Spanish gerunds are words ending in -ando or -iendo; they are equivalent to English words ending in “-ing,” such as “running” or “cooking.” They are used to form progressive tenses, such as the Spanish present continuous, alongside the verb estar (“to be”), or as adverbs to describe the action of the verb it accompanies.

For example:

• María está leyendo un libro (“María is reading a book”).
  
  

• Carlos salió cantando (“Carlos left singing”).
  
  

They can also be used to indicate location, to indicate two actions happening at the same time, and with certain types of verbs.

Contrary to English “-ing” forms, gerunds in Spanish (-ando/-iendo forms) are NOT used as adjectives, as nouns, or after prepositions.

For example:

• It’s an interesting movie. → Es una película interesante (adjective).

• Swimming is relaxing. → Nadar (infinitive) es relajante.

• They talk while eating dinner. → Hablan mientras comen (infinitive) la cena.
  
  

14-Day Spanish Immersion Program Santiago de Cuba