The gerundio is one of three Italian non-finite verb forms (along with the infinitive and the participles). It ends in -ando for -are verbs (parlando, "speaking") and -endo for -ere and -ire verbs (credendo, "believing"; dormendo, "sleeping"). It does not conjugate for person, does not agree in gender or number, and never stands alone as the main verb of a sentence — it always depends on another verb or clause.
English speakers reflexively map the gerundio onto the English -ing form, and that mapping is right just often enough to be dangerous. This overview lays out what the gerundio actually does in Italian, where it overlaps with English -ing, and where the two part ways.
Two tenses
The gerundio has two forms: presente (simple) and passato (compound).
| Tense | Formation | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| gerundio presente | stem + -ando / -endo | parlando, credendo, dormendo | action simultaneous with the main verb |
| gerundio passato | avendo / essendo + past participle | avendo parlato, essendo andato | action completed before the main verb |
The gerundio presente marks an action happening at the same time as the main verb:
Camminando per il parco, ho incontrato Giulia.
Walking through the park, I ran into Giulia.
The gerundio passato marks an action completed before the main verb — useful in writing but rare in spoken Italian:
Avendo finito i compiti, sono uscito con gli amici.
Having finished my homework, I went out with friends.
Essendo partita presto, è arrivata in tempo.
Having left early, she arrived on time.
Five core functions
The gerundio has five main jobs in Italian. Each gets its own page in this guide; this section sketches them.
1. Progressive aspect with stare
The most common use: stare + gerundio marks an action ongoing at the moment of reference. This is Italian's closest equivalent to English "be -ing", though the two are not interchangeable.
Sto leggendo un libro bellissimo.
I'm reading a wonderful book (right now).
Cosa stai facendo?
What are you doing (right at this moment)?
See stare + gerundio for the full treatment.
2. Manner — how the action is performed
The gerundio expresses how something is done, often a concurrent action:
È entrato sorridendo.
He came in smiling.
Camminava fischiettando.
He was walking along whistling.
This is one of the cleanest English-to-Italian mappings: where English uses -ing as a manner adverb, Italian usually uses the gerundio. See adverbial manner.
3. Cause or reason
The gerundio can explain why the main action happens, equivalent to English "since / because" or "(being) X":
Essendo stanco, sono andato a dormire presto.
Being tired / Since I was tired, I went to bed early.
Sapendo che pioveva, ho preso l'ombrello.
Knowing it was raining, I took my umbrella.
4. Condition — 'if'
The gerundio can express a hypothetical condition equivalent to "if X":
Studiando di più, passerai l'esame.
If you study more, you'll pass the exam.
Lavorando insieme, finiamo prima.
Working together, we'll finish sooner.
5. Concession with pur — 'although'
When preceded by pur, the gerundio expresses concession ("although, even though"):
Pur essendo stanco, è uscito con gli amici.
Although he was tired, he went out with friends.
Pur conoscendo bene la città, si è perso.
Even though he knew the city well, he got lost.
The same-subject rule
The single most important constraint on the adverbial gerundio: its understood subject must be the same as the subject of the main clause. This is the rule that English speakers most often violate.
Camminando per strada, ho visto Marco.
Walking down the street, I saw Marco. (subject of camminando = subject of ho visto = io) ✓
If the subjects are different, you cannot use the gerundio — you must use a subordinate clause with a conjunction like mentre (while), dato che (since), or se (if).
Mentre io cucinavo, lui leggeva il giornale.
While I was cooking, he was reading the paper. (different subjects → use mentre, NOT a gerundio)
The exception is the stare + gerundio progressive, where the subject is overtly tied to stare itself — there is no ambiguity.
No agreement, no person marking
Unlike the past participle, the gerundio never changes form. There is no masculine/feminine, no singular/plural, no first/second/third person. Parlando is always parlando.
Lei è entrata sorridendo.
She came in smiling. (sorridendo is invariant)
Loro sono entrati sorridendo.
They came in smiling. (still sorridendo — no plural)
This makes the gerundio mechanically simple: once you know the formation rules (see formation), there is no further morphology to memorize.
Hidden-stem irregulars
A handful of verbs form their gerundio from a stem that does not match the infinitive — these are the same verbs that have hidden stems throughout the conjugation system. There are no learner-facing irregular endings; only the stems differ.
| Infinitive | Gerundio | Hidden stem |
|---|---|---|
| bere | bevendo | bev- |
| dire | dicendo | dic- |
| fare | facendo | fac- |
| porre (and -porre verbs) | ponendo | pon- |
| trarre (and -trarre verbs) | traendo | tra- |
| condurre (and -durre verbs) | conducendo | conduc- |
These are the same archaic Latin stems that surface in the imperfetto (dicevo, facevo, bevevo) and other tenses — once you know the stem family, all the forms drop into place.
Stiamo facendo i bagagli.
We are packing.
Bevendo troppo caffè non riuscirai a dormire.
If you drink too much coffee you won't be able to sleep.
How this differs from English '-ing'
English -ing does at least three jobs: it forms the present participle (She is running), it forms gerunds-as-nouns (Running is good for you), and it serves as an adjective (The running water). Italian splits these jobs across multiple forms:
| English -ing use | Italian equivalent |
|---|---|
| Progressive ("She is running") | gerundio (sta correndo) — only when emphasizing 'right now' |
| Manner adverbial ("She left smiling") | gerundio (è uscita sorridendo) |
| Subject of a sentence ("Running is healthy") | infinitive (correre fa bene) |
| Object of a preposition ("after eating") | infinitive (dopo aver mangiato) |
| Adjective ("the running water") | relative clause or adjective (l'acqua corrente) |
The single biggest source of error: using the gerundio where Italian wants the infinitive.
❌ Correndo è salutare.
Wrong — Italian uses the infinitive for verb-as-subject.
✅ Correre è salutare.
Correct — running (as a noun) = the infinitive.
Common mistakes
❌ Mentre cucinando, ho ascoltato la radio.
Wrong — mentre is followed by a finite verb, never by the gerundio.
✅ Mentre cucinavo, ho ascoltato la radio.
Correct — mentre + imperfetto.
✅ Cucinando, ho ascoltato la radio.
Also correct — gerundio alone, same subject implied.
❌ Lui camminando per strada, l'ho visto.
Wrong — different subjects (lui / io). The gerundio's subject must match the main clause.
✅ Mentre lui camminava per strada, l'ho visto.
Correct — mentre + finite verb handles the different subjects.
❌ Sono interessato in imparando l'italiano.
Wrong — after a preposition Italian uses the infinitive, not the gerundio.
✅ Sono interessato a imparare l'italiano.
Correct — preposition a + infinitive.
❌ Sto sapendo la risposta.
Wrong — stative verbs like sapere don't take stare + gerundio.
✅ So la risposta.
Correct — simple presente for stative verbs.
❌ Faciendo la spesa, ho incontrato Anna.
Wrong stem — fare uses the hidden Latin stem fac-, not faci-.
✅ Facendo la spesa, ho incontrato Anna.
Correct — facendo from the fac- stem.
Key takeaways
The gerundio is a non-finite, invariant form ending in -ando or -endo. It carries no person, gender, or number. It does five jobs: progressive (with stare), manner, cause, condition, and concession (with pur).
Three points to internalize:
Same subject required for adverbial uses. Different subjects → use mentre or another conjunction with a finite verb.
Don't overuse it as English -ing. For verb-as-noun ("eating is fun"), use the infinitive. For verb after preposition ("before leaving"), use the infinitive.
Stative verbs don't take stare + gerundio. So, not sto sapendo. Conosco Roma, not sto conoscendo Roma.
Next, learn the formation rules, then dive into the progressive with stare and adverbial manner.
Now practice Italian
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Open the Italian course →Related Topics
- Gerundio: FormationA2 — How to build the Italian gerundio for every verb class — including the hidden-stem irregulars (bevendo, dicendo, facendo) — and where the stress always lands.
- Gerundio with Stare: The ProgressiveA1 — Italian's stare + gerundio construction — when to use it, when NOT to use it (most of the time, actually), and why English speakers reach for it far too often.
- Gerundio for Manner and Concurrent ActionB1 — How Italian uses the gerundio to express HOW or WHILE an action is performed — è entrato sorridendo, cammina fischiettando — and why the same-subject rule trips up English speakers.
- L'Infinito: OverviewA1 — The infinito is Italian's most flexible verb form — it serves as the dictionary entry, the second verb in chains, the form after prepositions, a noun in its own right, and the negative tu imperative. Here's the whole landscape.