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livingdebIn Spanish, when you use two verbs, the second one is almost always an infinitive. For example:
Spanish: Yo quiero bailar.
Literal English: I want to dance.
The one exception that beginners learn is for "estar" (to be) which is followed by a gerund (an -ing word).
Spanish: Yo estoy bailando.
Literal English: I am dancing.
But DuoLingo has been throwing in a few more verbs that are followed by gerunds, so I looked for a list to see if I could see a pattern. I don't, but apparently the list of verbs commonly used this way is short.
From DuoLingo, there's "seguir," "continuar," and, most weirdly, "llevar," the last of which lets you or requires that you use adverbial words between it and the gerund.
"Seguir" means "to follow" or "to continue." (I first was confused by this word when getting directions somewhere while I was in Spain. Apparently, continuing straight is a common instruction.)
When used with a gerund, it means "to continue" and can sometimes be translated as "to still be" (doing something) or to "keep" (doing something).
Spanish: Sigo viviendo en la misma casa.
Literal English: I continue living in the same house.
Natural English: I’m still living in the same house.
"Continuar" also means to continue, so it's no surprise that it works the same way.
"Llevar" means to carry or take, but apparently we can think of it as meaning to carry on [doing something].
Spanish: Llevo trabajando diez años.
Literal English: I carry (on) working ten years.
Natural English: I've been working ten years.
That hurts my head, because if I were trying to say that last sentence, I'd use a different verb and different tenses:
Spanish: He estado trabajando diez años.
Literal English: I have been working ten years.
Not only that, but it has been drilled into my head that you NEVER split verbs in Spanish. And yet DuoLingo is always sticking the adverbs between the two verbs:
Spanish: Llevo tres horas estudiando.
Literal English: I carry (on) three hours studying.
Natural English: I've been studying (for) three hours.
Admittedly, gerunds are used like nouns, but we were taught that even with estoy + a gerund, don't put any other words in between.
And here are some other verbs that partner with gerunds I found that I don't recall DuoLingo flinging at me yet.
"Andar" means "to walk" but this word (unlike "caminar") has a very broad meaning and doesn't just mean literally walking, but can often be used like the English verbs "to run" or "to go." It can mean traveling or moving in general (like "go" does), so you can use andar to say you're going by bus. It can even mean to function; you can use andar to say your watch is running. When used with a gerund, the meaning is something like "to go around" in a way that kind of means to spend time.
Spanish: Ella anda diciendo mentiras.
Literal English: She walks telling lies.
Natural English: She goes around telling lies.
Apparently the implication is that this is an action in progress with a connotation that it's been going on longer than expected or desired.
"Ir" means "to go." With a gerund, apparently "ir" means the same as "andar," but without the negative connotation:
Spanish: Voy aprendiendo español poco a poco.
Literal English: I go learning Spanish little by little.
Natural English: I am learning Spanish little by little.
"Pasar" means "to pass" or "to spend." With gerunds, it means to spend time [doing something]. And you can definitely use noun phrases between "pasar" and the gerund.
Spanish: Ella pasa el verano leyendo libros.
Literal English: She spends the summer reading books.
"Venir" means "to come." With a gerund, it acts a lot like "llevar" or "andar" but the connotation is more positive, implying steady progress.
Spanish: Venimos hablando de esto toda la semana.
Literal English: We come talking of this all the week.
Natural English: We've been talking about this all week.
Per Spanish Academy, 'To be honest, you can use almost any verb you want with a gerund, but it won’t convey a progressive action. Instead, gerunds with other verbs behave like adverbs and add information to how the action is being performed.'
Spanish: Yo quiero bailar.
Literal English: I want to dance.
The one exception that beginners learn is for "estar" (to be) which is followed by a gerund (an -ing word).
Spanish: Yo estoy bailando.
Literal English: I am dancing.
But DuoLingo has been throwing in a few more verbs that are followed by gerunds, so I looked for a list to see if I could see a pattern. I don't, but apparently the list of verbs commonly used this way is short.
From DuoLingo, there's "seguir," "continuar," and, most weirdly, "llevar," the last of which lets you or requires that you use adverbial words between it and the gerund.
"Seguir" means "to follow" or "to continue." (I first was confused by this word when getting directions somewhere while I was in Spain. Apparently, continuing straight is a common instruction.)
When used with a gerund, it means "to continue" and can sometimes be translated as "to still be" (doing something) or to "keep" (doing something).
Spanish: Sigo viviendo en la misma casa.
Literal English: I continue living in the same house.
Natural English: I’m still living in the same house.
"Continuar" also means to continue, so it's no surprise that it works the same way.
"Llevar" means to carry or take, but apparently we can think of it as meaning to carry on [doing something].
Spanish: Llevo trabajando diez años.
Literal English: I carry (on) working ten years.
Natural English: I've been working ten years.
That hurts my head, because if I were trying to say that last sentence, I'd use a different verb and different tenses:
Spanish: He estado trabajando diez años.
Literal English: I have been working ten years.
Not only that, but it has been drilled into my head that you NEVER split verbs in Spanish. And yet DuoLingo is always sticking the adverbs between the two verbs:
Spanish: Llevo tres horas estudiando.
Literal English: I carry (on) three hours studying.
Natural English: I've been studying (for) three hours.
Admittedly, gerunds are used like nouns, but we were taught that even with estoy + a gerund, don't put any other words in between.
And here are some other verbs that partner with gerunds I found that I don't recall DuoLingo flinging at me yet.
"Andar" means "to walk" but this word (unlike "caminar") has a very broad meaning and doesn't just mean literally walking, but can often be used like the English verbs "to run" or "to go." It can mean traveling or moving in general (like "go" does), so you can use andar to say you're going by bus. It can even mean to function; you can use andar to say your watch is running. When used with a gerund, the meaning is something like "to go around" in a way that kind of means to spend time.
Spanish: Ella anda diciendo mentiras.
Literal English: She walks telling lies.
Natural English: She goes around telling lies.
Apparently the implication is that this is an action in progress with a connotation that it's been going on longer than expected or desired.
"Ir" means "to go." With a gerund, apparently "ir" means the same as "andar," but without the negative connotation:
Spanish: Voy aprendiendo español poco a poco.
Literal English: I go learning Spanish little by little.
Natural English: I am learning Spanish little by little.
"Pasar" means "to pass" or "to spend." With gerunds, it means to spend time [doing something]. And you can definitely use noun phrases between "pasar" and the gerund.
Spanish: Ella pasa el verano leyendo libros.
Literal English: She spends the summer reading books.
"Venir" means "to come." With a gerund, it acts a lot like "llevar" or "andar" but the connotation is more positive, implying steady progress.
Spanish: Venimos hablando de esto toda la semana.
Literal English: We come talking of this all the week.
Natural English: We've been talking about this all week.
Per Spanish Academy, 'To be honest, you can use almost any verb you want with a gerund, but it won’t convey a progressive action. Instead, gerunds with other verbs behave like adverbs and add information to how the action is being performed.'