Gerund / Present participle Practice exercises
Formation
-ar verbs
Remove -ar, add - ando,
e.g. hablar > hablando
-er/-ir verbs
Remove -er/-ir, add -iendo
e.g. comer > comiendo, escribir > escribiendo
Irregulars
| -ir 3-2-1 verbs | Spelling changes | ||
| diciendo | saying | cayendo | falling |
| durmiendo | sleeping | construyendo | building |
| mintiendo | lying | huyendo | fleeing |
| muriendo | dying | yendo | going |
| pidiendo | asking | leyendo | reading |
| riendo | laughing | oyendo | hearing |
| siguiendo | following | trayendo | bringing |
| sintiendo | feeling | Irregular | |
| viniendo | coming | pudiendo | being able |
Uses
1. To form continuous tenses, e.g.
Estoy hablando - I am speaking.
Juan estaba cruzando la calle - John was crossing the street.
2. After various verbs: acabar, continuar, ir, pasar, quedarse, salir, seguir, terminar and venir, e.g.
Continuarán haciendo la tarea - They will continue to do the task.
Jaime salió corriendo - James ran out.
Pasé la mañana soñando con ella - I spent the morning dreaming about her.
Sigue hablando - He keeps on talking.