465],{},"una casa ardiendo"," (a burning house). Learn those two as idioms and invent no others.",[125,468,470],{"id":469},"do-and-dont-at-a-glance","DO and DON'T at a glance",[472,473,474,493],"table",{},[475,476,477],"thead",{},[478,479,480,484,487,490],"tr",{},[481,482,483],"th",{},"Job",[481,485,486],{},"English \"-ing\"",[481,488,489],{},"Spanish",[481,491,492],{},"Example",[494,495,496,519,540,561,582,604],"tbody",{},[478,497,498,502,508,513],{},[499,500,501],"td",{},"How \u002F by what means (adverb)",[499,503,504,505],{},"he left ",[61,506,507],{},"running",[499,509,510],{},[61,511,512],{},"gerund",[499,514,515,516],{},"salió ",[61,517,518],{},"corriendo",[478,520,521,524,530,534],{},[499,522,523],{},"Keep on \u002F gradually doing",[499,525,526,527],{},"it's still ",[61,528,529],{},"raining",[499,531,532],{},[61,533,512],{},[499,535,536,537],{},"sigue ",[61,538,539],{},"lloviendo",[478,541,542,545,551,555],{},[499,543,544],{},"Subject \u002F activity (noun)",[499,546,547,550],{},[61,548,549],{},"smoking"," is bad",[499,552,553],{},[61,554,112],{},[499,556,557,560],{},[61,558,559],{},"fumar"," es malo",[478,562,563,566,572,576],{},[499,564,565],{},"After a preposition",[499,567,568,569],{},"before ",[61,570,571],{},"leaving",[499,573,574],{},[61,575,112],{},[499,577,578,579],{},"antes de ",[61,580,581],{},"salir",[478,583,584,587,593,598],{},[499,585,586],{},"Describing a noun (adjective)",[499,588,589,590],{},"a box ",[61,591,592],{},"containing",[499,594,595,597],{},[61,596,423],{}," + verb",[499,599,600,601],{},"una caja ",[61,602,603],{},"que contiene",[478,605,606,609,615,618],{},[499,607,608],{},"(Idiom only) burning \u002F boiling",[499,610,611,614],{},[61,612,613],{},"boiling"," water",[499,616,617],{},"frozen gerund",[499,619,620,621],{},"agua ",[61,622,457],{},[125,624,626],{"id":625},"forming-the-gerund","Forming the gerund",[57,628,629],{},"The endings, so you can build any of the above:",[472,631,632,644],{},[475,633,634],{},[478,635,636,639,642],{},[481,637,638],{},"Verb type",[481,640,641],{},"Ending",[481,643,492],{},[494,645,646,660,674],{},[478,647,648,650,654],{},[499,649,67],{},[499,651,652],{},[61,653,63],{},[499,655,656,657],{},"hablar → habl",[61,658,659],{},"ando",[478,661,662,664,668],{},[499,663,74],{},[499,665,666],{},[61,667,71],{},[499,669,670,671],{},"comer → com",[61,672,673],{},"iendo",[478,675,676,678,682],{},[499,677,78],{},[499,679,680],{},[61,681,71],{},[499,683,684,685],{},"vivir → viv",[61,686,673],{},[57,688,689],{},"Two irregular groups:",[136,691,692,726],{},[139,693,694,697,698,195,700,702,703,705,706,709,710,713,714,83,717,83,720,83,723,316],{},[61,695,696],{},"The y-spelling."," When an ",[61,699,74],{},[61,701,78],{}," stem ends in a vowel, ",[61,704,71],{}," becomes ",[61,707,708],{},"-yendo"," to stop an ",[61,711,712],{},"i"," stranding between vowels: ",[61,715,716],{},"leer → leyendo",[61,718,719],{},"oír → oyendo",[61,721,722],{},"caer → cayendo",[61,724,725],{},"traer → trayendo",[139,727,728,731,732,705,735,737,738,705,741,744,745,83,748,83,751,83,754,83,757,316],{},[61,729,730],{},"Stem-changing -ir verbs."," The ",[61,733,734],{},"e",[61,736,712],{}," and the ",[61,739,740],{},"o",[61,742,743],{},"u",": ",[61,746,747],{},"pedir → pidiendo",[61,749,750],{},"sentir → sintiendo",[61,752,753],{},"dormir → durmiendo",[61,755,756],{},"decir → diciendo",[61,758,759],{},"morir → muriendo",[125,761,763],{"id":762},"common-mistakes-english-speakers-make","Common mistakes English speakers make",[57,765,766,769,770,773,774,777],{},[61,767,768],{},"Using the gerund as a subject."," ",[313,771,772],{},"Fumando es malo"," is the classic error. It is ",[61,775,776],{},"fumar es malo"," - the infinitive does noun jobs.",[57,779,780,769,783,83,786,75,788,791,792,83,795,83,797,316],{},[61,781,782],{},"Putting the gerund after a preposition.",[313,784,785],{},"Sin diciendo",[313,787,381],{},[313,789,790],{},"después de comiendo"," are all wrong. Preposition plus infinitive: ",[61,793,794],{},"sin decir",[61,796,377],{},[61,798,386],{},[57,800,801,769,804,807,808,810,811,813],{},[61,802,803],{},"Hanging the gerund off a noun like an adjective.",[313,805,806],{},"Una caja conteniendo libros"," has to become ",[61,809,431],{},". Rewrite with ",[61,812,423],{}," and a conjugated verb.",[57,815,816,769,819,83,822,75,825,828,829,83,832,83,835,316],{},[61,817,818],{},"Regularising the irregular gerunds.",[313,820,821],{},"Leiendo",[313,823,824],{},"dormiendo",[313,826,827],{},"pidiendo"," feel right by analogy but are wrong: ",[61,830,831],{},"leyendo",[61,833,834],{},"durmiendo",[61,836,827],{},[125,838,840],{"id":839},"see-also","See also",[136,842,843,849,855,862],{},[139,844,845,848],{},[119,846,847],{"href":121},"The present progressive: estar + gerundio"," - the gerund's other big job, and why Spanish uses it far less than English uses \"-ing\".",[139,850,851,854],{},[119,852,853],{"href":354},"The uses of the infinitive"," - the form that does the noun jobs the gerund cannot: subjects, objects, and everything after a preposition.",[139,856,857,861],{},[119,858,860],{"href":859},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fword-order","Word order in Spanish"," - where the gerund and its helper verb sit in the sentence.",[139,863,864,865,869],{},"The ",[119,866,868],{"href":867},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar","Spanish grammar cheatsheet"," has the gerund endings and the DO\u002FDON'T list on one card.",{"title":871,"searchDepth":872,"depth":872,"links":873},"",2,[874,875,876,882,883,884,885],{"id":127,"depth":872,"text":128},{"id":210,"depth":872,"text":211},{"id":280,"depth":872,"text":281,"children":877},[878,880,881],{"id":291,"depth":879,"text":292},3,{"id":359,"depth":879,"text":360},{"id":405,"depth":879,"text":406},{"id":469,"depth":872,"text":470},{"id":625,"depth":872,"text":626},{"id":762,"depth":872,"text":763},{"id":839,"depth":872,"text":840},"B1-B2","The Spanish gerund is an adverb, not a noun: salió corriendo means he ran out, but fumar es malo needs the infinitive, never fumando. Where -ndo works and where English speakers wrongly import -ing.",[889,920],{"type":890,"instructions":891,"items":892},"fill-blank","Choose the gerund or the infinitive. If the verb describes HOW or BY WHAT MEANS the action happens, use the gerund; if it is a subject, follows a preposition, or names an activity, use the infinitive.",[893,896,899,903,906,910,914,917],{"prompt":894,"answer":518,"hint":895},"Salió ___ de la casa. (correr - he ran out)","manner: how he left",{"prompt":897,"answer":559,"hint":898},"___ es malo para la salud. (fumar - smoking is bad)","subject: use the infinitive",{"prompt":900,"answer":901,"hint":902},"Aprendo mucho ___ música. (escuchar - by listening)","escuchando","means: by what method",{"prompt":904,"answer":581,"hint":905},"Antes de ___, apaga la luz. (salir - before leaving)","after a preposition",{"prompt":907,"answer":908,"hint":909},"El bebé se durmió ___. (llorar - crying)","llorando","simultaneous action",{"prompt":911,"answer":912,"hint":913},"Se fue sin ___ nada. (decir - without saying)","decir","after sin",{"prompt":915,"answer":831,"hint":916},"Está ___ un libro sobre historia. (leer - reading, vowel stem)","leer takes -yendo",{"prompt":918,"answer":827,"hint":919},"El cliente entró ___ la cuenta. (pedir - asking for, stem-change)","pedir stem e to i",{"type":921,"instructions":922,"items":923},"which-one","One option is the gerund, the other the infinitive. Pick the form Spanish actually uses in each sentence.",[924,928,933,938,942,946],{"prompt":925,"answer":926,"options":927},"Me gusta ___ por las mañanas. (I like running)","correr",[926,518],{"prompt":929,"answer":930,"options":931},"Llegó ___ a la fiesta. (she arrived singing)","cantando",[932,930],"cantar",{"prompt":934,"answer":935,"options":936},"Una caja que ___ libros. (a box containing books)","contiene",[935,937],"conteniendo",{"prompt":939,"answer":940,"options":941},"Después de ___, salimos. (after eating we left)","comer",[940,86],{"prompt":943,"answer":539,"options":944},"Sigue ___ fuera. (it's still raining)",[945,539],"llover",{"prompt":947,"answer":948,"options":949},"___ es creer. (seeing is believing)","Ver",[948,950],"Viendo","md",[953,956,959,962],{"q":954,"a":955},"What does the Spanish gerund actually mean on its own?","Used by itself, the gerund is an adverb of manner or means: it answers 'how?' or 'by what method?'. Salió corriendo is 'he left running', that is, he ran out; llegó cantando is 'she arrived singing'; aprendo escuchando música is 'I learn by listening to music'. The gerund describes the way the main verb happens, or a second action going on at the same time. It never behaves like a noun. If in English you could swap the '-ing' word for 'by doing X' or 'while doing X', the Spanish gerund is usually right; if you could swap it for 'the act of X-ing', you need the infinitive instead.",{"q":957,"a":958},"Why is fumando es malo wrong when English says smoking is bad?","Because in that English sentence 'smoking' is a noun - the subject of the verb. Spanish never uses the gerund as a noun or subject. The verb form that works as a noun in Spanish is the infinitive, so the correct sentence is fumar es malo, literally 'to smoke is bad'. The same holds anywhere the '-ing' word is doing a noun's job: ver es creer (seeing is believing), me gusta cocinar (I like cooking). Whenever you would put 'the' in front of the English '-ing' - the smoking, the learning - reach for the Spanish infinitive, not the gerund.",{"q":960,"a":961},"Can you use the gerund after a preposition in Spanish, like after leaving?","No. This is one of the cleanest rules in the language: after a preposition (de, en, sin, antes de, después de, para, por and the rest) Spanish uses the infinitive, never the gerund. 'Before leaving' is antes de salir, not antes de saliendo; 'without saying anything' is sin decir nada, not sin diciendo; 'after eating' is después de comer. English '-ing' happily follows prepositions, which is exactly why learners get this wrong. If a preposition sits in front, the verb that follows must be an infinitive.",{"q":963,"a":964},"How do you turn una caja conteniendo libros into correct Spanish?","You cannot use the gerund as an adjective describing a noun, so 'a box containing books' is not una caja conteniendo libros. Spanish uses a relative clause: una caja que contiene libros, 'a box that contains books'. English lets '-ing' modify a noun directly (a man carrying a bag, water boiling); Spanish rewrites it with que plus a conjugated verb: un hombre que lleva una bolsa. There are two frozen exceptions that behave like true adjectives - ardiendo (burning) and hirviendo (boiling), as in agua hirviendo, 'boiling water' - but treat them as memorised idioms, not a licence to invent more.","higher","The Spanish gerund - the verb form ending in -ando or -iendo - is the single form English speakers abuse most, because it looks exactly like the English '-ing' and the English '-ing' does about six different jobs. In Spanish it does far fewer. At heart the gerund is an adverb: it describes how or by what means another action happens. Salió corriendo means 'he ran out' (literally 'he went out running'); aprendo escuchando música means 'I learn by listening to music'. It also rides along with a small set of verbs of motion and continuation - seguir, ir, venir, andar, continuar - to say an action keeps going or unfolds gradually: sigue lloviendo, 'it's still raining'; va mejorando, 'it's gradually getting better'. What the gerund never does in Spanish is the noun jobs English hands to '-ing': it is not a subject (fumar es malo, not fumando), it does not follow a preposition (antes de salir, not antes de saliendo), and it does not sit next to a noun as an adjective (una caja que contiene, not una caja conteniendo). Get those three 'don'ts' wrong and your Spanish instantly sounds translated. This page separates the gerund's real jobs from the ones English tries to smuggle in, and gives you a DO and DON'T table to keep them apart. It does not re-teach estar + gerundio, the present progressive - that has its own page.","spanish",{},true,"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fgerund-uses",{"title":46,"description":887},"spanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fgerund-uses","j2QXrS5C_oHJydeRl_jGVlWwJ21H9MQwVpDzEklM5Gs",[],{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":976},"\u003Cpath fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"M13 21h8M15 5l4 4m2.174-2.188a1 1 0 0 0-3.986-3.987L3.842 16.174a2 2 0 0 0-.5.83l-1.321 4.352a.5.5 0 0 0 .623.622l4.353-1.32a2 2 0 0 0 .83-.497z\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":978},"\u003Cg fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\">\u003Cpath d=\"M12 15V3m9 12v4a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H5a2 2 0 0 1-2-2v-4\"\u002F>\u003Cpath d=\"m7 10l5 5l5-5\"\u002F>\u003C\u002Fg>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":980},"\u003Cg fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\">\u003Cpath d=\"M20 20a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8a2 2 0 0 0-2-2h-7.9a2 2 0 0 1-1.69-.9L9.6 3.9A2 2 0 0 0 7.93 3H4a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v13a2 2 0 0 0 2 2Zm-8-10v6\"\u002F>\u003Cpath d=\"m15 13l-3 3l-3-3\"\u002F>\u003C\u002Fg>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":982},"\u003Cpath fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"M11 4.702a.705.705 0 0 0-1.203-.498L6.413 7.587A1.4 1.4 0 0 1 5.416 8H3a1 1 0 0 0-1 1v6a1 1 0 0 0 1 1h2.416a1.4 1.4 0 0 1 .997.413l3.383 3.384A.705.705 0 0 0 11 19.298zM16 9a5 5 0 0 1 0 6m3.364 3.364a9 9 0 0 0 0-12.728\"\u002F>"]