How you do it
You know the gerund after estar, seguir, llevar and ir. It also works on its own, next to another verb, to say how something happens.
| He ran off. | Se fue corriendo. |
| The children ran out of school. | Los niños salieron corriendo del colegio. |
| My sister came home crying. | Mi hermana llegó a casa llorando. |
In Spain, ir andando and venir andando are a very common way to say walk there; a pie means the same.
| Today I've come on foot. | Hoy he venido andando. |
By + -ing
Where English says by reading or by cooking, Spanish uses the gerund alone, with no preposition.
| English | Spanish |
|---|---|
| I learn Spanish by reading. | Aprendo español leyendo. |
| We save money by cooking at home. | Ahorramos dinero cocinando en casa. |
| I learn Spanish by reading. | Aprendo español leyendo. |
| You learn a lot by traveling. | Se aprende mucho viajando. |
| I improved my Spanish by talking to my neighbors. | Mejoré mi español hablando con mis vecinos. |
Common mistakes
- por leyendo → leyendo: no preposition before the gerund.
- As the subject of a sentence, Spanish uses the infinitive: Leer es divertido, not Leyendo es divertido.
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