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Spanish (Spain)

### Overcoming Disadvantages

When you want to express that an action was achieved despite a clear obstacle or contrast, you can use a **concessive gerund**. To form this, use the word **aun** (even) followed directly by a gerund (*-ando* or *-iendo*).

Notice that *aun* in this context is written without an accent mark, unlike *aún* (still).

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### Pushing Through Physical Setbacks

This structure is perfect for describing people pushing through physical setbacks, like an **esguince** (sprain) or having to **cojear** (limp). The *aun* + gerund phrase sets up the disadvantage, and the rest of the sentence highlights the accomplishment.

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Even when the obstacle requires physical assistance, the grammar remains the same.

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### Performing Through Exhaustion

You will also frequently use this pattern to talk about pushing through states of **fatiga** (fatigue) or **agotamiento** (exhaustion) to successfully **derrotar** (defeat) an opponent or **rendir** (perform) well.

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### Succeeding Anyway

Sometimes the disadvantage is simply having a bad day on the field. The *aun* + gerund structure smoothly conveys how a team can achieve their goals despite their own poor performance.

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Concessive gerunds (aun)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular subjects and 'ser' (yo soy, esto es)

Plural nouns and definite articles (los, las)

Plural pronouns and 'ser' (somos, sois, son)

Adjective agreement (-o, -a, -os, -as)

Indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas)

Simple negation (no)

Yes/no questions

Regular '-ar' verbs (-o, -as, -a...)

Regular '-er' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Regular '-ir' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Locative adverbs (aquí, allí)

Question words (quién, cómo)

The verb estar (estoy, estás)

The preposition en (en)

Ser vs. estar

The verb tener (tengo, tienes)

Possessive determiners (mi, tu, su)

Origin and possession (de, del)

The verb ir (voy, vas)

Destination (a, al)

The personal 'a' (a)

Stem-changing verbs: e to ie

Stem-changing verbs: o to ue

Irregular first-person verbs

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, dos, tres)

Numbers 11 to 20 (once, doce, trece)

Counting by tens to 100 (treinta, cuarenta, cien)

Compound numbers up to 99 (veintiuno, treinta y uno)

Days of the week (el lunes, el martes)

The family and the personal 'a' (a mi tío, a mi prima)

Months of the year

Telling time (es la, son las)

Verbs of liking (me gusta)

Plural agreement with verbs of liking (gustan)

Degree modifiers (muy, mucho)

Formal address (usted, ustedes)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

Obligation (tener que)

Present continuous (-ando, -iendo)

Affirmative commands (tú, vosotros)

Basic Food and Drink

The Human Body: Head and Arms

The Human Body: Legs and Health

Wardrobe Essentials

Fresh Produce

Meals and Proteins

Public Transport

Hello and goodbye (hola, ¿qué tal?)

Thank you, sorry, OK (gracias, vale)

There is, there are (hay)

My building (la escalera, el ascensor)

Describing people (moreno, rubio, tímido)

Land and sea (el mar, el río, el norte)

Sightseeing (la plaza, la catedral)

Asking the way (cerca, a la derecha, todo recto)

In class (¿puedes repetir?)

Verb + infinitive (quiero comer, sé leer)

What's your name? (me llamo, encantado)

Phone, computer and email

Hundreds and thousands (doscientos, mil)

What do you do? (¿a qué te dedicas?)

Personal details (la edad, la fecha de nacimiento)

Me neither (también, tampoco, ni)

How much is it? (el precio, la vuelta)

What's the weather like? (hace sol, nieva)

Free time (el concierto, el tenis)

At the bar (¿qué vas a tomar?)

The Natural World

Demonstratives (este, ese, aquel)

Prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de)

Prepositional pronouns (para mí, contigo)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero to décimo)

Adverbs of frequency (a veces, nunca)

Exclamations (¡qué...!)

Indefinite pronouns (algo, alguien)

Indefinite determiners (algún, ningún)

Indirect object pronouns (le, les)

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

Double object pronouns (se lo, se la)

Verbs of preference (encantar, interesar)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Starting and finishing actions (empezar a, terminar de)

Adjective comparatives (más que, menos que)

Comparatives of equality (tan como)

Noun comparatives (tanto como)

Question	Answer
the disadvantage	la desventaja
Playing with ten people is a big disadvantage.	Jugar con diez personas es una gran desventaja.
even	aun
Even having that disadvantage, they managed to win the tournament.	Aun teniendo esa desventaja, lograron ganar el torneo.
the sprain	el esguince
A week ago he sprained his ankle.	Hace una semana se hizo un esguince de tobillo.
to qualify	clasificarse
Even having a sprain, the player qualified for the championship.	Aun teniendo un esguince, el jugador se clasificó para el campeonato.
to limp	cojear
My cousin started to limp after the match.	Mi primo empezó a cojear después del partido.
Even limping, my sister was able to finish the race.	Aun cojeando, mi hermana pudo terminar la carrera.
the crutch	la muleta
The thing about using a crutch is very uncomfortable.	Lo de llevar una muleta es muy incómodo.
Even walking with a crutch, the tourist visited the whole museum.	Aun caminando con una muleta, el turista visitó todo el museo.
the fatigue	la fatiga
What fatigue I have today!	¡Vaya fatiga tengo hoy!
to defeat	derrotar
Even feeling enormous fatigue, the team defeated the rival.	Aun sintiendo una enorme fatiga, el equipo derrotó al rival.
the exhaustion	el agotamiento
The doctor asked if it was exhaustion.	La médica preguntó si era agotamiento.
Even suffering exhaustion, the workers finished the building.	Aun sufriendo agotamiento, los trabajadores terminaron el edificio.
to perform	rendir
You have to perform well in the exam.	Tienes que rendir bien en el examen.
Even sleeping little, she performs a lot in the office.	Aun durmiendo poco, ella rinde mucho en la oficina.
Are you asking if we qualified yesterday?	¿Preguntas si nos clasificamos ayer?
Even playing badly, they managed to qualify.	Aun jugando mal, lograron clasificarse.
The girls defeated the other team a month ago.	Las chicas derrotaron al otro equipo hace un mes.

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