Spanish language Q&A Forum

C'mon señoritas! This tale is wide open for at least one more chapter, maybe two.

Hi. I'm a big fan of this site, for many reasons, so I am pointing this out in a spirit of collaboration, not criticism: I think this page should refer to "present continuous" and "present participles", not gerunds. 

The gerund is a form, derived from a verb, which ends in --ing, but it is the noun from the verb. This page is all about an alternative verb form. 

For example: "Smoking is bad for you."

"Smoking" is a gerund, as it has become a noun.

"That man is smoking" is the present continuous form of the verb. "Smoking" in this sentence is the present participle, i.e. not a gerund.

I am prepared to accept that this might be a US/UK English thing; I'd be very interested to hear if this were the case.

Best wishes

Andrew Wenger

Si, me gustaría mucho tener una llama como mascota pero tenía un kangaroo como mascota por muchos años. Creo que son mas carinosas que las llamas.

Hi,

Would this be acceptable?

Le apasionan las películas de los 50 a María 

And, if so, is it commonly used?

Many thanks

El médico quiere que me tome estas pastillas.

Voy a pedirle que me lleve a su casa.

Is the rule for the position of the Me in both sentences that there are two clauses, the second being subjunctive and the verb reflexive therefore owning the M1e? I was confused because both the first and second verbs are conjugated.

Hello,

En él puedes percibir 

I assume this translates to 'In it you can perceive'. I did not know that 'él' can be use for 'it'.

Thanks

Amrutha

Mi vecina Clara, que es peluquera, tiene su propio salón de belleza.

why we didnt say una peluquera

How do native Spanish speakers typically handle the following situations:

Case 1:

You look up and see some birds (either los pájaros or las aves). Which are typical to say?

¡Mira! ¡Qué bonitos!

¡Mira! ¡Qué bonitas!

or would you be more specific? 

¡Mira! ¡Qué bonitos los pájaros!

¡Mira! ¡Qué bonitas las aves! 

Case 2:

Your friend is holding something in his/her hands. You can't see for sure but you are certain it is one of the following:

  a lizard (un largato) 

  a salamander (una salamandra)

  a toad (un sapo) 

  a frog (una rana) 

Or maybe you think of it simply as una cosa or un animalito or un bicho, un monstruo, una bestia, etc. 

What might you typically say:

¿Qué tienes? Tráemelo.

¿Qué tienes? Tráemela.

Thanks.

In a 10-question test these was the question:

¿Por qué lo ________ ?
Why are you cursing him?

I expected the answer would be a gerund, but it was not. Why was "cursing" used and not "curse?" As in, "Why (do) you curse him?"