Regular -ER Verb Gerunds

Regular -IR verbs constitute another significant group in Spanish verb conjugation. Understanding how to form their gerunds is key to expressing actions in progress and constructing progressive tenses accurately.

Formation Rule

To create the gerund of a regular -IR verb:

1. Remove the -ir ending from the infinitive form
2. Attach -iendo to the remaining stem

This can be represented by the formula: [verb stem] + iendo = gerund

Examples

Let’s look at some common regular -IR verbs and their corresponding gerunds:

1. vivir (to live) → viviendo (living)
2. escribir (to write) → escribiendo (writing)
3. abrir (to open) → abriendo (opening)
4. subir (to go up/climb) → subiendo (going up/climbing)
5. recibir (to receive) → recibiendo (receiving)
6. decidir (to decide) → decidiendo (deciding)
7. permitir (to permit/allow) → permitiendo (permitting/allowing)
8. asistir (to attend) → asistiendo (attending)
9. compartir (to share) → compartiendo (sharing)
10. descubrir (to discover) → descubriendo (discovering)

Usage in Context

Regular -IR verb gerunds find their place in various grammatical constructions:

1. Within progressive tenses:
   • Estoy viviendo en Madrid. (I am living in Madrid.)
   • Estaba escribiendo un correo cuando me llamaste. (I was writing an email when you called me.)
2. To convey simultaneous actions:
   • Salió de la reunión sonriendo. (She left the meeting smiling.)
3. To illustrate the manner in which an action is carried out:
   • Aprendió a cocinar viendo videos en línea. (He learned to cook by watching online videos.)
4. As adverbial phrases:
   • Contestó la pregunta dudando un poco. (He answered the question hesitating a bit.)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Don’t mix up -IR verb gerunds with those of -AR or -ER verbs:
   • Incorrect: Estoy escribando una carta.
   • Correct: Estoy escribiendo una carta. (I am writing a letter.)
2. Be mindful that some -IR verbs have irregular gerunds (not addressed in this article):
   • For instance: dormir → durmiendo (not “dormiendo”)
3. As always, remember that Spanish employs infinitives, not gerunds, after prepositions:
   • Incorrect: Estoy interesado en aprendiendo a tocar la guitarra
   • Correct: Estoy interesado en aprender a tocar la guitarra. (I am interested in learning to play the guitar.)

By mastering the formation and usage of regular -IR verb gerunds, you’ll enhance your ability to express ongoing actions with precision and fluency in Spanish, adding another layer to your command of verb forms.