Forming the Gerund

Level 2

Replace the infinitive ending with -ando, -endo or -indo: falando, comendo, saíndo. The gerund never changes for person, gender or number.

How It Works

Formation: replace the infinitive ending.

  • -ar → -ando: falar → falando
  • -er → -endo: comer → comendo
  • -ir → -indo: partir → partindo

No irregular gerunds. Verbs that are irregular elsewhere follow the same rule: ser → sendo, ir → indo, vir → vindo, ter → tendo, facer → facendo, dicir → dicindo, pór → pondo (poñer → poñendo).

Never -iendo. Spanish writes comiendo, diciendo, siendo; Galician has comendo, dicindo, sendo.

Accents: a verb with a written í in the infinitive keeps it in the gerund: saír → saíndo, oír → oíndo.

Invariable: the gerund never changes for person, gender or number: Ela chegou cantando. Eles chegaron cantando.

Pronouns attach to the end, and the word then needs a written accent because the stress is now further from the end: facendo + o → facéndoo.

Uses: in verb phrases such as estar + gerund and seguir + gerund, and on its own to show how something is done or what happens at the same time: Aprendín galego falando cos veciños. A gerund describes an action at the same time as the main verb or just before it, never after it.

Examples (6)

  1. Chegou cantando.

    She arrived singing.

    The gerund shows how she arrived.

  2. Aprendín galego falando cos veciños.

    I learned Galician by talking with the neighbours.

    cos = con + os.

  3. Saíndo da casa, vin que chovía.

    As I was leaving the house, I saw that it was raining.

    saír → saíndo keeps the accent on í.

  4. Seguimos traballando ata as dez.

    We kept working until ten.

  5. Os rapaces viñeron correndo.

    The kids came running.

    The gerund correndo does not change for the plural subject.

  6. Dicindo iso, non axudas.

    By saying that, you're not helping.

    dicir → dicindo, never diciendo.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a Spanish-style gerund in -iendo.

    Chegou diciendo que non.
    Chegou dicindo que non.

    Galician dicir gives dicindo. In the same way, comer gives comendo and ser gives sendo.

  • Using siendo for the gerund of ser.

    Siendo sincero, non me gusta.
    Sendo sincero, non me gusta.

    The gerund of ser is regular: sendo.

  • Using a gerund for an action that happens afterwards.

    Estudou en Santiago, traballando despois en Vigo.
    Estudou en Santiago e despois traballou en Vigo.

    Working in Vigo came after studying, and a gerund cannot describe a later event. Link consecutive events with e and a conjugated verb.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Forming the GerundLevel 2

Learn This First

Gerunds use -ando or -endo according to the infinitive class.