Irregular Gerunds in Spanish

What is the Spanish gerund?

The Spanish gerund (el gerundio) is the verb form that ends in -ando or -iendo. It is most often used with estar to describe an action in progress, much like the English “-ing” form: Estoy estudiando means “I am studying.”

Regular gerunds are easy. For -ar verbs, replace -ar with -ando. For -er and -ir verbs, replace the ending with -iendo.

Irregular gerunds are the ones that do not follow this simple rule. They fall into a few clear groups, and -ar verbs are never irregular in this way, so you only need to watch -er and -ir verbs.

Irregular gerund pattern 1: vowel + -er/-ir becomes -yendo

When the stem of an -er or -ir verb ends in a vowel, the ending -iendo would put an unstressed i between two vowels. Spanish spells this with y instead: -yendo.

Example: Estoy leyendo un libro muy bueno. (I am reading a very good book.)

Irregular gerund pattern 2: e to i in -ir verbs

Many -ir verbs that change e to ie or e to i in the present tense also change the stem vowel to i in the gerund.

Example: Ella está pidiendo la cuenta. (She is asking for the bill.)

Be careful with reír and verbs formed from it, such as sonreír (sonriendo) and freír (friendo). They have only one i and no written accent in the gerund.

Irregular gerund pattern 3: o to u in -ir verbs

A small group of verbs change o to u in the gerund.

Example: El bebé está durmiendo. (The baby is sleeping.)

Poder is an -er verb, but its gerund pudiendo follows the same o to u change. It is rare in everyday speech with estar, though it appears in phrases such as pudiendo elegir (being able to choose).

Other spelling changes

A few verbs lose the i of -iendo after ñ or ll, because those letters already contain the sound:

• reñir (to scold) gives riñendo
• bullir (to boil) gives bullendo
• gruñir (to grumble) gives gruñendo

Verbs that look irregular but are not

Many learners assume any verb with a stem change in the present tense also has an irregular gerund. That is only true for some -ir verbs. In -ar and -er verbs the gerund keeps the original vowel:

So the answer to “Is conocer an irregular verb?” is: it has an irregular first-person present form (conozco), but its gerund (conociendo) is completely regular. If you want to see how empezar behaves in other tenses, see our empezar conjugation guide.

Also regular in the gerund, despite being very common irregular verbs in other tenses, are ser (siendo), estar (estando), tener (teniendo), hacer (haciendo), dar (dando), ver (viendo) and poner (poniendo).

When to use the gerund in Spanish

With estar for ongoing actions

Estamos comiendo ahora. (We are eating now.)

With other verbs that show how an action develops

Several verbs combine with the gerund. Common ones include:

• seguir or continuar for continuing: Sigue lloviendo. (It is still raining.)
• ir for gradual progress: Voy aprendiendo poco a poco. (I am learning little by little.)
• andar for moving about doing something: Anda buscando trabajo. (He or she is going around looking for work.)
• llevar with a time expression: Llevo dos años estudiando español. (I have been studying Spanish for two years.)
• venir for an action leading up to now: Vengo diciendo eso desde hace tiempo. (I have been saying that for a while.)

To say how or why something happens

Aprendí mucho viendo series en español. (I learned a lot by watching series in Spanish.)

When not to use the gerund

This is where English speakers often go wrong.

• Do not use it as a noun. In English, “Swimming is healthy” uses an “-ing” word as the subject. Spanish uses the infinitive: Nadar es saludable.
• Do not use it after prepositions. Use the infinitive: antes de salir (before leaving), después de comer (after eating), sin decir nada (without saying anything).
• Do not use it as an adjective to describe a noun, except in a few fixed expressions. English “a boiling pot” needs a different structure in Spanish, such as una olla que hierve or agua hirviendo.
• Be careful with the near-future. Spanish does not normally use the gerund to talk about future plans the way English does with “I am leaving tomorrow.” Use Salgo mañana or Voy a salir mañana.

Gerunds with object pronouns

Object pronouns can go before estar or attach to the end of the gerund. When you attach them, add a written accent to keep the stress where it was:

• Lo estoy leyendo. or Estoy leyéndolo. (I am reading it.)
• Me está diciendo la verdad. or Está diciéndome la verdad. (He or she is telling me the truth.)
• Se lo estoy dando. or Estoy dándoselo. (I am giving it to him or her.)

The same logic applies to commands, which you can practise in our guide to Spanish commands with pronouns.

Quick practice

Write the gerund of each verb, then check your answers below.

1. pedir
2. dormir
3. leer
4. decir
5. construir
6. venir
7. trabajar
8. seguir

Answers: 1. pidiendo, 2. durmiendo, 3. leyendo, 4. diciendo, 5. construyendo, 6. viniendo, 7. trabajando, 8. siguiendo.

For other verbs that behave oddly across tenses, see our overview of the most common irregular verbs in Spanish.

FAQ

What are the irregular gerunds in Spanish? They are gerunds that do not simply replace the infinitive ending with -ando or -iendo. The main groups are -yendo verbs (leyendo), e to i verbs (diciendo), and o to u verbs (durmiendo).

Can the gerund be used without estar? Yes. It is used with seguir, ir, andar, llevar, venir and a few other verbs, and on its own to explain how something is done.

Is there an irregular gerund for -ar verbs? No. All -ar verbs form the gerund regularly with -ando, even when they have stem changes in the present tense.