When a Spaniard says anda quejándose todo el día, they're saying more than "he's complaining all day." They're saying it with a tone — slightly dismissive, slightly judgmental, with the implication that the complaining is scattered, repetitive, and a bit pointless. This is andar + gerundio, one of the most expressive and most colloquial of the Spanish periphrastic constructions, and a real marker of natural peninsular speech.
This page covers what the construction means, the emotional colouring it carries, where it's appropriate (and where it isn't), and the typical mistakes learners make once they discover it.
The core idea: dispersed, recurrent, aimless action
Andar + gerundio describes an action that is happening repeatedly, in scattered moments, without a clear direction or productive purpose. The verb andar literally means "to walk around" — and that physical metaphor is doing real semantic work. The image is of someone wandering through the days, doing the thing over and over, getting nowhere particular with it.
Compare:
- Está buscando trabajo — He is looking for a job (right now, focused).
- Anda buscando trabajo — He's (out there) looking for a job (here and there, on and off, with no clear progress).
The second sentence does not say the job search is bad — but it carries an undertone of "this has been going on a while and nothing's happening." That undertone is the whole point.
Anda quejándose de todo últimamente.
He's been going around complaining about everything lately.
Andáis perdiendo el tiempo con esas tonterías.
You (all) are wasting your time on that nonsense.
Mi vecino anda contando por ahí que nos vamos a mudar.
My neighbour is going around saying that we're moving.
In each, the action is recurrent, diffuse, and the speaker's tone is at best detached, at worst critical.
The structure
- The verb andar conjugated in any tense.
- A gerundio (-ando / -iendo form).
| Subject | andar (present) |
| Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | ando | ando buscando | I'm (going around) looking for |
| tú | andas | andas buscando | you're going around looking for |
| él / ella / usted | anda | anda buscando | he/she/you (formal) is going around looking for |
| nosotros / nosotras | andamos | andamos buscando | we're going around looking for |
| vosotros / vosotras | andáis | andáis buscando | you (all) are going around looking for |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | andan | andan buscando | they / you (formal pl.) are going around looking for |
The accent on andáis is mandatory. Without it, the form is incorrect.
A useful subtlety: in the preterite, andar is irregular — anduve, anduviste, anduvo, anduvimos, anduvisteis, anduvieron. So past-tense periphrasis is anduvo quejándose (he went around complaining), not andó.
Durante meses anduvo diciendo que iba a dejar el trabajo.
For months he went around saying he was going to quit his job.
The emotional colouring
The single most important thing to internalize: andar + gerundio almost always carries some kind of attitude. It is rarely neutral. Most often it is:
- Mildly disapproving: Anda contando chismes por toda la oficina. (He's spreading gossip all over the office.)
- Dismissive: No le hagas caso, siempre anda diciendo tonterías. (Pay him no mind, he's always saying nonsense.)
- Critical of pointless effort: Llevamos una hora y andamos dando vueltas sin encontrar el sitio. (We've been driving in circles for an hour without finding the place.)
- Slightly mocking or affectionate: Mi hijo anda enamorado. (My son is in love — said with a fond smile that recognises the silliness.)
There are neutral uses, especially in casual conversation between friends — but the dismissive flavour is so often present that you should reach for andar + gerundio deliberately, knowing what colour you're adding.
Typical contexts
Repeated grumbling or complaining
Lleva una semana refunfuñando porque no le suben el sueldo; anda diciendo que va a buscar otro trabajo.
He's been grumbling for a week because they won't give him a raise; he's going around saying he's going to find another job.
Mi cuñado siempre anda quejándose del jefe.
My brother-in-law is always going on about his boss.
Scattered searching or attempting
Anda buscando piso por el centro, pero todo está carísimo.
She's (out there) looking for a flat in the city centre, but everything is super expensive.
Llevo días preguntando por la oficina, pero ando dando vueltas y no la encuentro.
I've been asking after the office for days, but I keep wandering around and can't find it.
Spreading rumours or talking
No sé quién anda diciendo eso, pero no es verdad.
I don't know who's going around saying that, but it isn't true.
Andan contando que la van a despedir.
(People) are going around saying they're going to fire her.
Pointless or unproductive activity
Llevamos toda la mañana andando dando vueltas sin decidir nada.
We've spent the whole morning going round in circles without deciding anything.
Asking after someone's general activity
In informal conversation, ¿qué andas haciendo? is a casual way of asking "what are you up to?" Here the dismissive tone fades and the construction is closer to "what are you up to these days, generally speaking."
¿Qué andas haciendo últimamente?
What have you been up to lately?
¿Qué andáis tramando vosotros dos?
What are you two up to / scheming?
Andar + gerundio vs estar + gerundio vs ir + gerundio
These three look similar on the surface but answer different questions.
| Construction | What it expresses | Example |
|---|---|---|
| estar + gerundio | Action happening right now (snapshot) | Está quejándose. (He's complaining — right now) |
| ir + gerundio | Action progressing gradually toward something | Va mejorando. (He's gradually getting better) |
| andar + gerundio | Action scattered, recurrent, going nowhere (often dismissive) | Anda quejándose. (He's going around complaining) |
Mi amigo está buscando trabajo desde esta mañana.
My friend is looking for a job (right now, this morning).
Mi amigo anda buscando trabajo.
My friend is going around looking for a job (he's been at it for a while).
The first is a snapshot of present activity. The second carries the image of him wandering through the days, dropping CVs, with no clear breakthrough.
Register: informal, colloquial, peninsular
Andar + gerundio is strongly colloquial. You will hear it constantly in everyday conversation in Spain. You will not see it in formal writing or academic prose — there it would feel out of place. In journalism it appears occasionally, almost always with a colloquial or evaluative tone.
If you are writing a formal email, an academic essay, or a business report, choose estar + gerundio, seguir + gerundio, or rephrase entirely. Save andar + gerundio for conversation, informal messages, and dialogue.
Pronoun placement and reflexives
Pronouns can go before andar or attach to the gerundio. When they attach, the written accent rule applies (quejando → quejándose).
Se anda quejando todo el día.
He's going around complaining all day.
Anda quejándose todo el día.
He's going around complaining all day.
Me ando preguntando si fue buena idea.
I keep wondering if it was a good idea.
Ando preguntándome si fue buena idea.
I keep wondering if it was a good idea.
For the vosotros form with reflexive -os: drop the final -d of the gerundio when attaching? No — that rule applies to imperatives (¡callaos!), not to gerundios. The reflexive simply attaches: quejándoos.
Andáis quejándoos de todo.
You (all) are going around complaining about everything.
What not to do with andar + gerundio
Don't use it for actions strictly happening right now
If you want to describe what someone is doing in this very moment, use estar + gerundio. Andar + gerundio implies scattered, recurrent activity over a stretch of time.
❌ Mira, ahora mismo anda hablando por teléfono.
Wrong fit — for a snapshot of right now, use 'está hablando'.
✅ Mira, ahora mismo está hablando por teléfono.
Look, he's on the phone right now.
Don't use it with state verbs
Saber, tener, ser, parecer — pure states don't pair with andar + gerundio because they describe a condition, not a scattered activity. (One classic exception: andar + adjective — anda preocupado — but that's a different construction, not the gerundio periphrasis.)
Don't try to make it formal
If your writing context is formal, drop andar + gerundio. There's no formal equivalent — just rephrase using estar + gerundio, the simple present, or another construction.
Common Mistakes
❌ Estoy andando buscando trabajo.
Incorrect — don't stack 'estar' with 'andar + gerundio'. Use one or the other.
✅ Ando buscando trabajo.
I'm (going around) looking for a job.
❌ Anda a buscar trabajo.
Incorrect — no 'a' between 'andar' and the next verb. That confuses 'andar + gerundio' with the imperative 'anda a + infinitivo' (which exists in some Latin American varieties but is not standard in Spain anyway).
✅ Anda buscando trabajo.
He's going around looking for a job.
❌ Ando muy ocupado estos días.
Not a mistake — but worth noting: this is 'andar + adjective' ('to be / go around feeling X'), a separate construction from 'andar + gerundio'. Both are common.
✅ Ando muy ocupado estos días, pero ando intentando organizarme mejor.
I'm pretty busy these days, but I'm trying to organise myself better.
❌ Andais perdiendo el tiempo.
Incorrect — vosotros is 'andáis' with an accent.
✅ Andáis perdiendo el tiempo.
You (all) are wasting your time.
❌ El año pasado andó diciendo tonterías.
Incorrect — 'andar' is irregular in the preterite: 'anduvo', not 'andó'.
✅ El año pasado anduvo diciendo tonterías.
Last year he went around saying nonsense.
❌ Anda quejandose todo el día.
Incorrect — accent missing on the gerundio with attached pronoun (quejándose).
✅ Anda quejándose todo el día.
He goes around complaining all day.
Key Takeaways
- Andar + gerundio describes an action that is scattered, recurrent, and often unproductive, frequently with a dismissive or critical tone.
- It contrasts with estar + gerundio (snapshot of right now) and ir + gerundio (gradual progress in one direction).
- It is strongly colloquial — common in everyday peninsular speech, rare in formal writing.
- The preterite of andar is irregular: anduve, anduviste, anduvo... — not andó.
- The vosotros form is andáis + gerundio (accent mandatory).
- Common contexts: complaining, spreading gossip, fruitless searching, scattered activity, asking what someone is up to in general.
- Reach for andar + gerundio when you want to add colour and attitude — and avoid it in writing where neutrality matters.
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Start learning Spanish→Related Topics
- Gerundio con verbos de movimiento y aspectualesB2 — Beyond estar, Spanish pairs the gerund with ir, venir, seguir, llevar, and andar to colour an action with aspect — gradual progress, accumulation from the past, continuation, ongoing duration, or scattered recurrence.
- Ir + gerundio: acción gradualB1 — The peninsular construction for incremental, step-by-step progress — voy aprendiendo, vamos mejorando — that marks change happening little by little.
- Venir + gerundio: acción que viene del pasadoB2 — The construction that ties an ongoing action's roots back to a starting point in the past — vengo diciéndolo desde hace meses — with a frequent shade of insistence or persistence.
- Llevar + tiempo + gerundio: duraciónA2 — The natural peninsular way to say how long you've been doing something — llevo dos años estudiando español — built from llevar + time + gerundio.
- Presente progresivo: estar + gerundioA2 — How to form the Spanish present progressive: estar in the present indicative plus the gerund. Includes the full vosotros conjugation and the cardinal warning that Spain uses this construction far less than English uses 'I am –ing'.