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Spanish Present Participle - Gerundio
The English present participle is the -ing form of the verb. In
Spanish, it's the -ndo form.
| Formation |
Regular verbs |
| |
|
| I. |
-AR verbs |
Drop the infinitive ending and add -ando. |
|
hablar |
hablando |
|
tomar |
tomando |
|
mirar |
mirando |
| |
|
| II. |
-ER verbs, -IR
verbs |
Drop the infinitive ending and add -iendo. |
|
aprender |
aprendiendo |
|
comer |
comiendo |
|
poner |
poniendo |
|
abrir |
abriendo |
|
describir |
describiendo |
|
escribir |
escribiendo |
| |
|
|
| Formation |
Irregular Verbs |
| |
|
|
| I. |
Verbs with stem that ends in vowel - Drop the
infinitive and add -yendo. |
|
caer |
cayendo |
|
leer |
leyendo |
|
traer |
trayendo |
| |
|
|
| II. |
-IR verbs with stem-change in third person preterite
- Same stem-change in the present participle. |
|
decir |
diciendo |
|
dormir |
durmiendo |
|
pedir |
pidiendo |
|
poder |
pudiendo |
|
venir |
viniendo |
| |
|
|
| III. |
Ir (to go) |
--> yendo |
| |
| Usage - The Spanish present participle has two main uses. |
| |
|
|
| I. |
Gerund - An impersonal verb form which is used as an adjective or
adverb to express an action in progress. It is used to refer to an action
which is simultaneous with or prior to the action of the other verb in the
sentence. |
|
Caminando por la plaza, vi a mi abuelo. |
While walking in the plaza, I saw my grandfather. |
|
Pasó todas sus vacaciones esperando una sorpresa.
|
He spent his entire vacation waiting for a surprise. |
|
Aprendo mucho estudiando con ellos. |
I learn a lot by studying with them. |
|
|
| II. |
Progressive / Continuous Tenses |
|
Present |
Estoy leyendo. |
I am reading. |
|
Imperfect |
Estaban estudiando. |
They were studying. |
|
|
Past |
Estuve leyendo. |
I was reading. |
|
|
Future |
Estará trabajando. |
He will be working. |
|
|
|
Note |
The Spanish gerund cannot be used as a noun, the way it is in English and
French. This is a common mistake, even for native Spanish speakers. |
|
X |
Me gusta leyendo. |
--> Me gusta leer. |
|
X |
Trabajando es importante. |
--> Trabajar es importante. |
|
X |
Escuché los pájaros cantando.
--> Escuché los pájaros cantar. |
|
|
|
Present
Participle with Object Pronouns
Past participle
Spanish verbs  The Everything Spanish Verb Book, by Laura K. Lawless
Introductory lessons on Spanish verb tenses and moods, 250 verb conjugation tables, a list of 1,000 similarly-conjugated verbs, and a Spanish-English verb dictionary.
Buy it: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk
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