grammar.verbs.gerund-uses
What the gerund can and cannot do
The gerund expresses progress (está comiendo), manner (aprendí practicando), and simultaneity — but never works as an adjective or after prepositions.
grammarB1, B2v0.1.0
Explicación
Legitimate jobs: progressive with estar/seguir/ir/llevar, manner and means (se fue corriendo, lo resolví hablando), and backgrounded simultaneous action (caminando por el centro, vi a Marta).
Off-limits (unlike English -ing): after prepositions (antes de salir, not *saliendo), as a noun (nadar es sano), and as a noun-modifying adjective — 'a flying object' is un objeto volador or que vuela, not *volando.
Ejemplos
Se fue corriendo.
He left running / he ran off.
He left running / he ran off.
Región: global
El hombre que canta es mi vecino.
The singing man is my neighbor.
The singing man is my neighbor.
Región: global