The Gerund

The Gerúndio in European Portuguese

You may recall from the present continuous unit, that there are some differences in how the gerúndio is used among the different Portuguese dialects. For example, in European Portuguese, you typically don’t use the gerúndio for the present continuous. Just to quickly review:

• In European Portuguese, the present continuous / present progressive is typically formed with estar + a + the infinitive. For example: Eu estou a estudar gramática.I am studying grammar. Slow audio Play audio
• In Brazilian Portuguese, the gerund is used here instead: Eu estou estudando gramática. As you can see, the BP variation is more similar to the English “I am studying grammar” than the EP one.

That said, although it’s not very common, there is still a time and place for the gerúndio in European Portuguese! In EP, the gerúndio simples is generally used in 3 ways:

1. As a gerúndio adverbial (adverbial gerund) within a dependent clause or
2. connecting 2 coordinated clauses (as a replacement of the conjunction eand Slow audio Play audio Conjunction )
3. Expressing progress / gradualness, with the help of the auxiliary verb ir (the most common use case ⭐️ )

(The adverbial uses are less common in Brazilian and African dialects of Portuguese.)
Start familiarizing yourself with the gerúndio by exploring examples of each of the primary uses below. We’ll also mention more popular alternatives to using the gerúndio (when relevant) throughout the rest of this Learning Note.

Adverbial Gerund in Dependent Clauses

Orações gerundivas (short for orações subordinadas adverbiais gerundivas) are dependent clauses in which the verb is in the gerúndio and that function like an adverb to the main clause. They can hold the semantic value of manner, time, causality, consequence, condition, and concession (or sometimes a combination of multiple values). Again, don’t confuse this with “gerund phrases” in English grammar, which function as a noun.
It’s more common to see these clauses at the beginning of a sentence, but they can appear in the middle or at the end as well. Let’s see some examples of each type:

Manner

Some adverbs characterize the manner or way an action takes place, such as: depressaquickly Slow audio Play audio Adverb , bemwell Slow audio Play audio Adverb , lentamenteslowly , etc.
With gerundive clauses, you can also characterize the mode or manner in which an action, such as running or speaking, takes place:

• Ele foi até casa, correndo pela cidadeHe went home, running through the city – The way he went home (manner of travel) was by running through the city.
  • Note: A more common way of saying the same thing could be Ele correu pela cidade até casaHe ran home through the city
• Já vou! - disse o Pedro, bocejandoBe right there! - said Pedro, yawning
  • The gerund with the value of manner is mostly used in the 3rd person, as if narrating an event.

Time

Instead of using conjunctions such as depoislater, then, after Slow audio Play audio Adverb or a seguirsubsequently, next, after, following Slow audio Play audio Adverb , you can convey temporal relationships using the gerund. This could indicate something happening before, after, or at the same time.

• Deitando-se na cama, a Maria adormeceuLying on her bed, she fell asleep – She lay down before falling asleep.
• A Maria tropeçou, partindo os pratosMaria stumbled, breaking the plates – She broke the plates right after stumbling.

Causality

The gerúndio can also appear in clauses that indicate the cause of the action expressed in the main clause. The gerundive clause can appear at the beginning or at the end of the sentence. Instead of using conjunctions such as porquebecause Slow audio Play audio Conjunction , comoas, since, like Slow audio Play audio Conjunction , dado quesince Slow audio Play audio , etc., you could say something like:

• Estando com febre, o Pedro faltou às aulasPedro missed school because he had a fever (Being with fever, Pedro missed classes)
  • Alternatively, you could say O Pedro faltou às aulas porque estava com febrePedro missed school because he had a fever

• Consegui comprar uma televisão nova fazendo horas extraordináriasI was able to buy a new TV (by) doing extra hours
  • In other words: Because I did extra hours at work, I was able to pay for a new TV.

Consequence

Similarly, the gerúndio can also appear in the clause which describes the consequence of the action described in the main clause, so naturally that is at end of the sentence. This use is somewhat rare, but you can replace conjunctions like pelo quetherefore Slow audio Play audio , de modo queso that, in such a way that , etc., as in:

• Nós comemos demasiado, sendo impossível sair da mesaWe ate too much, so it was impossible to leave the table
  • Or we could put the gerund in the other clause, to denote causality, but leaving us with essentially the same meaning: Comendo demasiado, foi-nos impossível sair da mesaHaving eaten too much, it was impossible for us to leave the table

Condition

Instead of using the conjunctions seif Slow audio Play audio Conjunction and casosupposing, in case Slow audio Play audio Conjunction to express a condition, we can go with the gerund. In most cases, it’s at the beginning of the sentence:

• Ficando sozinhos, os cães começam a ladrarIf left alone, the dogs begin to bark – “Staying alone…”
• Não tendo positiva no teste, tenho de repetir a cadeiraIf I do not pass the test, I have to repeat the course – “Not having positive on the test…”

Concession

The gerúndio can sometimes replace conjunctions like emboraalthough Slow audio Play audio Conjunction and apesar deeven though, despite Slow audio Play audio . However, it should be used with the conjuction mesmoeven, indeed in order to make the meaning of concession clear.

• Mesmo estudando todos os dias, tirei má nota no testeDespite studying every day, I got a bad grade on the test

Replacing the Conjunction e (and)

Above, we’ve talked about gerund being used in dependent clauses but it can also be used to connect two coordinated clauses, in place of the conjunction e (and).
For example:

• A Raquel vai jantar fora, ficando o Pedro em casaRaquel is going out for dinner, while Pedro stays home
  • Instead of A Raquel vai jantar fora e o Pedro fica em casaRaquel is going out for dinner and Pedro stays home
• Os habitantes fugiram do fogo deixando tudo para trásThe inhabitants fled the fire, leaving everything behind
  • Instead of Os habitantes fugiram do fogo e deixaram tudo para trásThe inhabitants fled the fire and left everything behind

(It’s possible, in these cases, for the gerund to also have one of the values mentioned previously, particularly the time value. For example, in the first example shown above, Raquel is going out and Pedro is staying home at the same time.)

ir + gerúndio

Using the verb irto go Slow audio Play audio Verb with the gerúndio helps us express a sense of progress or gradualness. This is one of the most common ways of using the gerund in European Portuguese. Here are some examples:

• É uma questão de ir passando aqui na lojaIt's a matter of stopping by the store – This would imply that it’s a matter of stopping by the store probably more than once (a repeatable event).
• Fomos fazendo obras cá em casaWe kept doing (construction) work here at home
• Vai-se andandoIt's going – Common expression to say that life’s not good, not bad, just “going”.

Sometimes, the use of ir + gerúndio is basically the same as using a simple verb tense:

• Vou andando para casaI'm going home and Vou para casaI'm going home Slow audio Play audio both mean the same thing. (Remember that andando doesn’t necessarily mean walking: How to Use the Verb Andar.) It’s just a common expression you can use just before saying goodbye to someone.
• Fui lendo o livro aos poucosI read the book little by little is practically the same as Li o livro aos poucosI read the book little by little , because of the adverbial phrase aos poucos, which already gives a sense of gradualness.