# Infinitive, Gerund and Participle

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CEFR B2–C2 · 2026-10-19 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> The infinitive, the gerund and the participle name an action with no person of its own and place it in relation to the main verb: llegar, llegando, llegado. An action after the main verb takes y and a conjugated verb: Abrí la puerta y me encontré con él.

## Cheatsheet

| Point | Rule | Example | English |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Infinitive | the understood subject is the object of the main verb | El profesor recomendó al estudiante trabajar más. | The teacher advised the student to work harder. |
| haber + past participle | an action before that of the main verb | El profesor le regañó por no haber estudiado. | The teacher scolded him for not having studied. |
| Gerund | an action at the same time as, or before, that of the main verb | Me lo confesó yendo por la calle. | He confessed it to me as he walked down the street. |
| Participle | predicative: agrees with the noun it describes | Encontré a Sara cansada por el esfuerzo. | I found Sara tired from the effort. |
| Succession in time | nada más takes an infinitive and una vez, a participle | Nada más llegar, nos pusimos a comer. / Una vez estudiado el problema, decidiremos. | As soon as we arrived, we started to eat. / Once the problem has been studied, we will decide. |
| Independent infinitive | wish or refusal in an exclamation or a question | ¡Descansar tres meses! | I wish I could rest for three months! |
| Gerund | manner, time or condition; also independent | Me pidieron perdón cantando. | They apologised to me by singing. |
| Absolute participle | the participle agrees with its subject | Terminada la investigación, se cerró el caso. | Once the investigation was over, the case was closed. |
| Perception verb | the infinitive shows the complete action and the gerund, the action in progress | La vi bajar del autobús. / La vi bajando del autobús. | I saw her get off the bus. / I saw her getting off the bus. |
| Gerund | cause and concession | Lloviendo y todo salió sin paraguas. | Even with it raining, he went out without an umbrella. |
| Participle with a connector | hasta and apenas come before the absolute participle | Hasta concluidas las tres horas no nos pudimos mover. | Until the three hours were over, we could not move. |
| Trap | the later action takes a conjugated verb | Abrí la puerta y me encontré con él. | I opened the door and ran into him. |

## Infinitive: subject, verbal value and nominal value

| Pattern | Rule | Example | English |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| verb + object + infinitive | The understood subject of the infinitive is the object of the main verb. | El profesor recomendó al estudiante trabajar más. / Mi madre me prohibió salir de noche. | The teacher advised the student to work harder. / My mother forbade me to go out at night. |
| haber + past participle | The perfect infinitive expresses an action before that of the main verb. | El profesor le regañó por no haber estudiado. / Me alegro de haberte conocido. | The teacher scolded him for not having studied. / I'm glad to have met you. |
| Short answer | The preposition that the verb requires comes before the infinitive. | ¿Te ayudo? — Sí, a hacer este ejercicio. | Shall I help you? — Yes, to do this exercise. |
| verb + preposition + infinitive | The infinitive completes a verb that requires a preposition. | El director me invitó a salir de la sala. / Me niego a responder. | The director invited me to leave the room. / I refuse to answer. |
| ser + infinitive | After ser, the infinitive is the subject complement. | Eso es bailar. / Lo importante es participar. | That is dancing. / The important thing is to take part. |
| preposition + subject + infinitive | In the Caribbean, the subject comes before the infinitive after a preposition. | Al yo llegar, ya habían cenado. / Con ella volver, todo cambió. / Sin tú querer, rompiste el plato. | When I arrived, they had already had dinner. / When she came back, everything changed. / You broke the plate without meaning to. |
| Independent infinitive | An exclamation with a simple or perfect infinitive expresses a wish. | ¡Descansar tres meses! / ¡Haber descansado tres meses! | I wish I could rest for three months! / I wish I had rested for three months! |
| Independent infinitive in a question | A question with an infinitive and an expressed subject rejects an idea. | ¿Decirle yo lo que pienso? Ni loco. | Me, tell him what I think? No way. |
| noun or adjective + preposition + infinitive | A noun or an adjective takes an infinitive through a preposition. | Tiene ganas de viajar. / Estoy cansado de esperar. | She feels like travelling. / I'm tired of waiting. |
| indefinite antecedent + que + infinitive | In a relative clause, the infinitive follows an indefinite antecedent. | Tengo un problema que resolver. / No tengo nada que decir. | I have a problem to solve. / I have nothing to say. |
| el + infinitive | With an article, the infinitive acts as a noun and takes a complement with de or an adverb. | El cantar de los pájaros me despierta. / El cantar bien es una ventaja. | The singing of the birds wakes me up. / Singing well is an advantage. |
| Lexicalised infinitive | Some infinitives are nouns, with a plural and adjectives. | los deberes conyugales / los quehaceres domésticos | marital duties / household chores |
| Subject equal to the indirect object | The indirect object is the subject of the infinitive; an expressed subject is optional. | Me es difícil (yo) recomendarle un libro bueno. | It is hard for me to recommend a good book to him. |
| Independent perfect infinitive | With an expressed subject, it regrets something that was not done. | ¡Haberte presentado tú antes! | If only you had introduced yourself earlier! |
| el + infinitive + adverb | The article with the verb's complements presents the action as a fact. | El esperar angustiosamente durante horas la agotó. | Waiting anxiously for hours wore her out. |
| Infinitive for the plural imperative | In informal speech, the infinitive takes the place of the plural imperative. | Seguir todo derecho hasta la plaza. (Spain: Seguir todo recto hasta la plaza.) | Keep going straight on to the square. |
| Infinitive for the vosotros imperative | In Spain, the infinitive replaces the vosotros form and the pronoun follows it. | Perdonarme, por favor. / Sentaros ya, que empieza la película. | Forgive me, please. / Sit down now, the film is starting. |

- The prepositions that verbs, nouns and adjectives require: Verbs, Adjectives and Nouns with Fixed Prepositions.

## Gerund: time and predicate

| Use | Example | English |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Simultaneity: the gerund happens at the same time as the main verb. | Me lo confesó yendo por la calle. = Me lo confesó mientras íbamos por la calle. | He confessed it to me walking down the street. = He confessed it to me while we were walking down the street. |
| Anteriority: the gerund expresses a step before the main verb. | Estudiando siempre como hoy, aprobarás. | If you always study the way you did today, you will pass. |
| Posteriority: a later action takes y and a conjugated verb. | Abrí la puerta y me encontré con él. | I opened the door and ran into him. |
| Predicative of the subject: the gerund says how the subject acts. | Ella habló tartamudeando. | She spoke, stammering. |
| Predicative of the direct object: the gerund describes the object during the action. | Tengo todo el cuerpo temblando. = Tengo todo el cuerpo que me tiembla. = Tengo todo el cuerpo tembloroso. | My whole body is trembling. = My whole body is shaking. = My whole body is shaky. |
| Independent gerund: in an exclamation or a question it expresses reproach, refusal or a command. | ¡Siempre protestando por todo! / ¿Yo pidiéndole perdón? Ni loco. / ¡Andando que es gerundio! | Always complaining about everything! / Me, apologising to him? No way. / Let's get going, no dawdling! |
| Predicative of a noun phrase: the gerund describes an action of the noun in progress. | Sus ojos mirándome con esa pena me conmovieron. | Her eyes looking at me with such sorrow moved me. |
| Adverbial of manner: the gerund says how the action happens. | Me pidieron perdón cantando. | They apologised to me by singing. |
| Adverbial of time with its own subject: the subject goes after the gerund. | Llegando yo, apareció él. | When I arrived, he appeared. |
| Condition: the gerund is equivalent to a clause with si. | Estudiando más lograrás aprobar. = Si estudias más, lograrás aprobar. | By studying more you will manage to pass. = If you study more, you will manage to pass. |
| Perfect gerund: habiendo + past participle expresses an earlier action. | Habiendo terminado el informe, salió de la oficina. | Having finished the report, she left the office. |
| Diminutive with adverbial value: the gerund in -ito expresses a gentle or affectionate manner. | Salió callandito de la casa. / Llegó corriendito a contarme todo. / Va andandito hasta la escuela. | She left the house nice and quietly. / He came running up to tell me everything. / He is walking along to school, taking his time. |
| Independent gerund in a question or in a photo caption: it comments on a scene. | Vaya, ¿paseando por aquí, eh? / El presidente, saludando a los embajadores. | Well, strolling around here, are we? / The president, greeting the ambassadors. |
| Cause: the gerund, often negative, explains the reason for the main action. | No teniendo qué comer, se puso a pedir por las calles. | Having nothing to eat, he began begging in the streets. |
| Concession: the gerund, with y todo or in the perfect form, expresses an obstacle that the action overcomes. | Lloviendo y todo salió sin paraguas. / Habiendo volado tanto, todavía le tiene miedo al avión. | Even with it raining, he went out without an umbrella. / Having flown so much, he is still afraid of planes. |
| Condition with its own subject: the subject goes after estando. | Estando yo, no se comportarán mal. | As long as I'm there, they won't misbehave. |
| Lexicalised gerund: in colloquial speech it accepts tan like an adverb. | Salió tan corriendo que dejó la puerta abierta. | He left in such a rush that he left the door open. |

- How the gerund is formed: Present Continuous; verb phrases with the gerund: Verb Phrases.
- Latin America: Diminutives: Diminutives and Augmentatives.

## Participle: predicative and absolute construction

| Use | Example | English |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Predicative of the subject: the participle agrees with the subject and takes complements. | Me miró sorprendido de mi respuesta. | He looked at me, surprised at my answer. |
| Predicative of the direct object: the participle agrees with the object and takes complements. | Encontré a Sara cansada por el esfuerzo. | I found Sara tired from the effort. |
| Independent participle: in an exclamation or a question it expresses a state. | ¡Encerrada en estas cuatro paredes! / ¿Confundido? No, estoy segurísimo. | Shut up within these four walls! / Confused? No, I'm absolutely sure. |
| Absolute construction: the participle agrees with its subject and expresses time or cause. | Terminada la investigación, se cerró el caso. | Once the investigation was over, the case was closed. |
| Absolute construction with a connector: hasta and apenas pinpoint the moment. | Hasta concluidas las tres horas no nos pudimos mover. / Apenas terminada la reunión, salimos corriendo. | Until the three hours were over, we could not move. / As soon as the meeting was over, we rushed out. |
| In colloquial speech, -ado → -ao drops the d. | Ya he comprao el pan. | I've already bought the bread. |

- Irregular participles: Present Perfect.
- The loss of the d between vowels: Sounds and Stress.

## Time with non-finite forms

| Pattern | Rule | Example | English |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| nada más + infinitive | It expresses immediate succession: the second action follows the first. | Nada más llegar, nos pusimos a comer. | As soon as we arrived, we started to eat. |
| una vez + past participle | It expresses an action already finished; the participle agrees with the noun. | Una vez estudiado el problema, decidiremos. | Once the problem has been studied, we will decide. |
| al + infinitive | The understood subject is that of the main verb. | Al saber la noticia, María me llamó. | When she heard the news, María called me. |
| al + infinitive + subject | A subject different from the main one goes after the infinitive. | Al saber la jefa la noticia, María me llamó. = María me llamó cuando la jefa supo la noticia. | Upon the boss hearing the news, María called me. = María called me when the boss heard the news. |

- Clauses with cuando and the subjunctive: Subjunctive after cuando, para que, antes de que.

## Predicative with a perception verb

- The perception verbs are ver, mirar, oír, escuchar, sentir and notar.

| Form | Meaning | Example | English |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| verb + direct object + infinitive | The infinitive presents the complete action. | La vi bajar del autobús. | I saw her get off the bus. |
| verb + direct object + gerund | The gerund presents the action in progress. | La vi bajando del autobús. | I saw her getting off the bus. |
| verb + direct object + past participle | The participle presents a state and takes an agent phrase. | Vi a la corredora aclamada por el público. / El corredor llegó a la meta aclamado por el público. | I saw the runner acclaimed by the crowd. / The runner reached the finish line acclaimed by the crowd. |

## Typical errors

| ✗ | ✓ | Rule |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Abrí la puerta encontrándome con él. | Abrí la puerta y me encontré con él. | a later action takes y and a conjugated verb |
| Encontré a Sara cansado por el esfuerzo. | Encontré a Sara cansada por el esfuerzo. | the participle agrees with the noun it describes |
| Nada más de llegar, nos pusimos a comer. | Nada más llegar, nos pusimos a comer. | nada más takes the infinitive without a preposition |
| Una vez estudiar el problema, decidiremos. | Una vez estudiado el problema, decidiremos. | una vez takes a participle |
| Tengo el problema que resolver. | Tengo un problema que resolver. | que with an infinitive follows an indefinite antecedent |
| Hay una caja conteniendo libros. | Hay una caja que contiene libros. | a quality of the noun takes a relative clause |