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Table of Contents
1. How to Form The Gerund
2. Usage of The Gerund
3. Use of Gerund After Verbs
4. Using Gerunds to Express a Time Relationship (when).
5. Using Gerunds as an Adverb to Explain “how” the action was Done
6. Using Gerund As Noun
7. Using Gerund As Adjective in Spanish

How to Form The Gerund

The gerund in Spanish is used by adding “ando” to the root of the verbs ending in “ar” and “iendo” to the root of the verbs ending in “er”. We can also add “iendo” to those verbs ending in “ir” but in this case, the spelling of the verbs change. If the root of the verb ends in a vowel, change “iendo” by “yendo”. For example:

Verbs ending in “ar”	comprar – comprando	volar – volando	tomar – tomando
Verbs ending in “er”	beber – bebiendo	ser – siendo	deber – debiendo
Verbs ending in “ir”	dormir – durmiendo	morir – muriendo
Verbs ending in a vowel.	leer – leyendo	oir – oyendo	traer – trayendo

comprar – comprando, volar – volando, tomar – tomando Verbs ending in AR
beber – bebiendo, ser – siendo, deber – debiendo Verbs ending in ER
dormir – durmiendo, morir – muriendo Verbs ending in IR
leer – leyendo, oir – oyendo, traer – trayendo Verbs ending in a Vowel
Él está comiendo He is eating
Ella está trabajando aquí. She is working here.
Ellos estaban corriendo esta mañana. They were running this morning.
Está lloviendo fuerte. It is raining hard.
Estaba leyendo un libro I was reading a book.
Estaban muriendo. They were dying.
Nos fuimos caminando We went walking.
Terminamos jugando bajo la lluvia. We ended playing in the rain.
Ella se fue llorando. She left crying.
Continuo lloviendo por horas. It continue raining for hours
Comenzaron cantando “Te amaré” They started singing. “I will love you”
Saliendo de la fiesta tomamos un taxi. Leaving the party, we took a cab.
Terminando de comprar, nos encontramos con John. Finishing up the shopping, we meet John.
Me rompí el tobillo jugando con mis hermanos I broke my ankle playing with my brothers.
Chocaron el auto saliendo del estacionamiento. They crashed the car when leaving the parking lot.
Se hizo famoso cantando en bares. He became famous by singing in bars.
Ganó el juego marcando 3 goles. He won the game by scoring 3 goals.
Llegaron a casa pidiendo aventones. They arrived home by asking for rides.
Compró su casa trabajando duro. He bought his house by working hard.
Nadar es bueno para la salud. Swimming is good for health.
Fumar está prohibido aquí. Smoking is not allowed here.
Dormir 8 horas es suficiente. Sleeping 8 hours is enough.
Trabajar duro me hace feliz. Working hard makes me happy.
Tomar agua es necesario Drinking water is necessary.
La bella durmiente. The sleeping beauty.
Él es un hombre trabajador. He is a working man.
Ella era una niña llorona. She was a crying baby.
Parece un libro interesante. It seems an interesting book.
Compró una máquina de coser She bought a sewing machine.

Usage of The Gerund

The gerund is used mostly used to describe an action that is happening at the moment of speaking in present progressive (perífrasis durative in Spanish) or to talk about an action that was happening at a specific time in the past. The Perífrasis Durativa in Spanish or The Present and Past Progresive in Spanish is used with the verb to be (estar) and the gerund form of the verb “ando”, “iendo”, or “yendo” in Spanish.

Él está comiendo	He is eating.
Ella está trabajando aquí.	She is working here.
Ellos estaban corriendo esta mañana.	They were running this morning.
Está lloviendo fuerte.	It is raining hard.
Estaba leyendo un libro	I was reading a book.
Estaban muriendo.	They were dying.

comprar – comprando, volar – volando, tomar – tomando Verbs ending in AR
beber – bebiendo, ser – siendo, deber – debiendo Verbs ending in ER
dormir – durmiendo, morir – muriendo Verbs ending in IR
leer – leyendo, oir – oyendo, traer – trayendo Verbs ending in a Vowel
Él está comiendo He is eating
Ella está trabajando aquí. She is working here.
Ellos estaban corriendo esta mañana. They were running this morning.
Está lloviendo fuerte. It is raining hard.
Estaba leyendo un libro I was reading a book.
Estaban muriendo. They were dying.
Nos fuimos caminando We went walking.
Terminamos jugando bajo la lluvia. We ended playing in the rain.
Ella se fue llorando. She left crying.
Continuo lloviendo por horas. It continue raining for hours
Comenzaron cantando “Te amaré” They started singing. “I will love you”
Saliendo de la fiesta tomamos un taxi. Leaving the party, we took a cab.
Terminando de comprar, nos encontramos con John. Finishing up the shopping, we meet John.
Me rompí el tobillo jugando con mis hermanos I broke my ankle playing with my brothers.
Chocaron el auto saliendo del estacionamiento. They crashed the car when leaving the parking lot.
Se hizo famoso cantando en bares. He became famous by singing in bars.
Ganó el juego marcando 3 goles. He won the game by scoring 3 goals.
Llegaron a casa pidiendo aventones. They arrived home by asking for rides.
Compró su casa trabajando duro. He bought his house by working hard.
Nadar es bueno para la salud. Swimming is good for health.
Fumar está prohibido aquí. Smoking is not allowed here.
Dormir 8 horas es suficiente. Sleeping 8 hours is enough.
Trabajar duro me hace feliz. Working hard makes me happy.
Tomar agua es necesario Drinking water is necessary.
La bella durmiente. The sleeping beauty.
Él es un hombre trabajador. He is a working man.
Ella era una niña llorona. She was a crying baby.
Parece un libro interesante. It seems an interesting book.
Compró una máquina de coser She bought a sewing machine.

Use of Gerund After Verbs

Gerunds in Spanish can be used after some verbs when we are telling a story.

Nos fuimos caminando	We went walking.
Terminamos jugando bajo la lluvia.	We ended playing in the rain.
Ella se fue llorando.	She left crying.
Continuo lloviendo por horas.	It continue raining for hours
Comenzaron cantando “Te amaré”	They started singing. “I will love you”

comprar – comprando, volar – volando, tomar – tomando Verbs ending in AR
beber – bebiendo, ser – siendo, deber – debiendo Verbs ending in ER
dormir – durmiendo, morir – muriendo Verbs ending in IR
leer – leyendo, oir – oyendo, traer – trayendo Verbs ending in a Vowel
Él está comiendo He is eating
Ella está trabajando aquí. She is working here.
Ellos estaban corriendo esta mañana. They were running this morning.
Está lloviendo fuerte. It is raining hard.
Estaba leyendo un libro I was reading a book.
Estaban muriendo. They were dying.
Nos fuimos caminando We went walking.
Terminamos jugando bajo la lluvia. We ended playing in the rain.
Ella se fue llorando. She left crying.
Continuo lloviendo por horas. It continue raining for hours
Comenzaron cantando “Te amaré” They started singing. “I will love you”
Saliendo de la fiesta tomamos un taxi. Leaving the party, we took a cab.
Terminando de comprar, nos encontramos con John. Finishing up the shopping, we meet John.
Me rompí el tobillo jugando con mis hermanos I broke my ankle playing with my brothers.
Chocaron el auto saliendo del estacionamiento. They crashed the car when leaving the parking lot.
Se hizo famoso cantando en bares. He became famous by singing in bars.
Ganó el juego marcando 3 goles. He won the game by scoring 3 goals.
Llegaron a casa pidiendo aventones. They arrived home by asking for rides.
Compró su casa trabajando duro. He bought his house by working hard.
Nadar es bueno para la salud. Swimming is good for health.
Fumar está prohibido aquí. Smoking is not allowed here.
Dormir 8 horas es suficiente. Sleeping 8 hours is enough.
Trabajar duro me hace feliz. Working hard makes me happy.
Tomar agua es necesario Drinking water is necessary.
La bella durmiente. The sleeping beauty.
Él es un hombre trabajador. He is a working man.
Ella era una niña llorona. She was a crying baby.
Parece un libro interesante. It seems an interesting book.
Compró una máquina de coser She bought a sewing machine.

Using Gerunds to Express a Time Relationship (when).

Examples

Saliendo de la fiesta tomamos un taxi.	Leaving the party, we took a cab.
Terminando de comprar, nos encontramos con John.	Finishing up the shopping, we meet John.
Me rompí el tobillo jugando con mis hermanos	I broke my ankle playing with my brothers.
Chocaron el auto saliendo del estacionamiento.	They crashed the car when leaving the parking lot.

comprar – comprando, volar – volando, tomar – tomando Verbs ending in AR
beber – bebiendo, ser – siendo, deber – debiendo Verbs ending in ER
dormir – durmiendo, morir – muriendo Verbs ending in IR
leer – leyendo, oir – oyendo, traer – trayendo Verbs ending in a Vowel
Él está comiendo He is eating
Ella está trabajando aquí. She is working here.
Ellos estaban corriendo esta mañana. They were running this morning.
Está lloviendo fuerte. It is raining hard.
Estaba leyendo un libro I was reading a book.
Estaban muriendo. They were dying.
Nos fuimos caminando We went walking.
Terminamos jugando bajo la lluvia. We ended playing in the rain.
Ella se fue llorando. She left crying.
Continuo lloviendo por horas. It continue raining for hours
Comenzaron cantando “Te amaré” They started singing. “I will love you”
Saliendo de la fiesta tomamos un taxi. Leaving the party, we took a cab.
Terminando de comprar, nos encontramos con John. Finishing up the shopping, we meet John.
Me rompí el tobillo jugando con mis hermanos I broke my ankle playing with my brothers.
Chocaron el auto saliendo del estacionamiento. They crashed the car when leaving the parking lot.
Se hizo famoso cantando en bares. He became famous by singing in bars.
Ganó el juego marcando 3 goles. He won the game by scoring 3 goals.
Llegaron a casa pidiendo aventones. They arrived home by asking for rides.
Compró su casa trabajando duro. He bought his house by working hard.
Nadar es bueno para la salud. Swimming is good for health.
Fumar está prohibido aquí. Smoking is not allowed here.
Dormir 8 horas es suficiente. Sleeping 8 hours is enough.
Trabajar duro me hace feliz. Working hard makes me happy.
Tomar agua es necesario Drinking water is necessary.
La bella durmiente. The sleeping beauty.
Él es un hombre trabajador. He is a working man.
Ella era una niña llorona. She was a crying baby.
Parece un libro interesante. It seems an interesting book.
Compró una máquina de coser She bought a sewing machine.

Using Gerunds as an Adverb to Explain “how” the action was Done

In Spanish, gerunds can be used as an adverb to explain “how” the action was done. In English it is used as “by writing”.

Se hizo famoso cantando en bares.	He became famous by singing in bars.
Ganó el juego marcando 3 goles.	He won the game by scoring 3 goals.
Llegaron a casa pidiendo aventones.	They arrived home by asking for rides.
Compró su casa trabajando duro.	He bought his house by working hard.

comprar – comprando, volar – volando, tomar – tomando Verbs ending in AR
beber – bebiendo, ser – siendo, deber – debiendo Verbs ending in ER
dormir – durmiendo, morir – muriendo Verbs ending in IR
leer – leyendo, oir – oyendo, traer – trayendo Verbs ending in a Vowel
Él está comiendo He is eating
Ella está trabajando aquí. She is working here.
Ellos estaban corriendo esta mañana. They were running this morning.
Está lloviendo fuerte. It is raining hard.
Estaba leyendo un libro I was reading a book.
Estaban muriendo. They were dying.
Nos fuimos caminando We went walking.
Terminamos jugando bajo la lluvia. We ended playing in the rain.
Ella se fue llorando. She left crying.
Continuo lloviendo por horas. It continue raining for hours
Comenzaron cantando “Te amaré” They started singing. “I will love you”
Saliendo de la fiesta tomamos un taxi. Leaving the party, we took a cab.
Terminando de comprar, nos encontramos con John. Finishing up the shopping, we meet John.
Me rompí el tobillo jugando con mis hermanos I broke my ankle playing with my brothers.
Chocaron el auto saliendo del estacionamiento. They crashed the car when leaving the parking lot.
Se hizo famoso cantando en bares. He became famous by singing in bars.
Ganó el juego marcando 3 goles. He won the game by scoring 3 goals.
Llegaron a casa pidiendo aventones. They arrived home by asking for rides.
Compró su casa trabajando duro. He bought his house by working hard.
Nadar es bueno para la salud. Swimming is good for health.
Fumar está prohibido aquí. Smoking is not allowed here.
Dormir 8 horas es suficiente. Sleeping 8 hours is enough.
Trabajar duro me hace feliz. Working hard makes me happy.
Tomar agua es necesario Drinking water is necessary.
La bella durmiente. The sleeping beauty.
Él es un hombre trabajador. He is a working man.
Ella era una niña llorona. She was a crying baby.
Parece un libro interesante. It seems an interesting book.
Compró una máquina de coser She bought a sewing machine.

Using Gerund As Noun

It is important to understand that sometimes gerunds are different in English and Spanish. It means that they do not always mean “ando”, “iendo” or “yendo” in Spanish. Gerunds can be used as noun but in Spanish they are translated as infinitive which is a verb ending in “ar”, “er” or “ir”.

Nadar es bueno para la salud.	Swimming is good for health.
Fumar está prohibido aquí.	Smoking is not allowed here.
Dormir 8 horas es suficiente.	Sleeping 8 hours is enough.
Trabajar duro me hace feliz.	Working hard makes me happy.
Tomar agua es necesario	Drinking water is necessary.

comprar – comprando, volar – volando, tomar – tomando Verbs ending in AR
beber – bebiendo, ser – siendo, deber – debiendo Verbs ending in ER
dormir – durmiendo, morir – muriendo Verbs ending in IR
leer – leyendo, oir – oyendo, traer – trayendo Verbs ending in a Vowel
Él está comiendo He is eating
Ella está trabajando aquí. She is working here.
Ellos estaban corriendo esta mañana. They were running this morning.
Está lloviendo fuerte. It is raining hard.
Estaba leyendo un libro I was reading a book.
Estaban muriendo. They were dying.
Nos fuimos caminando We went walking.
Terminamos jugando bajo la lluvia. We ended playing in the rain.
Ella se fue llorando. She left crying.
Continuo lloviendo por horas. It continue raining for hours
Comenzaron cantando “Te amaré” They started singing. “I will love you”
Saliendo de la fiesta tomamos un taxi. Leaving the party, we took a cab.
Terminando de comprar, nos encontramos con John. Finishing up the shopping, we meet John.
Me rompí el tobillo jugando con mis hermanos I broke my ankle playing with my brothers.
Chocaron el auto saliendo del estacionamiento. They crashed the car when leaving the parking lot.
Se hizo famoso cantando en bares. He became famous by singing in bars.
Ganó el juego marcando 3 goles. He won the game by scoring 3 goals.
Llegaron a casa pidiendo aventones. They arrived home by asking for rides.
Compró su casa trabajando duro. He bought his house by working hard.
Nadar es bueno para la salud. Swimming is good for health.
Fumar está prohibido aquí. Smoking is not allowed here.
Dormir 8 horas es suficiente. Sleeping 8 hours is enough.
Trabajar duro me hace feliz. Working hard makes me happy.
Tomar agua es necesario Drinking water is necessary.
La bella durmiente. The sleeping beauty.
Él es un hombre trabajador. He is a working man.
Ella era una niña llorona. She was a crying baby.
Parece un libro interesante. It seems an interesting book.
Compró una máquina de coser She bought a sewing machine.

Using Gerund As Adjective in Spanish

When the gerund is used as adjective in English, it does not mean “ando”, “iendo” or “yendo” in Spanish either.

La bella durmiente.	The sleeping beauty.
Él es un hombre trabajador.	He is a working man.
Ella era una niña llorona.	She was a crying baby.
Parece un libro interesante.	It seems an interesting book.
Compró una máquina de coser	She bought a sewing machine.

comprar – comprando, volar – volando, tomar – tomando Verbs ending in AR
beber – bebiendo, ser – siendo, deber – debiendo Verbs ending in ER
dormir – durmiendo, morir – muriendo Verbs ending in IR
leer – leyendo, oir – oyendo, traer – trayendo Verbs ending in a Vowel
Él está comiendo He is eating
Ella está trabajando aquí. She is working here.
Ellos estaban corriendo esta mañana. They were running this morning.
Está lloviendo fuerte. It is raining hard.
Estaba leyendo un libro I was reading a book.
Estaban muriendo. They were dying.
Nos fuimos caminando We went walking.
Terminamos jugando bajo la lluvia. We ended playing in the rain.
Ella se fue llorando. She left crying.
Continuo lloviendo por horas. It continue raining for hours
Comenzaron cantando “Te amaré” They started singing. “I will love you”
Saliendo de la fiesta tomamos un taxi. Leaving the party, we took a cab.
Terminando de comprar, nos encontramos con John. Finishing up the shopping, we meet John.
Me rompí el tobillo jugando con mis hermanos I broke my ankle playing with my brothers.
Chocaron el auto saliendo del estacionamiento. They crashed the car when leaving the parking lot.
Se hizo famoso cantando en bares. He became famous by singing in bars.
Ganó el juego marcando 3 goles. He won the game by scoring 3 goals.
Llegaron a casa pidiendo aventones. They arrived home by asking for rides.
Compró su casa trabajando duro. He bought his house by working hard.
Nadar es bueno para la salud. Swimming is good for health.
Fumar está prohibido aquí. Smoking is not allowed here.
Dormir 8 horas es suficiente. Sleeping 8 hours is enough.
Trabajar duro me hace feliz. Working hard makes me happy.
Tomar agua es necesario Drinking water is necessary.
La bella durmiente. The sleeping beauty.
Él es un hombre trabajador. He is a working man.
Ella era una niña llorona. She was a crying baby.
Parece un libro interesante. It seems an interesting book.
Compró una máquina de coser She bought a sewing machine.

Forming of The Gerund

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How to Form The Gerund

comprar – comprando, volar – volando, tomar – tomando Verbs ending in AR

beber – bebiendo, ser – siendo, deber – debiendo Verbs ending in ER

dormir – durmiendo, morir – muriendo Verbs ending in IR

leer – leyendo, oir – oyendo, traer – trayendo Verbs ending in a Vowel

Él está comiendo He is eating

Ella está trabajando aquí. She is working here.

Ellos estaban corriendo esta mañana. They were running this morning.

Está lloviendo fuerte. It is raining hard.

Estaba leyendo un libro I was reading a book.

Estaban muriendo. They were dying.

Nos fuimos caminando We went walking.

Terminamos jugando bajo la lluvia. We ended playing in the rain.

Ella se fue llorando. She left crying.

Continuo lloviendo por horas. It continue raining for hours

Comenzaron cantando “Te amaré” They started singing. “I will love you”

Saliendo de la fiesta tomamos un taxi. Leaving the party, we took a cab.

Terminando de comprar, nos encontramos con John. Finishing up the shopping, we meet John.

Me rompí el tobillo jugando con mis hermanos I broke my ankle playing with my brothers.

Chocaron el auto saliendo del estacionamiento. They crashed the car when leaving the parking lot.

Se hizo famoso cantando en bares. He became famous by singing in bars.

Ganó el juego marcando 3 goles. He won the game by scoring 3 goals.

Llegaron a casa pidiendo aventones. They arrived home by asking for rides.

Compró su casa trabajando duro. He bought his house by working hard.

Nadar es bueno para la salud. Swimming is good for health.

Fumar está prohibido aquí. Smoking is not allowed here.

Dormir 8 horas es suficiente. Sleeping 8 hours is enough.

Trabajar duro me hace feliz. Working hard makes me happy.

Tomar agua es necesario Drinking water is necessary.

La bella durmiente. The sleeping beauty.

Él es un hombre trabajador. He is a working man.

Ella era una niña llorona. She was a crying baby.

Parece un libro interesante. It seems an interesting book.

Compró una máquina de coser She bought a sewing machine.

Usage of The Gerund

comprar – comprando, volar – volando, tomar – tomando Verbs ending in AR

beber – bebiendo, ser – siendo, deber – debiendo Verbs ending in ER

dormir – durmiendo, morir – muriendo Verbs ending in IR

leer – leyendo, oir – oyendo, traer – trayendo Verbs ending in a Vowel

Él está comiendo He is eating

Ella está trabajando aquí. She is working here.

Ellos estaban corriendo esta mañana. They were running this morning.

Está lloviendo fuerte. It is raining hard.

Estaba leyendo un libro I was reading a book.

Estaban muriendo. They were dying.

Nos fuimos caminando We went walking.

Terminamos jugando bajo la lluvia. We ended playing in the rain.

Ella se fue llorando. She left crying.

Continuo lloviendo por horas. It continue raining for hours

Comenzaron cantando “Te amaré” They started singing. “I will love you”

Saliendo de la fiesta tomamos un taxi. Leaving the party, we took a cab.

Terminando de comprar, nos encontramos con John. Finishing up the shopping, we meet John.

Me rompí el tobillo jugando con mis hermanos I broke my ankle playing with my brothers.

Chocaron el auto saliendo del estacionamiento. They crashed the car when leaving the parking lot.

Se hizo famoso cantando en bares. He became famous by singing in bars.

Ganó el juego marcando 3 goles. He won the game by scoring 3 goals.

Llegaron a casa pidiendo aventones. They arrived home by asking for rides.

Compró su casa trabajando duro. He bought his house by working hard.

Nadar es bueno para la salud. Swimming is good for health.

Fumar está prohibido aquí. Smoking is not allowed here.

Dormir 8 horas es suficiente. Sleeping 8 hours is enough.

Trabajar duro me hace feliz. Working hard makes me happy.

Tomar agua es necesario Drinking water is necessary.

La bella durmiente. The sleeping beauty.

Él es un hombre trabajador. He is a working man.

Ella era una niña llorona. She was a crying baby.

Parece un libro interesante. It seems an interesting book.

Compró una máquina de coser She bought a sewing machine.

Use of Gerund After Verbs

comprar – comprando, volar – volando, tomar – tomando Verbs ending in AR

beber – bebiendo, ser – siendo, deber – debiendo Verbs ending in ER

dormir – durmiendo, morir – muriendo Verbs ending in IR

leer – leyendo, oir – oyendo, traer – trayendo Verbs ending in a Vowel

Él está comiendo He is eating

Ella está trabajando aquí. She is working here.

Ellos estaban corriendo esta mañana. They were running this morning.

Está lloviendo fuerte. It is raining hard.