Preposition + infinitive

ama s.C1Kwiziq community member

Preposition + infinitive

I know this lesson is about the use of the gerundio but is it also correct to use (perhaps not in all cases) a preposition + infinitive?  For example:  Puedes adelgazar bebiendo / por beber dos litros de agua al día.
Asked 2 years ago
InmaNative Spanish expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hola Ama

It's correct to use a preposition followed by an infinitive, yes. In fact, you must use an infinitive after any preposition (not a gerund). In this case, though, meaning "by doing something" we don't use any preposition with the gerund as we say in the lesson, and using: por + infinitive here wouldn't work if what you want to say is "by doing something [you achieve something]".

However, if the meaning was slightly different, expressing a "cause", i.e. "He lost weight because he drank two litres of water a day.", you can say:

Perdió peso por beber 2 litros de agua al día. 

Here is a lesson on this use of por.

I hope it clarified it.

Saludos

Inma

ama s.C1Kwiziq community member

It is a subtle but significant difference between the two possibilities.  Thank you for explaining inma.

Preposition + infinitive

I know this lesson is about the use of the gerundio but is it also correct to use (perhaps not in all cases) a preposition + infinitive?  For example:  Puedes adelgazar bebiendo / por beber dos litros de agua al día.

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