The Gerund: Formation (speaking, eating, living)

Spanish: El Gerundio: Formación (hablando, comiendo, viviendo)

Level: A2 Elementary

Category: verbs

Explanation

The gerund is a verb form that in Spanish ends in -ando or -iendo. It is the equivalent of the English "-ing" form (hablando = speaking). It is mainly used with the verb estar to form the present progressive (estoy hablando = I am speaking), but it also appears in other constructions to express ongoing actions. To form the regular gerund, we remove the infinitive ending and add the matching suffix. Verbs ending in -ar form the gerund with -ando: hablar becomes hablando. Verbs ending in -er or -ir form the gerund with -iendo: comer becomes comiendo, and vivir becomes viviendo. There are several important irregular forms. When the stem of an -er or -ir verb ends in a vowel, the -i- of -iendo changes to -y-: leer becomes leyendo, oír becomes oyendo, construir becomes construyendo. This happens to make pronunciation easier. In addition, many third-conjugation (-ir) verbs that change their stem vowel also do so in the gerund. For example, dormir becomes durmiendo (o changes to u), and pedir becomes pidiendo (e changes to i). These changes are typical of verbs with stem-vowel irregularities in the present tense.

Examples

• Estoy hablando con el camarero. - I am speaking with the waiter.
• El cocinero está comiendo en la cocina. - The cook is eating in the kitchen.
• ¿Qué estás bebiendo? - What are you drinking?
• Estamos viviendo en Madrid este mes. - We are living in Madrid this month.
• La guía está leyendo la información del cuadro. - The guide is reading the information about the painting.