English has one -ing form that does several jobs at once. Spanish splits those jobs between two forms — the infinitive and the gerundio — and assigns them strictly. Every English -ing must therefore be translated into one or the other; pick the wrong one and the sentence is ungrammatical, often in a way that marks you immediately as a non-native speaker. This page gives you the decision rule, the contexts each form covers, and the four or five errors that English-speaking learners make over and over.
The decision in one sentence
Use the infinitive whenever the -ing form is acting like a noun — including after prepositions. Use the gerundio only when the -ing form is describing an action in progress or the manner of another action.
If you remember nothing else from this page, remember that.
Where the infinitive is required
As a verbal noun — the subject or object of a sentence
When the -ing form names an action treated as a thing — the subject, the object, or the complement of a verb — Spanish uses the infinitive, never the gerund.
Nadar es saludable.
Swimming is healthy.
Me encanta leer.
I love reading.
Lo importante es escuchar.
The important thing is listening.
Está prohibido fumar en este edificio.
Smoking is prohibited in this building.
The English word swimming, reading, listening, smoking in these sentences is acting as a noun ("the activity of swimming"). Spanish requires the noun-shaped verb form for that role, which is the infinitive.
After any preposition
This is the iron rule. After antes de, después de, sin, para, por, al, en, en vez de, a pesar de, con, de, a — after any preposition — Spanish requires the infinitive. The gerund is ungrammatical in this slot.
Hay que pensar antes de hablar.
You have to think before speaking.
Se fue sin decir nada.
She left without saying anything.
Necesito gafas para leer.
I need glasses for reading.
Después de cenar, damos un paseo.
After eating dinner, we go for a walk.
Al entrar en clase, vi a Marta.
On entering the classroom, I saw Marta.
English uses -ing freely after prepositions (before speaking, for reading); Spanish never does.
With the definite article el — a verbal noun made explicit
A more literary or set-phrase use of the same logic: when you want to nominalise an action as overtly as possible, Spanish puts el in front of the infinitive.
El comer demasiado a la hora de la cena no te deja dormir.
Eating too much at dinner time keeps you from sleeping.
El estudiar todos los días marca la diferencia.
Studying every day makes the difference.
This el + infinitive is everyday Spanish for some collocations and a literary touch for others. The key point: it is still the infinitive that fills the slot, not the gerund.
Where the gerundio is required (or strongly preferred)
In progressive tenses
Estar + gerundio expresses an action genuinely in progress at a moment in time. Note the genuinely — Spanish uses the progressive less than English does (see Cuándo usar el progresivo), but where the progressive is used, the gerundio is required.
¿Qué estás haciendo? — Estoy escribiendo un correo.
What are you doing? — I'm writing an email.
Estaban viendo la tele cuando sonó el timbre.
They were watching TV when the bell rang.
The same applies to other auxiliary verbs that take a gerund (seguir, llevar, ir, venir, andar): see Gerundio con verbos de movimiento y aspectuales.
To express manner — how an action is performed
When the -ing tells you how the main verb's action happens, Spanish uses the gerundio.
Lo dijo gritando.
He said it by shouting / He shouted it.
Aprendí español viendo películas y leyendo novelas.
I learned Spanish by watching films and reading novels.
Pasaron toda la tarde charlando en el bar.
They spent the whole afternoon chatting at the bar.
In absolute and adverbial clauses
A discourse-managing use of the gerund, common in writing: the gerund sets up the background to the main action.
Habiendo terminado los exámenes, nos fuimos de vacaciones.
Having finished our exams, we went on holiday.
Hablando claro, no me parece justo.
To speak plainly, it doesn't seem fair to me.
The English-speaker error map
Now the heart of the page: the patterns of error that mark a learner whose internal grammar still defaults to English. These are the high-frequency, high-stakes mistakes.
Error 1: -ing as subject translated as -iendo
Probably the single most common error English speakers make in Spanish, at every level from A1 through C1.
❌ Nadando es divertido.
Incorrect — verbal noun = infinitive.
✅ Nadar es divertido.
Swimming is fun.
❌ Estudiando español me ayuda a viajar.
Incorrect — subject must be infinitive.
✅ Estudiar español me ayuda a viajar.
Studying Spanish helps me travel.
The fix: the subject of a sentence is a noun, so use the noun-shaped verb form: the infinitive.
Error 2: -ing after a preposition translated as -iendo
The second cardinal error. Any English structure of the form [preposition] + -ing maps to Spanish [preposition] + infinitive.
❌ Después de comiendo, descansamos.
Incorrect — preposition + infinitive.
✅ Después de comer, descansamos.
After eating, we rest.
❌ Sin diciendo nada, salió por la puerta.
Incorrect — preposition + infinitive.
✅ Sin decir nada, salió por la puerta.
Without saying anything, he walked out the door.
❌ Para aprendiendo, tienes que practicar.
Incorrect — preposition + infinitive.
✅ Para aprender, tienes que practicar.
In order to learn, you have to practise.
The fix: after a preposition, always reach for the infinitive. Make this an automatic reflex. If you find yourself writing *para -ndo or *de -ndo or *en -ndo, stop and rewrite.
Error 3: -ing as a modifier of a noun translated as -iendo
A more advanced trap. English uses -ing attributively — a box containing letters, the man speaking, running water — and learners try to do the same in Spanish. It doesn't work; Spanish needs a relative clause with que or a true adjective.
❌ Necesito un libro explicando la gramática.
Incorrect — Spanish doesn't allow the gerund to modify a noun.
✅ Necesito un libro que explique la gramática.
I need a book that explains the grammar.
❌ La chica hablando con tu hermano es mi prima.
Incorrect — needs a relative clause.
✅ La chica que habla con tu hermano es mi prima.
The girl talking to your brother is my cousin.
The fix: when -ing describes what kind of [noun] something is, rewrite as a relative clause with que (or, in some cases, use a true adjective).
Error 4: forcing the progressive where Spanish prefers the simple present
This is the inverse error: not infinitive vs gerundio, but gerundio vs simple present. English routinely says I'm studying Spanish about an ongoing project; Spanish prefers Estudio español.
❌ Estoy estudiando español este semestre. ¿Y tú, qué estás estudiando?
Grammatical, but heavily marked. For an ongoing project, simple present is more natural.
✅ Estudio español este semestre. ¿Y tú, qué estudias?
I'm studying Spanish this semester. What are you studying?
The fix: use estar + gerundio only when the action is genuinely in progress at the moment of speaking, not for habits, plans, or ongoing situations. (Full discussion at Cuándo usar el progresivo.)
A side-by-side table to lock it in
| English -ing | Job in the sentence | Spanish form | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject of a sentence | Verbal noun | Infinitive | Nadar es divertido. |
| Object of a verb (like, hate, etc.) | Verbal noun | Infinitive | Me encanta leer. |
| After a preposition (before/after/without/for/by) | Object of preposition | Infinitive | Antes de comer. |
| With the article the (the studying) | Nominalised verb | el + Infinitive | El comer demasiado. |
| Modifying a noun (a box containing…) | Attributive participle | que + conjugated verb | Una caja que contiene… |
| "I am eating" (action in progress now) | Progressive | estar + Gerundio | Estoy comiendo. |
| "He left running" (manner) | Adverbial of manner | Gerundio | Salió corriendo. |
| "While studying, I listen to music" | Simultaneous action | Gerundio | Estudiando, escucho música. |
A drill: identify the role first
A practical strategy. When you want to translate an English -ing, do not translate the word — translate the job.
- Is the -ing word filling a noun slot (subject, object, complement)? → Infinitive.
- Is the -ing word sitting under a preposition? → Infinitive.
- Is the -ing word describing what kind of noun something is? → Relative clause with que.
- Is the -ing word part of a progressive ("am/is/are/was/were + -ing"), and is the action actually in progress right now? → Gerundio with estar.
- Is the -ing word telling you how the main verb is happening? → Gerundio.
If you can answer those five questions, you will rarely pick the wrong form.
Common Mistakes
❌ Trabajando duro es la clave del éxito.
Incorrect — verbal noun must be the infinitive.
✅ Trabajar duro es la clave del éxito.
Working hard is the key to success.
❌ Me gusta cantando en la ducha.
Incorrect — object of gustar is a noun, so infinitive.
✅ Me gusta cantar en la ducha.
I like singing in the shower.
❌ Gracias por viniendo a la fiesta.
Incorrect — preposition + infinitive.
✅ Gracias por venir a la fiesta.
Thanks for coming to the party.
❌ Encontré un correo conteniendo todos los detalles.
Incorrect — gerund cannot modify a noun.
✅ Encontré un correo que contiene todos los detalles.
I found an email containing all the details.
❌ En España la gente está hablando muy rápido.
Acceptable but heavily marked; for a habitual or general statement Spanish prefers the simple present.
✅ En España la gente habla muy rápido.
In Spain people speak very fast.
Key takeaways
- English has one form (-ing) for several jobs; Spanish has two (infinitivo and gerundio), each strictly assigned.
- Use the infinitive for verbal nouns (subjects, objects of verbs) and after any preposition.
- Use the gerundio for the progressive with estar (and other auxiliaries), for manner, and for simultaneous actions.
- When -ing modifies a noun, use a relative clause with que, not the gerund.
- Translate the job, not the word. The form follows once you know which role the -ing is playing.
Now practice Spanish
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Spanish→Related Topics
- Usos del gerundioA2 — The four real jobs of the Spanish gerundio — the progressive with estar, manner, simultaneous action, and absolute clauses — and the three jobs it cannot do, which English-speaking learners constantly try to give it.
- El gerundio: formaciónA2 — How to build the Spanish gerundio — hablando, comiendo, viviendo — and why it is invariable, never agreeing in gender or number, no matter how the sentence around it changes.
- Infinitivo después de preposiciónA2 — The iron rule of Spanish syntax: any preposition is followed by the infinitive, never the gerund — antes de comer, sin pensar, para estudiar, después de llegar.
- El infinitivo como sustantivoB1 — How Spanish turns a verb into a noun — fumar es malo, me gusta cocinar, el comer demasiado engorda — and why the gerund cannot do this job.
- Errores: traducciones literalesB1 — The constituent words map but the construction doesn't. 'I'm good' (no, thanks) is NOT 'estoy bueno'. 'My name is Juan' is more naturally 'me llamo Juan'. The high-frequency calque traps for English speakers in everyday peninsular Spanish.