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Italian gerunds: What are they and how are they used?

By: Silvia Giorgini Althoen Thu May 16 2024
Italian
Verbs

The gerund in Italian is a form of a verb that is mostly used to form the progressive tenses with the help of the verb stare(to stay), as in:

  • Cosa fai?

    What are you doing?

  • Sto giocando a calcio.

    I am playing soccer.

However, it is also used in a few other contexts where you might use the “-ing” form of a verb in English, as in:

Camminando ho incontrato Giulia.

(While) walking, I met Giulia.

The gerund in Italian is a non-finite form of a verb. That means that it is not conjugated and therefore it doesn’t tell us anything about the subject?

In this post we’ll cover how to form the gerund, when to use it, and also when not to use it. Want to discover more about the cool gerund? Let’s go, then!

Table of Contents

    How to form the gerund in Italian?

    To form a gerund in Italian, you’ll add one of only two endings: -ando or -endo. You can use these endings to form gerunds in two different tenses: a “simple” tense and a “compound tense.” I call this the “rule of TWOs.”

    TWO endings:

    • -ando, for verbs ending in -are

    • -endo, for verbs ending in -ere OR -ire

    TWO tenses:

    • a “simple” tense (aka, the present)

    • a “compound” tense (aka, the past)

    Let’s dig deeper!

    How to form the ‘gerundio semplice’ or present gerund

    The simple (present) gerund is formed by simply adding the endings -ando (for verbs ending in -are), or -endo (for verbs ending in -ere or -ire) to the stem of the verb:

    Type of verb
    Infinitive
    Gerund ending
    Gerund

    -are verbs

    mangiare

    to eat

    -ando

    mangiando

    eating

    -ere& -ire verbs

    leggere

    to read

    -endo

    leggendo

    reading

    aprire

    to open

    aprendo

    opening

    Here is some great news! There are only a few irregular gerunds, such as facendo (fare)(to do). You can review them with our list of irregular gerunds in Italian!

    ‘Gerundio composto’ or past gerund

    The compound gerund (past) uses the present gerund of the auxiliary verbs essere(to be) or avere(to have) → essendo or avendo, followed by the past participle of the verb.

    • mangiare → avendo mangiato

      to eat → having eaten

    • leggere → avendo letto

      to read → having read

    • venire → essendo venuto

      to come → having arrived

    Have a look at our post on when to use essere or avere to review the “tricks” to choosing the right one!

    Important

    Since the gerund does not really have a subject, the past participle does NOT need to agree in gender and number, unless you are using:

    • reflexive verbs / reflexive pronouns:

      • Essendosi vestita, Maria era pronta per uscire.

        Having dressed herself, Maria was ready to go out.

      • Ragazze, essendovi lavate le mani, potete prendere il pane.

        Girls, since you washed your hands, you can take the bread.

    • passive verbs:

      • Essendo stati chiamati dalla mamma, i bambini erano tornati a casa.

        Having been called by their mother, the children went back home.

      • Essendo stata convocata per il colloquio, Francesca era felice.

        Having been called for an interview, Francesca was happy.

    How to use the gerund in Italian?

    The gerund can be used in the present or past tense. Let’s see how this works!

    • The present gerund expresses an action that is happening at the same time as that of the main verb, be it past, present, or future. It’s always used with another verb with which it’s closely dependent, and which implies the same subject:

      Mangi guardando la TV.

      You eat while watching TV.

      Mangiavamo guardando la TV.

      We ate while watching TV.

      Mangeranno guardando la TV.

      They will eat while watching TV.

    • The past gerund indicates an action that took place before the main verb:

      Avendo finito il libro, vado a letto.

      Having finished the book, I go to bed.

      Avendo finito il libro, è andata a letto.

      Having finished the book, she went to bed.

      Avendo finito il libro, andrai a letto.

      Having finished the book, you will go to bed.

    Tip

    The gerundio composto is mostly used in formal written documents (in subordinate clauses). It can be heard also in formal spoken contexts — it’s eloquent, a bit over the top, and “snobbish.” 😉

    Now, let’s move on to the general uses. It’s used:

    • to express an ongoing action in the present, past, or future, with the verb stare(to stay): “the progressive construction”

      • Non sto ascoltando la radio.

        I am not listening to the radio.

      • Giulio, stavi dormendo?

        Giulio, were you sleeping?

      • Staranno arrivando.

        They will be arriving.

    • as an adverb to give us more information about another verb/action:

      • Camminando ho incontrato Giulia.

        While walking I met Giulia.

      • Avendo freddo mi metto una giacca.

        Because/Since I am cold, I am putting a jacket on.

    Let’s break down these two uses!

    How to use the “progressive” construction in Italian?

    We use the progressive construction in Italian to express an ongoing action that can be happening in the present, past, or future. It also expresses contemporaneity, i.e. we place ourselves in that particular moment as we see it unfold. It’s the equivalent of the English continuous tense, as in “I am studying” / “I was studying.”

    The progressive construction is the most frequent situation where we use the gerund in Italian.

    It is created by combining the auxiliary stare(to stay) in the present, past or future, with the gerund.

    stare

    gerund

    Here’s how to form the three Italian progressive tenses:

    Progressive tenses in Italian
    Form

    Presente Progressivo

    Present Continuous

    stare (presente) + gerundio

    Passato Progressivo

    Past Continuous

    stare (imperfetto) + gerundio

    Futuro Progressivo

    Future Continuous

    stare (futuro) + gerundio

    Let’s look more closely at the presente progressivo:

    Stare (presente)
    Examples of the present progressive
    English
    sto
    Sto mangiando una mela.

    I am eating an apple.

    stai
    Stai bevendo un caffè.

    You are drinking coffee.

    sta
    Sta dormendo bene.

    S/he is sleeping well.

    stiamo
    Stiamo arrivando a casa.

    We are arriving home.

    state
    State correndo forte!

    You are running fast!

    stanno
    Stanno finendo i compiti.

    They are finishing their homework.

    Check out these examples and conjugations for the other progressive tenses in Italian, for more practice!

    Tip

    If you have an object pronoun, you can place it before stare or attached to the gerund:

    • Sta mangiando una mela?

      Is she eating an apple?

    • object pronoun

      Sì la sta mangiando / Sì, sta mangiandola.

      Yes, she is eating it.

    Exception!

    Expressions like “to be sitting / standing / lying down” that denote states rather than actions, are not used in the progressive in Italian. Instead, Italian uses the verb essere(to be) + past participle:

    È sdraiata a letto.

    She is lying in bed.

    How to use the gerund for background information?

    We saw earlier how the gerund has this intriguing nature of time and contemporaneity, but it can also behave as an “adverb,” modifying the main verb of the sentence. When used in subordinate clauses, the gerund can give information about the main verb:

    Use
    Examples

    Manner, i.e. in which conditions the main verb occurs

    È arrivata ridendo.

    She arrived laughing.

    Means, i.e. the way, by which means, the main verb occurs

    Sbagliando s’impara.

    One learns by making mistakes.

    Time, i.e. indicating that the main action occurs simultaneously

    L’ho salutata uscendo.

    I greeted her while I was going out.

    Cause, i.e. “explaining” the main verb

    Avendo lavorato molto era stanco.

    Having worked hard, he was tired.

    Condition, i.e. setting the condition for the main verb

    Impegnandomi passerò l’esame.

    If I work harder, I will pass the exam.

    Concession, i.e. expressing an idea that contradicts the main verb

    TIP: the gerund is preceded by pur(even though)

    Pur avendo studiato, non ha passato l’esame.

    Even though s/he studied, s/he didn’t pass the exam.

    Important

    When the gerund is used without stare, all pronouns (reflexive, direct object, indirect object, or double) are always attached to the gerund.

    Incontrandola, la saluto sempre.

    When I meet her, I always greet her.

    How to use verbs ‘andare’ and ‘venire’ + gerund?

    There is another quirky, but less frequent, use of the gerund with the verbs andare(to go) and venire(to come).

    andare / venire

    gerund

    This indicates that an action is not only ongoing, but continuing:

    • Loro vanno dicendo che tu sei fidanzata.

      They keep saying that you are engaged.

    • Con il tempo, si viene sviluppando il tuo talento.

      With time your talent is developing.

    Now that we covered when to use it, let’s talk about when NOT to use it.

    When NOT to use the gerund in Italian?

    In Italian, we DO NOT USE the gerund the same way English does in the following cases:

    • as an adjective → instead, Italian uses a relative clause:

      Abbiamo salutato i bambini che ridevano.

      We said hello to the laughing children.

      We said hello to the children who were laughing.

    • as a noun → instead, Italian uses an infinitive:

      • Camminare fa bene alla salute.

        Walking is good for our health.

        To walk is good for our health.

      • Mi piace ballare.

        I enjoy dancing.

        I enjoy to dance.

    • after a preposition → instead, Italian uses the infinitive:

      Abbiamo parlato senza sapere.

      We spoke without knowing.

      We spoke without to know.

      TIP: Check out our article on how Italian uses infinitives to learn more about these uses of the infinitive!

    • to in discussions of the future where you’d use the present progressive in English → in Italian we use the present tense instead:

      Domani vado al negozio.

      Tomorrow, I am going to the store.

      Tomorrow, I go to the store.

    To Sum Up

    • The gerund has two tenses (present and past) and two endings (-ando, and -endo).

    • The gerund does NOT have a subject.

    • It can be used with stare to express a current action (in the present, past, or future).

    • Or it can be used by itself as an adverb to give more information about the main verb and can be used to show contemporaneity or not.

    • All pronouns are attached to the gerund, but, in the progressive forms, the pronouns can be placed in front of stare.

    • The Italian gerund is not used as often, unlike the English present progressive, and it does NOT always translate to the English -ing form.

    Ready to practice the gerund in Italian? Click the link!

    Downloadable Resources

    Elevate your language-learning journey to new heights with the following downloadable resources.

    What is the gerund and how does it work in Italian?~Progressive Tenses TableHow do you use the ‘trapassato prossimo’ in Italian?~Irregular past participles TableWhat is the gerund and how does it work in Italian?~Activities

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