Spelling changes with "y"
Normally, to form the gerund of an -er or -ir verb, you add -iendo. But if the verb's stem ends in a vowel (like leer), having three vowels in a row is hard to pronounce. To fix this, the i changes to a y, making the ending -yendo.
Let's look at leer (to read):
| The author is reading in the bookshop. | El autor está leyendo en la librería. |
Other common verbs that follow this rule are oír (to hear) and traer (to bring):
| The children are hearing the story in the bookshop. | Los niños están oyendo el cuento en la librería. |
| The librarian is bringing the poems. | La bibliotecaria está trayendo los poemas. |
Stem changes: e → i
Some -ir verbs have a stem change in the present tense. Many of these also have a stem change in the gerund, where the letter e changes to i.
For example, pedir (to ask for) becomes pidiendo and decir (to say/tell) becomes diciendo.
| The girl is asking for the title of the chapter. | La chica está pidiendo el título del capítulo. |
| The author is telling the truth in the chapter. | El autor está diciendo la verdad en el capítulo. |
Stem changes: o → u
Finally, the verb dormir (to sleep) is a special -ir verb. Its stem changes from an o to a u in the gerund, becoming durmiendo.
| The librarian is sleeping in the aisle. | El bibliotecario está durmiendo en el pasillo. |
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