The Gerund in Spanish – Lesson 73

What is the gerund?

Today’s purple grammar lesson is about the gerund (in Spanish: el gerundio). Sounds scary? Don’t worry: you already know what it is. It’s the Spanish version of the English -ing form: eating, speaking, living.

In Spanish, the gerund ends in -ando or -iendo: hablando, comiendo, viviendo. And we mostly use it with estar to talk about things that are happening right now.

I eat vs I am eating

Exactly like in English: “I am eating” = estoy comiendo. Estar is conjugated (estoy, estás, está…), and the gerund stays the same.

How to make the gerund

Remember the 3 types of verbs from lesson 37? For the gerund, there are just two rules:

Verb type	Rule	Example
-ar verbs	drop -ar, add -ando	hablar → hablando (speaking)
-er verbs	drop -er, add -iendo	comer → comiendo (eating)
-ir verbs	drop -ir, add -iendo	vivir → viviendo (living)

Estar + gerund with every person

To make the gerund, always start from the infinitive (the basic form), not from the conjugated verb. So hablamos (we speak) comes from hablar → hablando:

Irregular gerunds

Of course, there are a few exceptions. Some gerunds change a bit to sound smoother. Here are 5 common ones:

Verb	Gerund	English
ir (to go)	yendo	going
leer (to read)	leyendo	reading
decir (to say)	diciendo	saying
morir (to die)	muriendo	dying
venir (to come)	viniendo	coming

Leer would become “le-iendo”, with three vowels in a row: hard to say! So the i turns into a y: leyendo. Same with ir: “iendo” becomes yendo. And decir, venir, morir change a vowel in the stem: diciendo, viniendo, muriendo.

Careful: Spanish uses the gerund less than English

English uses -ing a lot more than Spanish does. Two important differences:

1. Not for the future

In English you say “I’m going to be there”. In Spanish, you don’t use the gerund for this. Use ir a + verb from the ir lesson:

Not estoy yendo a estar allí: that sounds wrong in Spanish.

2. Not as a noun

In English, -ing words can be nouns: “Swimming is fun.” In Spanish, the gerund can’t do that. Use the infinitive instead:

Also, for things you do in general or around now, Spanish often just uses the normal present tense: ¿Qué haces? can mean “What are you doing?”.

Recap: the gerund

Spanish	English
-ar → -ando	hablar → hablando
-er / -ir → -iendo	comer → comiendo, vivir → viviendo
estar + gerund	to be doing something (right now)
Estoy comiendo.	I’m eating.
ir → yendo	going
leer → leyendo	reading
decir → diciendo	saying
Voy a estar allí.	I’m going to be there. (no gerund!)
Nadar es divertido.	Swimming is fun. (no gerund!)

Practice: make it -ing

Turn the sentence into “right now” with estar + gerund. Say it out loud, then click to check.

1. Yo hablo. (I speak.)

Yo estoy hablando.

2. Tú comes. (You eat.)

Tú estás comiendo.

3. Ella escribe. (She writes.)

Ella está escribiendo.

4. Nosotros trabajamos. (We work.)

Nosotros estamos trabajando.

5. Ellos leen. (They read.)

Ellos están leyendo. (irregular!)

6. Say “What are you saying?”

¿Qué estás diciendo?

7. Say “I’m going to be there”.

Voy a estar allí. (no gerund!)

Quiz: the gerund

9 questions. ¿Estás listo? ¡Vamos!

Frequently asked questions

Is “gerundio” the same as the English gerund?

Not exactly. The English -ing form can be a noun (“swimming is fun”) or describe an ongoing action (“I am swimming”). The Spanish gerundio only does the second: ongoing actions. That’s why “swimming is fun” uses the infinitive, nadar.

Before you go to the next lesson

Practice by describing what people around you are doing right now: estoy estudiando, mi amigo está trabajando, el perro está durmiendo… ¡Hasta la próxima!