The Spanish gerund endings are:

-ando (for verbs that end in -ar)

-iendo (for verbs that end in -er or -ir)

-yendo (A few -er and -ir verbs use this ending)

A gerund is used in both the present continuous and past continuous tenses. It is a way to emphasize an action that is happening in the moment. Estoy leyendo (I am reading). Estaba leyendo (I was reading).

To be more precise, the Spanish phrase “estoy leyendo” means “I am reading (right now)” while “yo estaba leyendo” means “I was reading (right then, at that very moment in the past).”

In English, we tend to use the -ing form a lot. In fact, English uses the continuous tense (also called the progressive tense) more frequently than Spanish does. As a result, it is very common for English speakers to use this form excessively when they speak Spanish.

For example, it is very common and normal to hear someone in English say “I am learning Spanish.” The speaker of this sentence is  just making a general statement. He is not necessarily saying that he is learning Spanish in that very moment.

However, in Spanish, it sounds kind of odd to say “Estoy aprendiendo español” UNLESS you want to emphasize that you are studying Spanish at that very moment.

If that’s not the case, it’s more typical and correct in Spanish to say “Aprendo español,” which in English can be translated as  “I learn Spanish” or  “I am learning Spanish.”

In Spanish, the continuous/progressive tense generally implies a longer duration or repetition of the verbal action. In English, however, we tend to use the -ing form when referring to brief actions or things that are going to happen in the near future.

Here are some common examples where it is natural to go with the -ing form in English but in Spanish you would stick with the present tense.

English: Who are you talking to? With whom are you speaking?

Spanish: ¿Con quién hablas? (present tense)

English: What are you doing?

Spanish: ¿Qué haces?

English: I’m coming back tonight.

Spanish: Vuelvo esta noche.

There are some other key differences between the Spanish gerund and the English gerund. In English, a gerund can also be used as is a noun. For example:  “Walking is great exercise.” The word “walking” is a verbal noun.

In Spanish, we create a verbal noun by using the infinitive (the unconjugated form of the verb) not by using its gerund.

Caminar es excelente para la salud = Walking is great for your health

NOT Caminando es excelente para la salud.

No fumar aquí. (No smoking allowed.)  NOT No fumando aquí.

Dormir es mi actividad favorita (Sleeping is my favorite activity) NOT Durmiendo es mi actividad favorita.

Other scenarios in which the -ing form that we use in English requires the infinitive in Spanish:

With a verb that expresses likes and dislikes: Odio nadar en agua fría. (I hate swimming in cold water.)

With some prepositions: El cocinero se lava las manos antes de hacer la comida. (The cook washes his hands before making the meal.)

But on the flip side, there are times when the Spanish gerund doesn’t correspond to the English -ing form.

TIME (to show two parallel actions)

Estando en España, hablo español. (While I am Spain, I speak Spanish.)

CAUSE (to indicate a major circumstance)

Siendo presidente, Barack Obama tiene más responsiblidades que nunca. (Since he is president, Barack Obama has more responsibilities than ever.)

MANNER (to show the way in which an action takes place)

El perro entra corriendo cuando oye el silbato. (The dog runs inside when he hears the whistle.)

In Spanish, a gerund is typically attached to the verb ESTAR but there are other Spanish verbs that can be paired with a gerund. This week’s podcast talks about one of them -  the verb ANDAR. In a future episode, I will mention some other verbs that can replace ESTAR in the continuous/progessive tense formula (ESTAR + a gerund).

This podcast is the audio verb drill for the imperfect past tense of SER. Purchase the complete set of audio verb drills for SER on this page. The price is $7.99.

As always, I’m open to receiving your suggestions and feedback. You can contact me directly through this blog’s contact page.

2. Once you’ve listened to the audio drill at least once or twice, then look at the written form of the conjugated verb so that you can see and memorize the spelling. Do the audio drill again, this time reading and repeating the conjugated verb. A good online Spanish verb conjugator is available at Word Reference.com. Just type in the verb you need in the search box and once you land on that verb’s  page, click on “CONJUGATOR” to see a full table of conjugations for that specific verb.

Remember, you have to practice using these verbs for them to stick in your memory. Each audio verb drill is five minutes or less, so it doesn’t take much time for you to sneak in a little Spanish verb practice every single day. ¡Suerte! and Happy Re-Verberating!

Here is the basic format of the ReVerb Spanish audio verb drills:
Parts 1 & 2: Listen and repeat the verb conjugations given in the standard order (yo soy, tú eres, él es, ella es, usted es, nosotros somos, vosotros sois, ellos son, ellas son, ustedes son.)

Part 3: Verb conjugations are given out of order. For example, with the present tense of the verb SER, you may hear a sequence such as vosotros sois, yo soy, ustedes son, etc. Listen and repeat.

Part 4: Here’s where you test yourself. We give you the pronoun and you have to give the correct form of the verb for that pronoun. For example, you’ll hear the pronoun “YO“ and then you are supposed to say the correct form of the verb for that Spanish pronoun. After a brief pause for each pronoun, you will hear the correct response so that you can check your answer.

Part 5: Spanish audio verb drills for the Spanish subjunctive will include additional audio practice exercises of short phrases and sentences.

A full selection of Spanish audio verb drills will be available after May 7, 2009. Subscribe to this blog’s RSS feed or Email list to get updated on when they are available.

Would you like to make a suggestion or give feedback? Send me a message.  Tell me what you think so that I can improve this site. ¡Gracias!

Have you ever used a Spanish-English dictionary to look up a word only to discover later on that the meaning you found wasn’t quite accurate for the situation? In fact, it’s quite common for Spanish-English dictionaries to lead many language learners astray with definitions that are imprecise or misleading.

The classic example are the verbs SER and ESTAR. Both mean “to be” in Spanish but with a difference. Using these two verbs interchangeably can change the meaning of a sentence even though the standard dictionary says that both verbs are the Spanish equivalent of “to be” in English.

While SER and ESTAR are obvious examples, there are several other Spanish verbs which create similar problems, albeit on a smaller scale, for Spanish learners. For example, the verbs hacerse, ponerse, quedarse and volverse all mean “to become” in Spanish but they cannot be used interchangeably in Spanish. That’s because each one of these verbs has an additional layer of meaning that doesn’t always get explained properly in a typical dictionary.

So, that’s what the ReVerb Spanish blog and podcast are going to focus on – the nuances, the variations in meaning for verbs that appear to synonyms.

Neither the blog nor the podcast will teach you Spanish grammar. That’s not the point of this program. Instead it will be a supplement to your Spanish language studies.

In addition to the blog entries, there are also audio Spanish verb drills available. Listening to these audio exercises are a good way to practice your Spanish verb conjugations. If you’ve ever second guessed yourself or gotten tongue tied when trying to remember the correct form of some basic verbs, listening to these audio drills might help.  I’m only making a few basic verbs available initially. But if I get feedback indicating that there is strong demand for more audio verb drills, I will add more audio verb drills to the current collection.

Would you like to make a suggestion or give feedback? Send me a message.  Tell me what you think so that I can improve this site. ¡Gracias!