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### Forming the Present Gerund

The present gerund (*gerundio semplice*) is the Italian equivalent of the English "-ing" verb form. To form it, drop the infinitive ending and add the appropriate suffix:

- **-ando** for **-are** verbs (e.g., *sottolineare* -> *sottolineando*)
- **-endo** for **-ere** and **-ire** verbs (e.g., *riassumere* -> *riassumendo*)

A few common verbs use older irregular stems with regular endings, including *fare* (*facendo*), *dire* (*dicendo*), *bere* (*bevendo*), and *essere* (*essendo*).

### Expressing Means, Manner, and Time

You can use the gerund independently to explain *how*, *why*, or *under what circumstances* an action occurs. It frequently translates to "by doing" or "while doing" something. 

The subject of the gerund must always be the same as the subject of the main verb.

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### Reflexive Pronouns, Negation, and Cause

For reflexive verbs (like *concentrarsi* or *distrarsi*), the pronoun attaches directly to the end of the gerund (*concentrando* + *si* = *concentrandosi*).

To make a gerund negative, place *non* directly in front of it. 

The gerund can also express the *cause* of an action, translating to "since" or "because."

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Present gerund (-ando, -endo)

adjective

adjective/adverb

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

proper noun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (io sono)

Singular definite articles (il, la)

Singular demonstratives (questo, questa)

Basic verbal negation (non)

Yes/No questions

Coordinating conjunctions (e, ma, o)

Regular plurals and definite articles (-i, -e, i, le)

Plural verb to be (noi siamo, voi siete)

Plural demonstratives (questi, queste)

Nouns ending in -e

Special singular articles (lo, l')

The plural article (gli)

Special indefinite articles (uno, un')

Demonstrative adjectives (quello, quella)

Adjective endings (-o, -a, -i, -e)

Expressing quantity (molto, poco, tanto)

The verb to have (ho, hai, ha...)

There is / there are (c'è, ci sono)

The preposition of (di)

Singular possessives (il mio, la mia)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, due, tre...)

Numbers 11 to 20 (undici, dodici...)

Numbers 21 to 100 (trenta, quaranta...)

Idiomatic avere (avere fame, avere anni)

Plural possessive adjectives (i miei, le mie)

Possessives with family members (mio padre)

Formal address (dare del Lei)

Present tense of -are verbs (-o, -i, -a)

Question words (chi, cosa, dove)

Present tense of -ere verbs (-o, -i, -e)

Question words (quando, come, perché)

Question word agreement (quanto, quanta, quanti, quante)

Regular -ire verbs

Verbs with -isc- (capisco, capisci, capisce)

Pronouns after prepositions (me, te, lui)

The verb fare (faccio, fai, fa)

The verb andare (vado, vai, va)

The verb stare (sto, stai, sta)

The verb venire (vengo, vieni, viene)

The verb uscire (esco, esci, esce)

Location and destination (a, in)

Origin and movement (da)

Articulated prepositions with a (al, alla)

Articulated prepositions with in (nel, nella)

Articulated prepositions with di and da (del, dal)

Simple prepositions (con, per, su, tra)

Articulated prepositions with su (sul, sulla)

Months of the year

Telling time (sono le...)

Dates (il + number)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primo, secondo, terzo...)

The verb to want (volere)

The verb can (potere)

The verb must (dovere)

The verb to know (sapere)

Reflexive verbs (mi lavo, ti lavi)

Indirect object pronouns (gli, le, ci...)

Expressing preferences (mi piace)

Plural preferences (mi piacciono)

Comparatives (più... di, meno... di)

The passato prossimo with avere (ho parlato)

Irregular past participles (fatto, letto, preso)

The passato prossimo with essere (sono andato)

Reflexive verbs in the past (mi sono svegliato)

Time adverbs with the past tense (già, mai, ancora)

Third-person direct object pronouns (lo, la, li, le)

First and second-person direct object pronouns (mi, ti, ci, vi)

The four seasons

Prepositions of place (vicino a, davanti a)

Conversational words (beh, allora, davvero)

Indefinite adjectives for some (qualche, alcuni)

Indefinite adjectives for every and all (ogni, tutti)

Indefinite pronouns (qualcosa, qualcuno)

Noun suffixes (-ino, -one)

Adverbs of manner (-mente)

Comparisons of equality (così... come)

The relative superlative (il più)

The absolute superlative (-issimo)

Irregular comparatives (migliore, peggiore)

Present progressive (stare + -ando, -endo)

Imminent actions (stare per)

The locative pronoun (ci)

The partitive pronoun (ne)

Pronoun placement with modal verbs

Impersonal subjects (si)

Prepositions of time (da, per, tra, fra)

Past participle agreement with pronouns

Question	Answer
to summarize	riassumere
the note	l'appunto
to take notes	prendere appunti
You can understand the text better by summarizing the notes.	Puoi capire meglio il testo riassumendo gli appunti.
the chapter	il capitolo
to memorize	memorizzare
By summarizing each chapter, the students memorize more easily.	Riassumendo ogni capitolo, gli studenti memorizzano più facilmente.
He learned the whole chapter by reading and memorizing the words.	Ha imparato tutto il capitolo leggendo e memorizzando le parole.
to underline	sottolineare
By underlining the important things, you do not forget anything.	Sottolineando le cose importanti, non dimentichi niente.
the outline	lo schema
The student learns by underlining and making an outline.	Lo studente impara sottolineando e facendo uno schema.
to review	ripassare
By studying with an outline, you can review quickly.	Studiando con uno schema, puoi ripassare velocemente.
the mistake	l'errore
Reviewing for the exam, we found a big mistake.	Ripassando per l'esame, abbiamo trovato un grande errore.
The student said that he would not make mistakes on the exam by reviewing the notes.	Lo studente ha detto che non avrebbe fatto errori all'esame ripassando gli appunti.
to concentrate	concentrarsi
By concentrating, the student makes fewer mistakes.	Concentrandosi, lo studente fa meno errori.
to get distracted	distrarsi
Always getting distracted with the cell phone, he hasn't memorized anything.	Distraendosi sempre con il cellulare, non ha memorizzato niente.
By not concentrating, the girl fell asleep while studying.	Non concentrandosi, la ragazza si è addormentata studiando.
Being tired, I got distracted reading the notes.	Essendo stanco, mi sono distratto leggendo gli appunti.
break a leg!, good luck (before an exam; lit. into the wolf's mouth — reply: crepi il lupo!)	in bocca al lupo
I take notes while the professor speaks.	Prendo appunti mentre il professore parla.
Take notes, then review the outline.	Prendi appunti, poi ripassa lo schema.
You have the exam tomorrow? Break a leg!	Domani hai l'esame? In bocca al lupo!
Good luck with the interview!	In bocca al lupo per il colloquio!

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