Gerund vs. Infinitive

Introduction

One of the biggest traps for English speakers is overusing the Spanish gerund (-ando/-iendo). In English, the -ing form is everywhere: "I like swimming," "running is fun," "I'm tired of waiting." In Spanish, most of these use the infinitive, not the gerund. The Spanish gerund has much more limited uses.

The Key Rule

Where English uses -ing as a noun (subject, object, after prepositions), Spanish uses the INFINITIVE.

This is one of the most common errors English speakers make. The Spanish gerund (nadando, leyendo, fumando) would be wrong in all these cases.

When TO Use the Gerund (Gerundio)

1. With estar — Progressive tenses (ongoing actions)

This is the main use:

• Estoy estudiando. — I'm studying.
• Estaba durmiendo. — She was sleeping.
• ¿Qué estás haciendo? — What are you doing?
• Llevan dos horas hablando. — They've been talking for two hours.

2. With seguir/continuar — continuing an action

• Sigue lloviendo. — It keeps raining.
• Continuó trabajando. — He continued working.

3. With ir — gradual change

• Va mejorando. — It's (gradually) getting better.
• Los precios van subiendo. — Prices keep going up.

4. With llevar — duration

• Llevo tres años viviendo aquí. — I've been living here for three years.
• Llevaba horas esperando. — He'd been waiting for hours.

5. Describing HOW an action is done (adverbial use)

• Llegó corriendo. — He arrived running.
• Salió llorando. — She left crying.
• Pasó la tarde leyendo. — He spent the afternoon reading.
• Aprendí practicando. — I learned by practicing.

When NOT to Use the Gerund

After prepositions — use infinitive

• Antes de comer — Before eating (NOT: antes de comiendo)
• Después de terminar — After finishing
• Sin hablar — Without speaking
• Para aprender — In order to learn
• En vez de estudiar — Instead of studying

As the subject of a sentence — use infinitive

• Viajar es mi pasión. — Traveling is my passion. (NOT: Viajando es mi pasión.)
• Cocinar me relaja. — Cooking relaxes me.

As the object of most verbs — use infinitive

• Quiero ir. — I want to go. (NOT: Quiero yendo.)
• Necesito dormir. — I need to sleep.
• Me gusta bailar. — I like dancing.
• Prefiero caminar. — I prefer walking.
• Decidió quedarse. — She decided to stay.

As an adjective — use other constructions

English uses -ing as an adjective ("a running man"). Spanish doesn't:

• un hombre que corre — a running man (relative clause)
• agua corriente — running water (adjective form, not gerund)

Forming the Gerund

Regular

Irregular / Stem-changing

Practice