In this Spanish grammar lesson you will learn how to form irregular gerunds in Spanish.
In this lesson you will learn about:
- how to form irregular gerunds in Spanish
- how irregular gerunds are used in sentences in Spanish
- how you can quiz yourself on how to form irregular gerunds in Spanish
- how you can practice with flashcards on how to form irregular gerunds in Spanish
- how and why you should use the courses of Language Atlas to learn Spanish
By the end of the lesson you will know all about how to form irregular gerunds in Spanish!
Table of Contents
How to form Regular Gerunds in Spanish
The gerund is the -ing form of a verb.
You can form this by taking the stem of the verb and then adding:
- -ando (for -ar verbs)
- -iendo (for -er/ir verbs)
In practice it would look like this:
- hablar -> habl -> hablando
- comer -> com -> comiendo
How to form Irregular Gerunds in Spanish
There are certain verbs that have irregular gerunds.
These verbs will be divided in 4 groups:
- Verbs that end with –er and –ir and have a vowel before the ending.
traer -> trayendo
Mi marido está trayendo ahora las herramientas para arreglar la lavadora.
My husband is now bringing the tools to fix the washing machine.
caer -> cayendo
Está cayendo mucha agua por la pared.
A lot of water is pouring down the wall.
huir -> huyendo
Los ladrones estaban huyendo de la policía.
The robbers were fleeing from the police.
creer -> creyendo
Juan murió creyendo que su hijo nunca se casaría.
John died believing that his son would never marry.
leer -> leyendo
Me he pasado toda la noche leyendo el nuevo libro de Stephen King.
I’ve been up all night reading Stephen King’s new book.
oir -> oyendo
Estoy oyendo voces en la planta baja.
I’m hearing voices on the ground floor.
- There are certain verbs with an e > i or e > ie stem change in the present tense. These verbs swap the –e in the infinitive (full verb) for an –i. But, the ending remains regular.
preferir -> prefiriendo
Últimamente estoy prefiriendo hacer ejercicio por las mañanas en lugar de por la noche.
Lately I’ve been preferring to exercise in the mornings rather than in the evenings.
vestir -> vistiendo
Tu hija se está vistiendo. Enseguida estará aquí.
Your daughter is getting dressed. She’ll be here soon.
seguir -> siguiendo
Creo que alguien nos está siguiendo.
I think someone is following us.
mentir -> mintiendo
Sé que me estás mintiendo.
I know you are lying to me.
- –Ir verbs that have an –e before the –ir, and have a vowel change (e > i), lose the -e from the stem.
reir -> riendo
No nos estamos riendo de él.
We are not laughing at him.
freir -> friendo
Estoy friendo las patatas. Comeremos en diez minutos.
I am frying the potatoes. We’ll eat in ten minutes.
- There are certain verbs that have an o > ue stem change in the present tense. These verbs exchange the –o of the infinitive with an –u. But, the ending remains regular.
dormir -> durmiendo
Marta está durmiendo, no la molestes.
Marta is sleeping, don’t disturb her.
poder -> pudiendo
Dicen que va a llover mucho, pudiendo alcanzar los 25 litros por metro cúbico.
They say it is going to rain a lot, with up to 25 litres per cubic metre.
morir -> muriendo
El pajarillo se está muriendo.
The little bird is dying.
You may feel intimated at seeing all these groups and wonder how on earth you can memorize irregular gerunds in Spanish.
However, you shouldn’t worry!
By doing the flashcards, you will effectively and efficiently memorize all irregular gerunds in Spanish!
Example Sentences on How to Form Irregular Gerunds in Spanish
This section of the lesson on how to form irregular gerunds in Spanish is about seeing it used in sentences.
This is valuable because you can improve your understanding of how to form irregular gerunds in Spanish through examples.
traer -> trayendo
Mi marido está trayendo ahora las herramientas para arreglar la lavadora.
My husband is now bringing the tools to fix the washing machine.
caer -> cayendo
Está cayendo mucha agua por la pared.
A lot of water is pouring down the wall.
huir -> huyendo
Los ladrones estaban huyendo de la policía.
The robbers were fleeing from the police.
creer -> creyendo
Juan murió creyendo que su hijo nunca se casaría.
John died believing that his son would never marry.
leer -> leyendo
Me he pasado toda la noche leyendo el nuevo libro de Stephen King.
I’ve been up all night reading Stephen King’s new book.
oir -> oyendo
Estoy oyendo voces en la planta baja.
I’m hearing voices on the ground floor.
preferir -> prefiriendo
Últimamente estoy prefiriendo hacer ejercicio por las mañanas en lugar de por la noche.
Lately I’ve been preferring to exercise in the mornings rather than in the evenings.
vestir -> vistiendo
Tu hija se está vistiendo. Enseguida estará aquí.
Your daughter is getting dressed. She’ll be here soon.
seguir -> siguiendo
Creo que alguien nos está siguiendo.
I think someone is following us.
mentir -> mintiendo
Sé que me estás mintiendo.
I know you are lying to me.
reir -> riendo
No nos estamos riendo de él.
We are not laughing at him.
freir -> friendo
Estoy friendo las patatas. Comeremos en diez minutos.
I am frying the potatoes. We’ll eat in ten minutes.
dormir -> durmiendo
Marta está durmiendo, no la molestes.
Marta is sleeping, don’t disturb her.
poder -> pudiendo
Dicen que va a llover mucho, pudiendo alcanzar los 25 litros por metro cúbico.
They say it is going to rain a lot, with up to 25 litres per cubic metre.
morir -> muriendo
El pajarillo se está muriendo.
The little bird is dying.
Quiz Yourself on How to form Irregular Gerunds in Spanish
It’s not enough to just read this lesson.
You should test your knowledge to see if you really understood everything, and to be able to repeat the material.
At the end of every lesson you can do a small test.
You will see the sentences of the previous chapter. It is up to you to give the correct answer.
You will either need to fill in the blanks, choose the correct multiple choice option, or both.
Once you are done the correct answer will be shown.
You can redo the quiz as many times as you want!
How to Practice With Flashcards for This Lesson
Using flashcards is an absolute necessity when it comes to learning a language!
It is the best way to memorize what you learn, you can personalize your progression because it adapts to your actions, and all flashcards have audio to improve your hearing and pronunciation.
Please read our article on how to learn a new language for more information on flashcards and the best way to learn a new language.
There are two ways to practice with Flashcards for this lesson.
- Anki
- The Flashcards in our Courses
Anki is a free software with which you can create and practice flashcards.
After you have downloaded Anki for free, you can get our Spanish A2 Anki Deck.
This Anki Deck contains 3,568 flashcards with which you can practice absolutely everything for Spanish A2.
All the flashcards have text, images, explanations, and audio.
You can also use our courses that have flashcards integrated alongside lessons with audio, quizzes and much more!
However, I am sure you are wondering, what are your courses, and why should I take them?
The Courses of Language Atlas
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