Gerund vs infinitive

Question

In this conversation:

-How did you make the final selection? -Listening to the melodies and the lyrics of each one of them.

Regarding "listening", why is escuchando the correct option here versus escuchar? "Escuchando las melodías ..."

Silvia Piriz · Accepted Answer

Hola Jerald W.
Great question!
In this case, “escuchando” is used because it’s functioning as a gerund, which allows it to express an ongoing action that provides context or background to another action.
The phrase “Escuchando las melodías...” would typically be part of a larger construction, such as:

“Escuchando las melodías, pude tomar la decisión final.” (“Listening to the melodies, I was able to make the final decision.”)

Here, “escuchando” acts like “while listening” in English and indicates a simultaneous action — something that was happening as the person was making the decision.
In contrast, “escuchar” (the infinitive) is used more for general statements or after certain verbs and prepositions. It would be incorrect here because the structure needs to show that listening was an ongoing or background action, not just a general activity.
Hope this helps clarify things!
Saludos
Silvia