Imagine
you are on the phone to a relative, a friend or a colleague. You are
catching up with each other. The other person wants to know what you
are actually doing and says to you something like: "tell me,
what are you doing?".
In
Spanish, he/ she could choose to be less formal and say to you:
Dime,
¿qué estás haciendo?
On the
other hand, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say to you:
Dígame,
¿qué está haciendo (usted)?
The question is an
invitation for you to say what you are doing. When saying what you
are doing, you should not need to be concerned about
the level of formality in the other person's question. Your main
concern should be about saying what you are actually doing.
Here are some
examples of how you could reply:
- Estoy mirando* por la ventana (I looking out of the window).
- Estoy hablando* por teléfono (I am talking on the telephone).
- Estoy ojeando* el periódico (I glancing/ leafing through the a newspaper ).
- Estoy pintándome* las uñas (I varnishing my nails).
- Estoy tricotando* (I am knitting).
Now you should
practise replying to someone who says to you:
Dime,
¿qué estás haciendo?
*Please
see grammar below
Grammar-Gerund
The
Spanish gerund is the verb form which corresponds to the
English -ing ending gerund/ present participle. In
Spanish, the gerund is formed by adding -ando to the
stem of -ar
ending verbs,
and adding -iendo to the stems of -er or
-ir ending
verbs. In Spanish all gerunds are formed as shown in
Table 1 below:
- Verb EndingExampleCorresponding Gerund-artrabajartrabajando-ercomercomiendo-irvivirviviendo
Table
1 – Spanish Gerunds
Please
note that there are some important differences between the Spanish
gerund and the English gerund/ present participle. The main
differences are:
- The Spanish gerund should not be used to translate an English -ing ending verb form when that verb form is used as compund noun. See examples below:
- drinking water ↔ agua potable
- swimming pool ↔ piscina
- fuel saving ↔ ahorro de combustible
- hard-working person ↔ persona trabajadora
- The Spanish gerund should not be used to translate an English -ing ending verb form when that verb form is used as a noun which is the subject in sentences* such as:
- eating fruit is good ↔ comer fruta es bueno
- parking is not allowed ↔ no está permitido aparcar
- travelling is what I like best ↔ lo que más me gusta es viajar
- The Spanish gerund should not be used to translate an English -ing ending verb form when that verb form is a noun which is preceded by a preposition*. See examples below:
- before eating ↔ antes de comer
- after parking ↔ después de aparcar
- without speaking ↔ sin hablar
- The Spanish gerund should not be used to translate English -ing ending verb form when that verb form is a noun which is a direct object of certain verbs, such as, hate, like and similar*. See examples below:
- I hate getting up early ↔ detesto madrugar
- do you like swimming? ↔ ¿te gusta nadar?
*NB
In such cases, in Spanish we us the infinitive instead.
In
Spanish the gerund is used in the following main situations:
1.
Continuous Form- Verbs
In
Spanish, we commonly use “estar”
followed
by a gerund
to form continuous verb tenses. Continuous verb tenses are used to
indicate ongoing actions, which often take place at the time of
speaking, but may also take place at other times also.
Although
the most common use of the continuous form of verb tenses is found in
the present and imperfect tenses, its use is not restricted to those
tenses. In fact, the continuous form may be used with all verb
tenses. Some examples of the use of the gerund
in continuous forms of verbs with a variety of tenses are:
- Estoy escribiendo una carta (I am writing a letter);
- Estabas mirando la tele, ¿verdad? (you were watching TV, weren't you?);
- Pedro estará llegando por la mañana temprano (Pedro will be arriving early in the morning);
- Hemos estado cenando en un restaurate muy típico (we have been dining in a very traditional restaurant);
- Estuvisteis viajando por los Estados Unidos (you people have been travelling in the USA);
- Espero que John y Ann lo estén pasando muy bien (I hope that John and Ann are having a good time);
2.
Emphasise Action Duration
In
Spanish, we commonly use some verbs, especially,
“andar”,
“continuar”,
“ir”
and “seguir”
followed by a gerund
to emphasise the duration of an action. Examples of this use are:
- Sigo contando con vosotros (I am still counting/ I have not given up counting on you);
- Continúas estudiando ¿verdad? (you are still studying, aren't you?);
- Van pasando los años (the years keep going by);
- Andan diciendo que queréis iros (they keep saying that you (pl) want to leave);
3.
Simultaneous Actions
In
Spanish, we commonly use the gerund
to indicate actions which take place at the same time as the main
verb action. Examples of this use are:
- Pedro estaba tumbado en la cama durmiendo (Pedro was lying in bed asleep);
- John y Ann se pasean por el parque charlando (John and Ann are walking in the park chatting);
Now
you should practise the uses of the gerund with some examples
of your own.
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