You’ve just learned how to say what you do in Italian; now it’s time to learn how to say what you are doing. Here is what you need to know at an A1\A2 level:
- WHAT IS THE GERUNDIO PRESENTE?
- HOW TO FORM THE GERUNDIO PRESENTE?
- IRREGULAR GERUND
- STARE + GERUNDIO: ITALIAN PRESENT CONTINUOUS
- THE USES OF GERUNDIO PRESENTE
1 WHAT IS THE GERUNDIO PRESENTE?
Gerundio presente is a so-called non-finte verbs.This means that it has no subject and does not change according to person or number. In Italian it ends with -ando (ARE verbs) and -endo (ERE and IRE verbs)
parlARE → parlANDO (gerund)
scrivERE → scrivENDO (gerund)
dormIRE → dormENDO (gerund)
The gerundio presente has two main functions at an A1\A2 level:
STARE+ GERUNDIO Sto mangiando una pizza I’m eating a pizza (right now)
SIMULTANEOUS ACTION Studia ascoltando la musica He studies while listening to music
2 HOW TO FORM THE GERUNDIO PRESENTE?
To form the gerundio presente, you need to drop the infinitive ending and add the gerund endings. These are the pattern you apply to all regular verbs.
ARE verbs → ANDO (gerund ending)
mangiARE → mangiANDO guardARE → guardANDO lavorARE → lavorANDO
ERE verbs → ENDO (gerund ending)
scrivERE → scrivENDO leggERE →leggENDO vedERE → vedENDO
IRE verbs → ENDO (gerund ending)
dormIRE → dormENDO partIRE → partENDO capIRE →capENDO
3 IRREGULAR GERUND
A small group of verbs form the gerund from a different stem. These are the verbs you need to memorise at a A1\A2 level.
| INFINITIVE | GERUND | MEANING |
| fare | faCendo | doing |
| dire | diCendo | saying\ telling |
| tradurre | traduCendo | translating |
| bere | beVendo | drinking |
| condurre | conduCendo | leading\driving |
| porre | poNeno | placing |
4 STARE + GERUNDIO: ITALIAN PRESENT CONTINUOUS
A frequent use of gerundio is the structure STARE + GERUND. This is comparable to the English present continuous (I’m eating – she is driving…). This construction describes an action that is happening right now.
To use this structure, you need the verb STARE conjugated in present tense and the gerund word. Below is a table of examples.
| PRONOUN | STARE present tense | EXAMPLE | MEANING |
| io | STO | STO lavorando | I’m working |
| tu | STAI | STAI leggendo | you are reading |
| leilui | STA | STA dormendo | she\he is sleeping |
| noi | STIAMO | STIAMO mangiando | we are eating |
| voi | STATE | STATE guardando | you (al) are watching |
| loro | STANNO | STANNO parlando | they are speaking |
The verb STARE is conjugated the gerund stays the same.
5 THE USES OF GERUNDIO PRESENTE
Beyond stare+gerund, gerundio has other functions, is used in dependent clauses (B1\B2) and many more contexts. Today we’re breaking down its uses at an A1\A2 level.
Here are the basic uses of gerundio:
- ACTIONS IN PROGRESS Sto studiando italiano → I’m studying Italian
- HOW SOMETHING IS DONE Risponde sorridendo → She\he replies with a smile\smiling
- SIMULTANEOUS ACTIONS Impara guardando film → He\she learns by watching films
- EXPRESSING MANNER: In English, this is expressed with ” while … -ing ”, ” by …-ing ” or simply ” -ing ”. Entra sorridendo → She\he comes in smiling Ha risposto urlando → He\she answered by shouting Mi ha salutato agitando la mano → He\she greeted me by waving his hand
EXERCISES: Fill the gaps with the right gerundio form or structure. Write the answers in the comment section I’ll correct them as soon as possible.
1 Cosa ____(fare-tu) in questo momento? (right now)
2 I ragazzi ____(giocare) in giardino adesso (right now)
3 Legge ____(bere) un caffè (simultaneous)
4 _____(essere) stanca, è andata a dormire
5 Impari bene _____(ascoltare) e _____(ripetere)
6 Noi ____(guardare) un film (right now)
7 Mi ha risposto ____(sorridere)
8 Lei _____(scrivere) l’e-mail in questo momento (right now)
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