Weak Pronouns after Gerunds

Level 2

Attach weak pronouns after a gerund with a hyphen or apostrophe.

How It Works

A gerund such as mirant or parlant can carry a following pronoun: mirant-ho, parlant-ne. The gerund is not conjugated for person; a finite verb elsewhere in the sentence supplies tense and agreement when needed.

Because ordinary gerunds end in a consonant, the pronoun usually has a full form joined by a hyphen: portant-lo, anant-hi. Choose the pronoun for the verb's complement: parlar de leads to parlant-ne, while a place complement can lead to anant-hi.

In a verbal group such as estar + gerund, a pronoun can often move before the finite verb: ho estic mirant or estic mirant-ho. Use one placement, not both. Do not insert the pronoun between estar and the gerund as a free-standing word.

Examples (3)

  1. Estic llegint-lo.

    I am reading it.

  2. Va sortir parlant-ne.

    She went out talking about it.

  3. Anant-hi a peu, veuràs el parc.

    Going there on foot, you will see the park.

How It Connects

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Weak Pronouns after GerundsLevel 2

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Identify the complement represented by a following pronoun.

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Patterns that build on this one.