While many Spanish verbs follow regular patterns or predictable stem changes when forming gerunds, a small group of verbs have completely irregular gerund forms. These verbs don’t follow any specific pattern and must be memorized individually.
List of Verbs with Completely Irregular Gerunds
Ir (to go)
- Infinitive: ir
- Gerund: yendo
- Example: Estoy yendo al mercado. (I am going to the market.)
Poder (to be able to)
- Infinitive: poder
- Gerund: pudiendo
- Example: Estamos pudiendo resolver el problema. (We are being able to solve the problem.)
Decir (to say)
- Infinitive: decir
- Gerund: diciendo
- Example: Él está diciendo la verdad. (He is telling the truth.)
Venir (to come)
- Infinitive: venir
- Gerund: viniendo
- Example: Ellos están viniendo para la cena. (They are coming for dinner.)
Reír (to laugh)
- Infinitive: reír
- Gerund: riendo
- Example: Los niños están riendo a carcajadas. (The children are laughing out loud.)
Compound Verbs
Compound verbs (formed with a prefix added to a simple verb) follow the same irregular gerund formation as their base verb:
- Decir → diciendo
- Predecir (to predict) → prediciendo
- Contradecir (to contradict) → contradiciendo
- Venir → viniendo
- Convenir (to agree) → conviniendo
- Provenir (to come from) → proviniendo
Usage Notes
- These irregular gerunds are used in the same way as regular gerunds, often with the verb “estar” to form the present progressive tense.
- The irregularity only affects the gerund form; other conjugations of these verbs may follow different patterns.
Conclusion
While the number of verbs with completely irregular gerunds is small, these verbs are among the most commonly used in Spanish. Regular practice and exposure to these forms in context will help in mastering their usage.