Los Gerundios
Gerunds and the
Present Progressive Tense

The Gerund form of a verb is not really a
conjugation at all. There is not a different
form for each person or point of view. In
fact, there is only one gerund of each
verb, just like there is in English.
Gerundios … “-ing” verbs
In English, we use the suffix “-ing” to
indicate that an action is taking place now.
 Verbs ending in “-ing” are called gerunds.

Running
Crying
Listening
Talking
Playing
Laughing
The Progressive Tense

So, you will always use Estar with
Gerunds. The construction looks like this:
Subj. + [Estar + Conj.] + [Verb + Gerund]
I
am
talking.
Yo
estoy
hablando.
Gerundios … “-ing” verbs
Forming the Gerund in Spanish is almost as
easy as it is in English.
For –AR verbs such as habl ar
Drop off the –ar ending
And add -ando
Gerundios … “-ing” verbs
Forming the Gerund in Spanish is almost as
easy as it is in English.
For –AR verbs such as habl ando
Drop off the –ar ending
And add -ando
So the gerundio of Tomar would be
Tomando
Caminar would be
Caminando
Bailar would be
Bailando
And Cantar would be
Cantando
Gerundios … “-ing” verbs
For –ER and -IR verbs
such as comer and viv ir
Drop off the –er or -ir ending
And add -iendo
Beber would be
Bebiendo
Escribir would be
Escribiendo
And Asistir would be
Asistiendo
Gerundios … “-ing” verbs
Bradley Cooper
está corriendo
Now let’s look at some examples of these
verbs actually being used in real Spanish.
Gerundios … “-ing” verbs
I am talking.
 They are talking.
 We were talking.
 Charlie is talking.

¡Ojo! The verb talking never changes!
What are the conjugated verbs in these
sentences?
That’s right… the verb “to be”.
 Remember that there are 2 verbs with
mean “to be” in Spanish. When do you
use each one?

Ser vs Estar
Estar
Condition
Location
Progressive
Ser
Characteristic
Origin/nationality/
religion/profession
Time/Date
(Basically…everything else.)
The Progressive Tense

This is the Progressive Tense!
–
–
–
–
–
I am talking.
She is running.
We are sitting.
It is raining.
It is snowing.
All of these actions are going on right now… so we refer
to them as Progressive: We emphasize the fact that
they are progressing or going on right now.
Yo estoy esquiando.
I am skiing.
Carlos está bebiendo jugo.
Carlos is drinking juice.
Nosotros estamos viviendo en Florida ahora.
We are living in Florida now.
¿Cómo se dice…?
Otros ejemplos in Español.
1. Andrés is playing the guitar.
Andrés está tocando la guitarra.
2. Andrés and I are studying Spanish.
Andrés y yo estamos estudiando español.
3. Andrea and María are playing tenis.
Andrea y María están jugando al tenis.
4. Are you writing a letter?
¿Estás escribiendo una carta?
5. My friends are running along the beach.
Mis amigos están corriendo por la playa.
6. It is raining.
Está lloviendo.
7. It is snowing.
Está nevando.
8. I am attending a Spanish class.
Yo estoy asistiendo una clase de español.
9. Are you understanding? (entender/
comprender)
¿Estás entendiendo?
¿Estás comprendiendo?
The Progressive Tense
Remember that the Progressive Tense is used to
EMPHASIZE the fact that the action is happening
at this moment.
 In Spanish, you can still use the regular present
tense to say that something happens or is
happening now.
 Remember “llueve” and “está lloviendo”?

– Both mean “It is raining”, but “está lloviendo” simply
emphasizes the fact that it is taking place right now.
The Progressive Tense
¿Qué significa…?
Yo hablo.
I talk.
I am talking.
Yo estoy hablando.
I am talking (right now).
Gerundios – Stem Changers
A few gerunds have a stem change.
**To form the present participle of -ir stem
changing verbs, change o  u and e i
in the stem, and then add -iendo to the
stem of the verb.
pedir e  i
pidiendo
dormir o  u
durmiendo
Otros irregulares

servir: sirviendo
pedir: pidiendo
decir: diciendo

dormir: durmiendo
morir: muriendo
poder: pudiendo
Sometimes when forming the present participle
it is necessary to change the spelling of a word
so that it agrees with the way it is pronounced.
Here are some common examples:
 caer: cayendo
creer: creyendo
huir: huyendo (to flee)
ir: yendo
influir: influyendo
oír: oyendo
traer: trayendo
leer: leyendo
seguir: siguiendo

Gerundios
If a verb ends in (se), form the gerund
regularly, then put the –se back on the
end and put an accent over the
–ándo or –iéndo.
Gerundios
maquillar(se)
maquillándose
cepillar(se)
cepillándose
lavar(se)
lavándose