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Spanish (Spain)

### 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.

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In Spain, **ir andando** and **venir andando** are a very common way to say *walk there*; **a pie** means the same.

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### *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. |

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### 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*.

Doing it by… (aprendo leyendo, se fue corriendo)

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
He ran off.	Se fue corriendo.
Today I've come on foot.	Hoy he venido andando.
The children ran out of school.	Los niños salieron corriendo del colegio.
We walked up to the fifth floor.	Subimos andando al quinto piso.
My sister came home crying.	Mi hermana llegó a casa llorando.
She answered me, laughing.	Me contestó riendo.
I learn Spanish by reading.	Aprendo español leyendo.
You learn a lot by traveling.	Se aprende mucho viajando.
We save money by cooking at home.	Ahorramos dinero cocinando en casa.
I improved my Spanish by talking to my neighbors.	Mejoré mi español hablando con mis vecinos.
You can practice by listening to the radio.	Puedes practicar escuchando la radio.
We solved the problem by talking.	Resolvimos el problema hablando.

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