Regular formation
The gerundio (el gerundio) is the Spanish counterpart of the English -ing form in the progressive: hablando = speaking. It never changes: no gender, no plural. Drop the infinitive ending and attach a new one. English has one -ing for every verb; Spanish picks by verb family: -ar verbs take -ando, -er and -ir verbs take -iendo.
Ending by verb family
| Infinitive | Gerundio |
|---|---|
| hablar | hablando |
| trabajar | trabajando |
| comer | comiendo |
| vivir | viviendo |
Estoy trabajando mucho.
I'm working a lot.
Ana está comiendo.
Ana is eating.
Estamos escribiendo un correo.
We're writing an email.
Irregular forms
English -ing never touches the stem, so there is nothing to lean on here. -ir verbs that change their stem vowel in the present change it in the gerundio too, always as e → i or o → u.
Stem change in -ir verbs
| Infinitive | Gerundio | Change |
|---|---|---|
| decir | diciendo | e → i |
| pedir | pidiendo | e → i |
| venir | viniendo | e → i |
| dormir | durmiendo | o → u |
| morir | muriendo | o → u |
¿Qué estás diciendo?
What are you saying?
El bebé está durmiendo.
The baby is sleeping.
Están pidiendo la cuenta.
They're asking for the bill.
When the stem ends in a vowel, the i of -iendo becomes y: not leiendo, but leyendo. ir belongs here too: yendo.
Gerundio with -yendo
| Infinitive | Gerundio |
|---|---|
| leer | leyendo |
| oír | oyendo |
| traer | trayendo |
| ir | yendo |
Estoy leyendo un libro.
I'm reading a book.
El camarero está trayendo el café.
The waiter is bringing the coffee.
Gerundio or infinitive?
English -ing also works as a noun, after prepositions and after verbs like like. The Spanish gerundio does none of this: there you need the infinitive.
Me gusta nadar.
I like swimming.
Antes de nadar, bebe agua.
Before swimming, drink some water.
Nadar es sano.
Swimming is healthy.
