Vol 00 §10 at full resolution. The three forms where a verb stops being a verb — and where English interference does its most visible damage.
1The three costumes§
Spanish has exactly three non-finite verb forms. Each converts ACTION into a different primitive:
| Form | Ending | Becomes | Vol 00 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | -ar / -er / -ir | an ENTITY (a thing) | V→E |
| Gerundio | -ando / -iendo | a QUALITY of an action (an adverb) | V→Adv |
| Participle | -ado / -ido | a QUALITY of an entity (an adjective) | V→Q |
Every -ing you want to translate requires asking: is this a thing, a property, or a manner? The answer picks the form. Get that question habitual and the whole area resolves.
2The infinitive frequency 3 of 3, daily§
2.1As a noun (V→E)§
Spanish's only verbal noun. Where English uses a gerund, Spanish uses the infinitive:
Fumar es malo. — Smoking is bad Me gusta cocinar. — I like cooking Ver es creer. — Seeing is believing Lo importante es empezar. — The important thing is starting
2.2After prepositions frequency 3 of 3, daily§
Always the infinitive, never the gerundio. This is an absolute rule and English breaks it constantly:
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| before leaving | antes de *salir*** |
| after eating | después de *comer*** |
| without thinking | sin *pensar*** |
| instead of going | en vez de *ir*** |
| for studying | para *estudiar*** |
| by working | trabaj*ando*** ⚠ (means, no preposition — §3.2) |
| tired of waiting | cansado de *esperar*** |
2.3al + infinitive frequency 3 of 3, daily§
A complete time clause folded into two words: "on/upon doing."
Al llegar, avisame. — Let me know when you get there Al salir, cerrá la puerta. Al principio me costó, pero al acostumbrarme fue fácil.
2.4After modals and periphrastics frequency 3 of 3, daily§
Quiero ir. Tengo que salir. Puedo ayudar. Voy a llamarlo. Acabo de llegar. Volvió a preguntar. Dejé de fumar.
The full inventory is in 06 §7. Note that clitics may attach to the infinitive or climb to the finite verb — free variation: lo quiero ver = quiero verlo (03 §3).
2.5With perception verbs frequency 2 of 3, secondary§
Lo vi salir. — I saw him leave La escuché cantar. — I heard her sing Los sentí llegar.
2.6As an impersonal command frequency 2 of 3, secondary§
No fumar. Empujar. Tirar. No pisar el césped.
Signs, instructions, recipes. Also ¡A comer! / ¡A trabajar! as a rallying cry (07 §8.4).
2.7With its own subject frequency 1 of 3, rare§
Spanish permits an explicit subject after the infinitive when it differs from the main clause: Antes de *salir yo*, cerrá todo. frequency 1 of 3, rare Formal, but useful when para que + subjunctive would be heavy.
2.8de + infinitive as a conditional frequency 1 of 3, rare§
De haberlo sabido, no venía. — Had I known, I wouldn't have come. De ser así, avisame. — If that's the case, let me know. frequency 2 of 3, secondary
The second is more common and worth having.
3The gerundio frequency 3 of 3, daily§
The highest-value section in this document, because the gerundio has hard prohibitions that English speakers violate constantly, and because the violations are instantly audible as foreign.
3.1The three prohibitions frequency 3 of 3, daily§
A gerundio can NEVER be a noun. A gerundio can NEVER modify a noun (be an adjective). A gerundio can NEVER express purpose or a subsequent event.
| ❌ Wrong (English calque) | ✅ Correct |
|---|---|
| El corriendo es bueno. (ungrammatical) | *Correr es bueno.* — Running is good |
| Un email diciendo que… (ungrammatical) | Un email *que dice* que… — an email saying |
| La gente viviendo acá (ungrammatical) | La gente *que vive* acá — people living here |
| Una caja conteniendo libros (ungrammatical) | Una caja *que contiene* libros |
| Se cayó rompiéndose el brazo. (ungrammatical) | Se cayó *y se rompió* el brazo. — fell and broke his arm |
| Estudié mucho aprobando el examen. (ungrammatical) | Estudié mucho *y aprobé*. |
| Vine para hablando con vos (ungrammatical) | Vine *para hablar* con vos. |
3.2The legal uses frequency 3 of 3, daily§
a) Progressive aspect (with estar and friends — 06 §6): Estoy laburando. Sigue lloviendo. Ando buscando depto. Voy entendiendo.
b) Manner — how the action happened: Salió *corriendo. — He left running / ran out Se fue llorando. Entró gritando. Lo dijo sonriendo*.
c) Simultaneity — two actions at once, same subject: Cocina *escuchando música. Estudié tomando* mate.
d) Means — "by doing": ⚠ no preposition Aprendés *hablando. — You learn by speaking Se hizo rico invirtiendo*.
e) Cause or condition frequency 1 of 3, rare (formal): Siendo así, mejor no vamos. — That being the case… Estando enfermo, no fue.
f) Absolute constructions frequency 1 of 3, rare (with an explicit subject, formal): Estando yo ahí, no pasó nada.
3.3Formation frequency 2 of 3, secondary§
-ar → -ando · -er/-ir → -iendo
- i → y between vowels: leer → le*yendo, creer → creyendo, caer → cayendo, ir → yendo, oír → oy*endo
- -ir stem raise (05 §4.6): dormir → d*urmiendo, pedir → pidiendo, sentir → sintiendo, decir → diciendo, venir → viniendo, poder → pu*diendo
3.4The one fossil frequency 1 of 3, rare§
A handful of gerundio-looking words are adjectives, but they're frozen lexical items, not a productive pattern: agua hirviendo (boiling water), clavo ardiendo. Don't generalize from them.
4The participle frequency 3 of 3, daily§
Two completely different jobs, and the behaviour differs between them.
4.1Formation§
known defectdiagram defect — Double participles Actually: The romper row shows he roto in the compound column and roto in the adjective column, i.e. the same single participle in both cells, so it is not a double participle at all and contradicts the table's stated premise that these verbs have a regular form for compound tenses and an irregular one for adjectival use.. (not re-checked against the source file)-ar → -ado · -er/-ir → -ido
Irregular participles frequency 3 of 3, daily — the list is short and high-frequency:
| Verb | Participle | Verb | Participle | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| hacer | hecho | ver | visto | |
| decir | dicho | poner | puesto | |
| escribir | escrito | volver | vuelto | |
| abrir | abierto | morir | muerto | |
| romper | roto | cubrir | cubierto | |
| resolver | resuelto | ir | ido |
Double participles frequency 1 of 3, rare — a few verbs have a regular one for compound tenses and an irregular one for adjectival use:
| Verb | Compound | Adjective |
|---|---|---|
| freír | he freído / he frito | papas *fritas*** |
| imprimir | he imprimido / he impreso | un documento *impreso*** |
| bendecir | he bendecido | agua *bendita*** |
| romper | he roto | roto |
4.2Job one: inside compound tenses — invariable frequency 3 of 3, daily§
He *hablado. Había comido. Las cartas que he escrito*.
4.3Job two: as an adjective — agrees frequency 3 of 3, daily§
la puerta *cerrada · las empanadas *hechas en casa · los vasos rotos · una reserva *confirmada***
Full adjective behaviour: gender, number, position after the noun (04 §2.4).
4.4With estar and other copulas frequency 3 of 3, daily§
La puerta *está cerrada. — resulting state Estoy cansado. Quedó resuelto. Dejé la puerta abierta. Anda preocupado*.
All agree, all adjectival. Compare ser + participle (true passive — 08 §3), which is rare in speech.
4.5With tener / llevar — resultative frequency 2 of 3, secondary§
Tengo *hecha la reserva. — I've got the booking made Llevo escritas* diez páginas.
4.6Absolute constructions frequency 2 of 3, secondary§
Participle + noun, no verb, functioning as a time clause:
Terminada* la reunión, nos fuimos. — The meeting over, we left Dicho esto, sigamos. — That said, let's continue Pasado* el verano, vuelvo.
4.7Participles as nouns frequency 2 of 3, secondary§
Q→E stacking (01 §4): el *herido (the injured man), un *conocido (an acquaintance), lo *hecho (what's done), los *desaparecidos ⚠ — the last carrying enormous historical weight in Argentina and never used casually.
5The decision procedure frequency 3 of 3, daily§
The practical payoff. When you have an English -ing and don't know what to do:
- 1Is it the SUBJECT or OBJECT of a verb?INFINITIVE "Running is fun" → Correr es divertido
- 2Does it come after a PREPOSITION?INFINITIVE "before leaving" → antes de salir
- 3Does it MODIFY A NOUN?RELATIVE CLAUSE (que + verb) "an email saying" → un email que dice
- 4Does it describe HOW an action happened?GERUNDIO "he left running" → salió corriendo
- 5Is the action IN PROGRESS right now?estar + GERUNDIO "I'm working" → estoy laburando
- 6Does it describe a RESULTING STATE?PARTICIPLE "the door is closed" → la puerta está cerrada
- 7Is it a CONSEQUENCE or PURPOSE?y + finite verb / para + inf "fell, breaking his arm" → se cayó y se rompió el brazo
6Traps§
7Cross-references§
- Periphrastic constructions using infinitives06 §7
- Progressive auxiliaries beyond estar06 §6.2
- Participles as adjectives, position and agreement04 §2.4§4
- ser/estar + participle (passive vs state)08 §3
- Infinitive vs subjunctive when subjects match07 §3.1§3.5
- Relative clauses as the fix for adjectival -ing03 §7