quedarse + Gerund
Remain Doing
Use 'quedarse' + gerund (-ando/-iendo) to say that someone 'remained doing' or 'stayed doing' something.
How It Works
The construction quedarse + gerund is used to express that an action continues for a period of time, emphasizing the idea of remaining or staying in that state or activity.
Structure:
Subject + quedarse (conjugated) + gerund (-ando/-iendo)
While similar to other progressive structures, quedarse + gerund carries specific nuances:
- Persistence and Duration: It highlights that an action is maintained over time, often longer than expected. For example,
Nos quedamos hablando hasta las tres de la mañana(We stayed talking until three in the morning). - Static State: It often implies that the subject remains in a specific location or position while performing the action.
Se quedó leyendo en el sofá(He stayed on the sofa reading). - Resulting State: It can describe the state someone is left in after an event.
Tras la noticia, se quedó temblando(After the news, she was left trembling).
Comparison with other structures:
- Estar + gerund: Describes an action in progress at a specific moment.
Estaba leyendo(I was reading). - Seguir + gerund: Emphasizes the continuation of an action.
Sigo leyendo(I'm still reading / I continue to read). - Quedarse + gerund: Focuses on remaining in the state of doing the action.
Me quedé leyendo(I remained reading / I stayed and read).
This structure is very common in spoken Spanish to add color and detail to descriptions of how time was spent or how someone reacted to a situation.
Pronominal Form And Related Uses
In the quedarse form, use me, te, se, nos, os, or se with the matching subject. This is a pronominal construction, not a literal action performed on oneself. Quedar also has nonpronominal uses with a predicative complement; the existence of quedarse does not make every sentence such as Quedó mirando por la ventana ungrammatical.
Duration Depends On Context
The construction does not require a long or uninterrupted activity. It can describe the state someone enters after a reaction. With a location, it can also mean staying there while doing something.
Examples (5)
- Se quedó mirando la televisión toda la tarde.
He remained watching television all afternoon.
Word by Word: He remained [pronominal] watching the television all the afternoon.
The sentence describes continued television viewing through the afternoon; it does not by itself say that he stayed in one physical place.
- Me quedé pensando en lo que me dijiste.
I was left thinking about what you told me.
Word by Word: I remained [pronominal] thinking about that which you told me.
This describes remaining in a mental state of contemplation after a conversation.
- Después del susto, el perro se quedó temblando en un rincón.
After the scare, the dog was left trembling in a corner.
Word by Word: After of the scare, the dog remained [pronominal] trembling in a corner.
Here, 'quedarse + gerund' describes the resulting state of the dog after an event.
- ¿Por qué te quedaste esperando afuera en el frío?
Why did you stay waiting outside in the cold?
Word by Word: Why you remained [pronominal] waiting outside in the cold?
- Aunque la película terminó, nos quedamos hablando en el cine.
Even though the movie ended, we stayed talking in the theater.
Word by Word: Although the movie finished, we remained [pronominal] talking in the cinema.
Common Mistakes
Using the infinitive instead of the gerund after 'quedarse'.
Me quedé esperar el tren por dos horas.Me quedé esperando el tren por dos horas.This pattern uses the gerund esperando. Me quedé a esperar is a different, grammatical construction with a before the infinitive. Estuve esperando is also grammatical and simply presents the wait in progress or within a past interval.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To learn 'quedarse + gerund', a learner needs to understand how to form gerunds and how the reflexive verb 'quedarse' functions to describe remaining in a specific state. It builds upon the basic progressive structure (estar + gerund) by adding the nuance of duration or remaining in a place while performing an action.
- sentirse/encontrarse/quedarseFeelings and States with Pronominal Verbs
Understanding 'quedarse' as a reflexive verb used to describe states or changes in state is essential before using it in a progressive construction.
Level 1 - estar + GerundPresent Progressive
Familiarity with the basic 'verb + gerund' structure for progressive actions provides the functional foundation for more nuanced variations like 'quedarse + gerund'.
Level 2
Related Patterns
- seguir/continuar + GerundContinuing Actions
Like 'quedarse + gerund', 'seguir + gerund' expresses a continued action. However, 'seguir' means 'to keep on' doing something, implying continuation, while 'quedarse' implies 'to remain' doing something, often in a static state.
Level 2 - llevar + Time + GerundDuration of Action
This structure is used specifically to state how long an action has been going on. 'Quedarse + gerund' focuses more on the act of remaining in the action, though duration is often implied.
Level 2 - me/te/se/nos/os/seReflexive Pronouns
Quedarse takes a matching pronominal form. These pronouns also occur in literal reflexive constructions, but remaining in a state is not an action performed on oneself.
Level 1 - -ando/-iendoGerund Formation
The gerund is the '-ing' form of the verb in Spanish and is a core component of the 'quedarse + gerund' structure. You need to know how to form gerunds to use this pattern.
Level 2 - quedar + ParticipleQuedar with Participle
This is a related but different structure using 'quedar(se)'. It's followed by a past participle to describe a resulting state or condition (e.g., 'La puerta se quedó abierta' - The door was left open), not an ongoing action like 'quedarse + gerund'.
Level 4
Words in This Pattern
Practice quedarse + Gerund in Bubblegum
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