Forming the gerund: hablando, comiendo, viviendo

Explanation

Formation: stem + -ando for -ar verbs, stem + -iendo for -er/-ir verbs. The gerund never agrees with anything: ella está trabajando, ellos siguen trabajando.

Its core job is the progressive with estar, but it also follows seguir/continuar (sigo esperando), ir (va mejorando), llevar (llevo dos horas esperando), and expresses manner: aprendí escuchando.

Key contrast with English: after prepositions, Spanish uses the infinitive, never the gerund — antes de comer, not *antes de comiendo. Pronouns can attach with an accent: esperándote, diciéndolo.

Examples

Related rules

• The progressive: estar + gerund
• Irregular gerunds: durmiendo, pidiendo, leyendo, yendo
• The infinitive: -ar, -er, -ir and where it goes