Learn Spanish (Latin America): Preparando el esqueje, plántalo junto a la orquídea. - If you prepare the cutting, plant it next to the orchid.

This sentence uses a conditional gerund clause, which is the focus of this lesson. In Spanish, starting a sentence with a gerund (an -ando or -iendo form) can act like an si (if) clause when it sets a condition for the main action. It is a concise way of saying Si preparas el esqueje (If you prepare the cutting).

How do we know that "you" are the one preparing the cutting?

In sentences that use a gerund clause, the subject of the gerund is almost always the same as the subject of the main clause. Since the main verb plántalo is an informal command directed at "you" (tú), it is automatically understood that you are also the person doing the preparing.

Why does plántalo have an accent mark?

The affirmative informal command for plantar is planta. When you attach the direct object pronoun lo (referring to the cutting) to the end of the verb, the natural spoken stress stays on the same syllable (the first a). Because the word now has stress on the third-to-last syllable, Spanish spelling rules require a written accent to maintain that pronunciation: plántalo.

Could I use cerca de instead of junto a to say "next to the orchid"?