Gerund vs Infinitive | Spanish (Latin America) Grammar

This is the single most important contrast to master when moving from English to Spanish: English uses -ing in many places where Spanish uses the infinitive. Learners who map -ing directly onto the Spanish gerund produce sentences that are instantly recognizable as "English in Spanish words." The good news is that the rule is simple, and once you internalize it, your Spanish improves dramatically.

The Core Principle

English -ing often acts as a noun. Spanish uses the infinitive for that role.
English -ing often follows a preposition. Spanish uses the infinitive there too.
The Spanish gerund is reserved for an action in progress or used adverbially.

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Whenever English -ing can be replaced by the act of doing X, Spanish wants the infinitive. Whenever it can be replaced by while doing X or right now doing X, Spanish wants the gerund.

After Prepositions

Every preposition in Spanish takes the infinitive, never the gerund. This is one of the most rigid rules in the language.

English	Spanish
before leaving	antes de salir
after eating	después de comer
without saying anything	sin decir nada
instead of working	en vez de trabajar
for reading	para leer
about traveling	sobre viajar

Antes de salir de la casa, cierra la puerta.

Before leaving the house, lock the door.

Se fue sin decir nada.

He left without saying anything.

Vine aquí para aprender español.

I came here to learn Spanish.

As a Subject

When -ing is the subject of a sentence, Spanish uses the infinitive. The infinitive in this role is often translated with the + noun (the fumar = smoking), and you can optionally add the masculine article el.

English	Spanish
Smoking is bad.	Fumar es malo. / El fumar es malo.
Studying takes time.	Estudiar requiere tiempo.
Learning a language is fun.	Aprender un idioma es divertido.
Swimming relaxes me.	Nadar me relaja.
Waking up early is hard.	Levantarse temprano es difícil.

Fumar es muy malo para los pulmones.

Smoking is very bad for the lungs.

Aprender un idioma nuevo te abre puertas.

Learning a new language opens doors for you.

As an Object

When -ing acts as the object of a verb (I like reading, he hates waiting), Spanish again uses the infinitive.

Me gusta leer novelas.

I like reading novels.

Odio esperar en la fila.

I hate waiting in line.

Prefiero caminar en lugar de manejar.

I prefer walking instead of driving.

Notice that me gusta leer translates both I like to read and I like reading. Spanish does not distinguish these two English forms — it only has one option, the infinitive.

When the Gerund IS the Right Choice

After all those restrictions, it is worth restating what the gerund can do. Use the Spanish gerund for:

Action in progress — usually with estar or another auxiliary.
Adverbial manner — answering "how" or "while doing what."

Estoy leyendo una novela muy interesante.

I am reading a very interesting novel.

Aprendí mucho leyendo novelas en español.

I learned a lot by reading novels in Spanish.

Notice the contrast:

Me gusta leer novelas (I like reading novels — -ing as the object of like) → infinitive.
Estoy leyendo una novela (I am reading a novel — -ing as progressive action) → gerund.
Aprendí leyendo novelas (I learned by reading novels — -ing as manner) → gerund.

Same English -ing, three different Spanish grammatical shapes.

A Side-by-Side Drill

English	Spanish	Why
I enjoy running.	Me gusta correr.	-ing as object
I am running.	Estoy corriendo.	progressive
Running is healthy.	Correr es sano.	-ing as subject
I hurt myself running.	Me lastimé corriendo.	adverbial (while)
I dream of running a marathon.	Sueño con correr un maratón.	after preposition

Sueño con viajar por toda América Latina.

I dream of traveling all over Latin America.

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If you are ever unsure, try two quick tests. (1) Can you replace the -ing word with the act of doing X? Then it is a noun → use the infinitive. (2) Does there seem to be a preposition in front of it? Then also use the infinitive. Only if the answer to both is no is the gerund likely to be correct.

For the positive side of this rule — what the gerund is for — see Gerund Usage and Restrictions. And to review how the gerund is built in the first place, start at Gerund Formation.