Infinitive or Gerundio?

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[@QrooSpanish]

Join the Qroo Crew for More Content www.skool.com/qroo Want to thank me? Buy me a coffee www.buymeacoffee.com/qroo

[@mariposas7233]

Tienes una cuenta de Pay Pal?

[@sabrinasimon4391]

Are you accepting students for Spanish 1 on 1 ?

[@mynamename5172]

Germanic languages like English are very noun oriented (look at German, they even capitalize nouns). Spanish (and other romance languages) are very verb oriented. This difference is very subtle, but I find it at the heart of many issues between these two groups of languages and how native speakers approach the structure by which they communicate. Gerunds are a great example. Good luck getting to 500k! You certainly deserve the watch time.

[@josedelnegro46]

alles gut machen. Ich werde heute befördert. Ich singe mit Lea. Above the Germáns use the primary verbal form. But so do the English. Tô make things right. I am to be promoted to-day. Tô sing with Lea...we now sing. One does not have to say to I am singing with Lea. I am being promoted. I am making things right. Then. German places ge- ante verbal to say "he was born" "er wurde geboren". The problema otro vez es que los Jésuites Anglo-saxons se employen la palabrar de Santo Tomás de "In-finitivo". The in- is no, not, nada, does not have an ending. Ok. You say so what. Spanish Amar, Latin Amare, English to love, and lieben all mean the same. Ok. Yo Cori lento. Lento is an adverbe. But it does not have the -mente post fix. Why not? ego cucurri lenter Latín. German Ich lief langsam. Ok. Where did the -mente go in the Spanish. The Germán proves that an adverbe does not have to end in -ly and -mente. I have a feeling as to why lento es lento y no es lentamente. What do you think since the Germans agree with the Spanish in this case.

[@gregoriopuro]

Hola Q, tu canal es muy divertido, aprender Español es fácil contigo.. 😊

[@QrooSpanish]

Me alegra mucho que lo estés disfrutando!

[@cmcjvcltcbmc]

This is the first video I've seen that has explained this. And I'm going to stick with option one (es muy facil)! Gracias!

[@QrooSpanish]

De nada. :)

[@josedelnegro46]

KISS let me see if I Can? Wheelock's Latin Participles chapter 23 and Gerund and Gerundive chapter 39 tells why Spanish can use "yo estoy corriendo" but préfères to use "yo corro ya." Before Martin Luther every thing had to revert from the vernaculaire back to Latín. The French kept Latin as the official language of the state until 1836. I leave it to someone else to tell when Iberia change to vernaculaire en total. Which ought we use? "Yo corro...". Once again we find English has stabbed us in the back inside the peaceful walls of thé Forum. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXKpZ2CjgqmMaq8

[@JuanMoreno-wo5yb]

Oír es necesario… I thought I would try it right away so I don’t forget jajaja! I am getting old! 70 👴 old man but still have hair. I would rather have your head of no hair tho!

[@polina-dudarenko]

Hello, Paul! Just wanted to say "thank you so much for your great videos"!! They're always well-structured and cover the most important parts! Looking forward to see a new one 🤗

[@Philosopearl]

So simple, so effective. I didn't realise that what made the gerund superfluous in Spanish was the idea that Spanish doesn't turn verbs into nouns the way English does but should be translated more literally (for a change) as, for example, "ver es creer" is "to see is to believe". Thank you!

[@TysonJensen]

English doesn't really have a proper infinitive. An infinitive is the base, unconjugated form of a verb. We have "to X" or simply "X" but "to X" isn't the "base" form. X is. Yet, "to X" is used more like an infinitive would be used than just "X." I find that it's a lot easier for me to understand Spanish when I acknowledge that most grammatical terms refer to Latin, and that what I learned in English class about grammar is... misleading at best. Gerund is interesting because it's actually referring to Germanic languages -- Romance languages call it something akin to present participle (por ejemplo, estoy estudiando español cada día, I am studying Spanish every day)

[@josedelnegro46]

If English does not have an infinitive you must tell us what one is and who said such a thing exists.

[@normanstewart7130]

@@TysonJensen I really think we should drop the word gerund when teaching Spanish to English speakers. It's too ambiguous as the gerund in English is not the same as the gerundio in Spanish😞. For most English teachers, the gerund is the verbal noun (running is healthy; skiing is dangerous...). In Spanish, the gerundio is the present participle (I am running to work; I was skiing when the accident happened). I think it's best to use the terms present participle, verbal noun and verbal adjective and gerundio in Spanish.

[@TysonJensen]

@@normanstewart7130 Grammar terms are often more confusing than helpful. Especially in a case where you have a "gerundio" in one language and a "gerund" in the other which seem similar but are actually just not the same. I think of it as Spanish has the Latin "present participle" and English has the "gerund" but a native Spanish speaker would probably want to come up with a different way of looking at it that helps them.

[@CassTyson]

@@TysonJensen I can only speak for myself, but hearing the grammar details from the Qroo guru helps me a lot. I was an English major and fancied myself a writer for a time, so I know English pretty well. It’s strange to my American sensibilities how verb-oriented spanish is, but I also find learning it challenging and exciting. (6 months of part time studying and practice so far) Here’s my question though. Nadar is to swim or swimming, as a verb. Natación is swimming as a noun, and nadando es el gerundio. Correct? I’m scratching my head at that. What’s the difference exactly? (It’s ok to use grammatical terms. 😊)

[@ericbaugher]

This video got a like, and at least two watches from me. I watched it all the way through and am giving it a second watch. I already knew "gerrand" before I saw this video, but like you I never knew what they were before I started learning spanish. I really like your method of using the infinitive form of verbs th these sentences. In English we say "seeing is believing" In Spanish we say "to see is to believe". That is if we are doing a more literal translation. One thing I love about this channel is it teaches us bullit😅proof translations that will stand up in court. You are helping a lot of people! Keep up the good work.

[@cland160]

Your language videos are really amazing. You have talked about how much better it is to learn a new language by native language instruction, and I am a believer.

[@QrooSpanish]

I'm so glad you are enjoying them, keep up the good work!

[@MookMineola]

Two years of Duolingo and this was never explained. When do I use the ‘gerundio’ I thought . Why isn’t the ‘ gerundio’ used here . Then four minutes of qroo and all is explained. Now I know to use the infinitive when turning verbs to nouns . Thank you ! I’ve learnt more Spanish from qroo than anyone and any app.

[@QrooSpanish]

I have more videos planned on the gerundio. This is just one way that English-speakers tend to misuse it. Thanks for continuing to follow the channel. :)

[@krimbii]

I was looking for this same comment about the Duolingo app. I thought the app was teaching me wrong. It was correct after all. And yes the app does a horrible job of explaining things!

[@nicolasmoya3787]

Duolingo is used to learn vocabulary, useful if you are living in the country or speaking with native speakers of the language but by itself it is difficult for you to learn the language only with Duolingo, more in spanish whit all of us congugations (native speeker)

[@talesfromtheleashexpatdogl1426]

Like #1000🎉🎉🎉 okay I’ll be honest I’ve been very lazy in my studies. I lived in Merida a little more than two years. I’ve been in Central Mexico for less than two weeks. I’ve spoken more Spanish here in two weeks than I did the entire time I was in Merida. Even though I’ve barely studied, I’ve learned to speak enough to have conversations. IDK the grammar and I have bad pronunciation and I have ALOT to learn. But…trying is what’s most important to native speakers of Spanish and they are happy when you try. They know learning a new language is hard because it was mandatory for many of them in school unlike in the US. Living in a neighborhood where all of your neighbors are locals is essential to mastering a new language I feel like. Normally, they’ll help you. They’re not going to laugh unless you make a big goof. For instance…I was trying to say my dog is a scaredy cat BUT I said my dog is a shitty kitty 😂😂😂 but I didn’t know until I got home and translated what I said. Then I realized why they busted out laugh 😂😂😂 I went back the next day and told her I was sorry for talking like that in front of her little girl

[@nicolasmoya3787]

if you wish i can help whit spanish gramatic (free)

[@laurabrennaman720]

I have learned a lot in the past few weeks from you. I love your attention to using the subjunctive. I came across this sentence and cannot figure out what triggers subjunctive tense in the principal clause ¨Tras sus tres primeros intentos sin éxito, lograron que la máquina funcionara¨ Can you shed some light on this one?

[@QrooSpanish]

Verbs of influence will trigger the subjunctive. In this sentence, you could have replaced lograron with hicieron: they made the machine function. Hacer is a well-known subjunctive trigger (verbs influencing an action in the subordinate clause). A good rule of thumb is if you see a verb used in a way that would allow you to swap it with a well-known subjunctive trigger without changing the meaning, the subjunctive is probably required.

[@Drp000.0]

Haha the thumbnail called Me out, I had to click

[@MandeepSingh1975.]

Hi greetings from England. I always thought the ando and iendo are used when you are in the process of doing something. For example qué estas haciendo? te estoy hablando. I assume this is correct unless I'm getting ahead of myself. Gracias por video.

[@QrooSpanish]

Yes, that is a correct usage. I am going to break the topic of the gerund over several videos because most people seem to avoid videos over 10 minutes in length...lol.

[@MandeepSingh1975.]

@@QrooSpanish thanks 🙏

[@Maaaaaaat]

@@QrooSpanish Gracias! Now that there's groundwork when 'not' to use a gerund, the first thought was 'when I should'.

[@josedelnegro46]

Paul speaks of the Gerund. You write of the Gerundive. They are simular but not thé same.

[@kcorpora1]

it is like when you see a sign that says "no fumar." it does not say "no fumando." as far as my thinking, I never use the gerund unless I am doing the action. if I am studying with someone in that moment "si estoy estudiando español con amigo mio, vamos a terminar a las cinco."... but of course if I was just talking in general to someone I would say "me encanta estudiar español cada día" which is saying "I love studying everyday." I was at work yesterday saying to someone "me gusta ir al gimnasio" not "me gusta yendo al gimnasio." Good Stuff

[@bitterbeer992]

As a native spanish speaker, that's wrong. The use of the gerund in spanish is specifically for actions that are actually happening, whether you're the one studying or someone else is, you should always say "estudiar", because the use of the gerund for that, always infers that, for instance, "(someone is) estudiando es divertido." (which wouldn't make sense) not that "estudiar (in general) es divertido."

[@kcorpora1]

@@bitterbeer992 correct...estoy estudiando en este momento...me encanta estudiar español cada día.

[@jamesfreese4700]

Excellent video-very helpful observations and comments!!!

[@michaelabercrombie7698]

I must be on the right path then. Same here with having to go back and relearn English terms ( Grammar)

[@QrooSpanish]

Keep up the good work ;-)

[@TheBookDoctor]

Great vid! Especially just the core concept that Spanish doesn't noun-ify verbs with the gerund. Nice!

[@Escatlan66]

Yo soy hispanohablante y apenas empecé a ver tus vídeos y me parece interesante porque así aprendo Inglés.Muy interesantes tus vídeos Muchas Gracias Thanks Qroo Paul.👍

[@QrooSpanish]

Bienvenido al canal. Un saludo.

[@Escatlan66]

@@QrooSpanish Gracias Thank you

[@Mamasprincess-i9s]

Thank you so much I'm a super advanced student in Spanish even though I would translate them incorrectly as well 😂😂😂

[@drzman6901]

I have never thought of the infinitive as serving as a noun, but this makes sense. Until now, I have considered the infinitive to be its usual translation: “to something”. So, my mind would translate nadar es divertido into “to swim is fun”. The idea of the infinitive becoming a noun more cleanly handles the translation problem of the negative statement, for example, no nadar translates into "no swimming" This beats "no to swim". Thanks for the useful explanation.

[@erikamone9346]

Described me to the T. Even my thoughts when you said la cocina . I was definitely thinking 🤔 the kitchen 🤣.

[@karenmccarl7032]

This was a great video. I know enough Spanish that I could have said these phrases correctly but 1) it would be hit and miss and 2) I never knew why. After watching this video I will speak correctly more consistently. I also liked that they are short and to the point.

[@DrWoofOfficial]

Ver es creer = to see is to believe = seeing is believing

[@dfwnorthwest]

Yep, this is me. I was going through the Subjunctive series and caught the segment where you mentioned this issue and thought to search your channel for this topic. I am guilty as charged lol

[@emm5468]

I’ve been doing something similar but in a different way. When I was learning French I learned it in a way to understand what is meant by translating word for word into English while reading. In this way using Spanish as an example. I see the words ver es créer to mean to see is to believe. Rather than seeing is believing

[@franceshall7127]

si mas facil

[@margaretwheeler8681]

I had the same thought. I have to relearn English to understand Spanish grammar.

[@JuanMoreno-wo5yb]

QRooPaul: Thanks. I have heard that but as a gringo I am sure I have been making it all more complicated than it needs to be! I will pay attention to this and make some changes, thanks!

[@QrooSpanish]

You're welcome, keep up the good work!

[@lanceh.5671]

Correct me if I am wrong but I think it is a good rule of thumb to never use a gerund as the first word of a sentence in spanish. It is tempting but incorrect.

[@cwtckness]

Today wasn’t simple, for you si

[@cub7423]

thank you so much this is very helpful!

[@tim8577]

Wow.... that was so useful. Gracias amigo

[@tadghb]

Hey Paul, Do you teach classes online and in person?

[@JorgeFernandez-ti2zs]

Está información es muy precisa, yo as native couldn't have explained it better.

[@QrooSpanish]

Thank you.

[@srjimburnetto]

ver es creer! perfecto. Gracias

[@QrooSpanish]

¡De nada!

[@KeySpanish]

That's a very common mistake among my students, great video!

[@QrooSpanish]

Thanks for the positive feedback ;-)

[@MrShikasta]

Grammar pedant comment - a gerund is the noun form of a verb, which is created by adding ing to the verb; however, it is not v+ing such as you would find in progressive tenses. There's quite a big difference, which is a common mistake.

[@MrShikasta]

guess I should have watched to the end before commenting jajaja

[@Richtfking]

Gracias por mostrarme! I was just wondering this today when I was translating sentences. Perfect timing thank you.

[@QrooSpanish]

Glad it was helpful!

[@michael4930]

Gracias por este video. Aprender is divertido.

[@bhami]

Related question: on street signs and advertising signs, I may see either the infinitive or the command form in various cases. Is one form preferred over the other? E.g. "No estacionar" vs. "No se estacione aquí"

[@QrooSpanish]

No, either works.

[@deineintube]

That was really useful! Happens I was just talking with some parceros and said: hace pocos dias estuve pensando en este problema sin solucionarlo. Is that a mess? What's an alternative?

[@QrooSpanish]

You can use the gerund with certain verbs like estar. I plan to break the topic up over several videos to cover all of the possible usages. I originally planned to try and pack them all into one video, but it would have been 25+ minutes long and long videos perform quite poorly.

[@YT-User1013]

Cooking is fun. Cocinar es divertido Paul: “But, if I am going to use the noun and there is one…” Me: huh?

[@QrooSpanish]

There is not always a separate noun in spanish. With cooking you can use the verb cocinar as a noun or cocina which can mean cooking or kitchen. With some verbs in Spanish, there is no optional noun to choose from. Long story short -- just stick to using the verb...lol

[@ajarnray4115]

This is a very good tip and it makes it a lot easier to say the same thing.

[@fildefaite2449]

Gracias Paul, eres el mejor! Siempre espero tus videos con mucho ganas. Soy adicto a ellos.

[@QrooSpanish]

Gracias. Me alegra que te gusten los videos.

[@mariposas7233]

A mi me gustan mucho los videos! Aprender español es mi pasión. Muchas gracias!

[@QrooSpanish]

¡Excelente, sigue aprendiendo!

[@carovegan94ec60]

¡Aprendiendo español soy feliz! Aprender español me hace feliz. 😀

[@QrooSpanish]

Good use of the gerund there. I have another video planned showing that usage from your first example. I orginally wanted to do a video covering all uses of the gerund in one video, but it would have been 25+ minutes long. Most f my veiwers shy away from videos longer than 10 minutes.

[@gregoriopuro]

@@QrooSpanish That's because people's attention span had gone the way of the 🦤

[@QrooSpanish]

Exactly!

[@NewLife2028]

A couple of things. You've always been kind to me, even when I'm a little cheeky. I live near Altamonte Springs so, we are VERY familiar with the same land and, I love your solid maleness and sure approach to what you're doing. So, once I get my network engineering career restarted again, maybe this month, I'll buy you and Linda a few cups of coffee to show my appreciation. I had to do Spanish ALL autodidactically because I thoroughly distrust all public education and Universities in the world. Organized socialism and 60 years of continuous failure. No thanks! I'm at C1 on grammar, reading, writing but, because it's Castellano de España, I so rarely get to practice! However, the husband FINALLY promised to learn and he´s already got French, German and Irish under his belt so, I started up my own KZbin channel video today on How to pronounce every single word in the Spanish language, level 1. I took your recommendation on the German transplant Spain guy. Thank you. Subscribe and like and mention you sent me. Good people network together. I disagree with his statement about it all being the same. Spain spanish is extremely different and Mexican even more different. Not the same AT ALL. I mean, in Mexico, Taco is food, in Spain, it´s a curse word. Not the same on the verbs...nothing.

[@1mikon]

Thank you . This is super . One of the best videos ever. I thought gerunds can be used in Spanish just line we use in English . Never thought we should use infinitives in sentences like those. Gracias.

[@QrooSpanish]

I'm glad you found it useful. I have a few more videos planned for the gerund and when to use them. Some of those are more similar to English usage.

[@Drwcorner]

Your insights are extremely useful!

[@QrooSpanish]

I am so glad you are finding the information to be useful!

[@christopherrumland9656]

I understand the use of infinitives instead of -ing, but when is it appropriate to use the Spanish gerund and why do they have it?

[@QrooSpanish]

There are other situations where the Spanish gerund is used. I am working on other videos showing the various uses. I try to keep the videos under 10 minutes these days. People seem to like that format best.

[@doxymama]

Thanks for your videos. The "why" things are done helps me learn.

[@QrooSpanish]

Thank you very much!

[@emdomgab]

This was so useful. Please open a Spanish Language School!

[@QrooSpanish]

That's a cool idea!

[@briangosvener651]

I request a video explainer how to create ER nouns. Like.. the worker, the employer.. the dancer.. the speaker.. the player ect..

[@QrooSpanish]

Thats a good video suggestion. Thanks.

[@briangosvener651]

For me,.. I already know some. Like worker is trabajador, and player is jugador.. I know speaker at least when used in the context to explain a native speaker is hablante nativo. I’ve noticed a lot end in dor/Dora or ante.. but many others end differently. I’m just curious if there’s some kind of rule or pattern so I can at least guess when I need to use one of these kind of nouns and I know the verb but haven’t yet come across the ER noun version of that verb

[@plugchapman]

so I just did this with my tutor yesterday thinking I'd impress her with what I learned on my own and she literally LOL like you can't do that! this video was right on time

[@joesoy9185]

Thanks, Paul !

[@suna520]

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@cwtckness]

Gracias Pablo

[@JLZwissRN1950]

Another winner! Gracias por compartir. Will you be creating a video on other gerund uses? How about what I refer to as those “banned” gerunds?

[@QrooSpanish]

Yes, I have sone videos planned showing when it is used. I'm trying to keep the videos under 10 minutes.

[@1mikon]

@@QrooSpanish eso es musica para mis oidos. Por favor no me digas que no hay esos dichos en español That is music to my ears.

[@carolinesposto2946]

Thank you.

[@malku65]

Spanish is my native language but I like to learn Spanish from a point of view of an English speaker. Is fun, it helps me explain Spanish to a non native speaker. Thanks

[@CleonaPattersoneFluentEnglish]

Gracias por este vídeo muy útil.

[@QrooSpanish]

Me alegra que te haya resultado útil :-)

[@andreewoodson]

Since I've been learning Spanish, I also have had to learn (relearn) English grammatical terms. Great channel!

[@keenanmiller6231]

Thank you. This video was a huge help.

[@QrooSpanish]

Glad it helped!

[@bikrambarua464]

Many thanks for a very useful presentation.

[@QrooSpanish]

You are very welcome!

[@tim8577]

Gracias amigo... that is so informative

[@QrooSpanish]

Happy to help. Thanks for watching,.

[@melgreenberg2299]

Very simple use of the infinitive makes it all so much easier Your precise presentation is excellent !

[@QrooSpanish]

Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@johnmiller3970]

It's sad because this should be one of the first subjects that are taught in Spanish and I'm just now hearing this smh thanks paul

[@QrooSpanish]

I have a couple of videos planned about the Spanish gerund to show you when it is used. You may find those helpful as well.

[@ileneh6024]

​@@QrooSpanish thank you Paul- that was my exact next question!

[@GeneBlack]

In a college English class, the teacher showed a diagram of a sentence, and asked what this strange platform was for. I was the only one in the class he could tell her that’s where you put the gerund. She assumed that I was planning to be an English teacher.

[@QrooSpanish]

Your fellow classmates probably thought you made that word up...lol.

[@GeneBlack]

@@QrooSpanish There were a LOT of blank stares from my classmates (all of them were at least 10 years younger.) The teacher explained briefly about a gerund being a verb functioning as a noun. She then stopped me after class and asked "You are studying to become an English teacher, aren't you?" Ha ha..."No, I said, this is just a required course. I am studying computer programming." (I took the first programming class, COBOL, and dropped out.)

[@josedelnegro46]

γράφτηκε από τους γραμματείς. Translate that to English. I had no clue as to what the verb and substantivo above was saying until I read the first two chapters of Matéo en Greek this morning. I could not get from Logos to Grammarare. Thus said are you sure those grammatical terms are written in English?

[@debbiewatermelon]

? Como se dice en espanol. Easy Peasy?

[@nicolasmoya3787]

there is no exact translation but it could be "muy facil"

[@MsTessG]

Perfect video! I learned something that will immediately improve my Spanish in 5 minutes. Thank you!

[@QrooSpanish]

I'm glad you liked it. :)

[@cyberbl1tz6]

Great video as usual!

[@QrooSpanish]

Thanks for watching.

[@matthewnichols5398]

Paul, thanks so much. I have been asking my adoptive Mexican family about this exact situation and you just cleared everything up and made it Fácil !

[@QrooSpanish]

Happy to help. I have a few videos planned on when to use the gerund in Spanish (from an English speakers perspective). Those may help you too.

[@craigbernthal7388]

Ver este vídeo es divertido!

[@QrooSpanish]

Well done!

[@wafaaabdelaziz5118]

Muchas gracias

[@QrooSpanish]

¡De nada!

[@charleswood2736]

Thanks!

[@QrooSpanish]

Thank you!

[@aquacitydigital3316]

Wow. This was very useful easy to remember. Great video!

[@QrooSpanish]

I'm so glad you found the information to be useful :-)

[@leannebowes4880]

Awesome tip!

[@QrooSpanish]

I'm so glad you found it useful :-)

[@patgavros3492]

Yet another great and informative video! Thanks!

[@QrooSpanish]

I'm so glad you are finding the videos to be useful! You're welcome :-)

[@RudyTinoco]

Another great lesson! Thank you!

[@QrooSpanish]

Thanks for watching!