What Is an Irregular Gerund?
In English, an irregular gerund is a verb form that doesn’t follow the regular pattern of just adding ing to the root of the verb:
| regular gerund | eating |
| irregular gerund | running |
As you can see, in the second example we must also add an n.
Spanish Irregular Gerunds
In Spanish, an irregular gerund is also a verb form that does not follow the standard pattern for creating the gerund. The regular gerunds in Spanish are formed by adding ando to the stem of ar verbs and iendo to the stem of er and ir verbs. However, irregular gerunds are formed differently and do not follow this standard pattern. Let’s see some cases:
1. Er and ir verbs whose root ends in a vowel typically add yendo instead of iendo to their gerunds. Here you have a few examples. Santino, a voice from Spain, will read them aloud for you:
| # | Español | English | Gerundio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | caer | to fall | cayendo |
| 2 | concluir | to conclude | concluyendo |
| 3 | constituir | to constitute | constituyendo |
| 4 | construir | to build | construyendo |
| 5 | creer | to believe | creyendo |
| 6 | destruir | to destroy | destruyendo |
| 7 | disminuir | to diminish | disminuyendo |
| 8 | distribuir | to distribute | distribuyendo |
| 9 | excluir | to exclude | excluyendo |
| 10 | huir | to flee | huyendo |
| 11 | leer | to read | leyendo |
| 12 | oír | to hear | oyendo |
| 13 | sustituir | to substitute | sustituyendo |
| 14 | traer | to bring | trayendo |
2. Note that the verb ir has a special form in its gerund:
| Infinitive | Gerund |
|---|---|
| ir | yendo |
3. Some verbs undergo stem changes in the present tense. Only those ending in ir have an irregular gerund:
a. o-ue verbs:
Those ir verbs whose root (that is, the last vowel in the root) changes from o to ue in the simple present, have a u in their gerund:
| Infinitive | Gerund |
|---|---|
| dormir | durmiendo |
| morir | muriendo |
b. e-ie and e-i verbs:
Those ir verbs whose root changes from e to ie or e to i in the simple present, have a i in their gerund:
| Infinitive | Stem Change | Gerund |
|---|---|---|
| sentir (to feel) | e = ie | sintiendo |
| medir (to measure) | e = i | midiendo |
c. The verbs decir and venir also follow this pattern:
| Infinitive | Gerund |
|---|---|
| decir | diciendo |
| venir | viniendo |
4. Other verbs that might be otherwise irregular, have usually regular gerunds:
| Infinitive | Gerund |
|---|---|
| saber | sabiendo |
| hacer | haciendo |
| ser | siendo |
