Lesson 196: Understanding il gerundio in Italian

Il gerundio (semplice/simple or composto/compound) in Italian has more limited uses than its English counterpart. This is a good topic to study because it underlines the need for students to be (perhaps) more acutely aware of the fact that it's not always possible to translate the two grammars cleanly.

In English, a gerund is a present participle (-ing word, like swimming, running, talking) that is used as a noun, either on its own or in a noun phrase -- for example:

Talking is her favorite thing to do - she never stops.

In the sentence above, talking, is a present participle that is being used as a noun. This is the gerund in English. They can also be phrases -- take the same example above slightly re-worded:

Talking smack is her favorite thing to do while watching the football game.

Talking now has a direct object, smack and is a noun phrase that is used as the subject of the sentence above.

In Italian, the gerund form of the verb is never used in this way -- it has a more limited scope and function. In Italian, the gerund form ends in either -ando or -endo, for example: parlando, correndo. It is most commonly used with the verb, stare, to form the present progressive (or the past progressive, when used in the imperfect). The gerundio can also be used with andare and venire.

The gerund can be used on its own to express an action that is happening concurrently to another one, much in the same way that the imperfect does. For example:

Andando al supermercato, ho visto Luca.
= Mentre andavo al supermercato, ho visto Luca.

(While) Going to the store, I saw Luca.
While I was going to the store, I saw Luca.

This kind of construction is typically used when the subject of the gerundio and the main clause are the same (io, in the example above). Be careful not to combine conjunctions (like mentre) with the gerundio -- this is agrammatical because the gerundio when used in this way implies mentre, and also the gerundio when used on its own is not a proper verb. NB: However, the gerundio can be used with a variety of tenses, such as the present, future, present perfect, etc.

This same construction can also be used to express the English, by + present participle, for example:

By working many hours, Giorgio became the boss of his department.
Lavorando molte ore, Giorgio è diventato il capo del suo dipartimento.

Take note that the gerundio cannot be used when the main clause is passive.

The gerundio (semplice or composto) can be used in subordinate clauses to express different states and conditions, for example:

• a condition (if)
  
  Comprando una nuova macchina, posso vendere la vecchia.
  Buying a new car, now I can sell the old one.
  If I buy a new car, I can sell the old one.
  
  
• modal, expressing how someone/something is
  
  Essendo bravo a scrivere, Marco ha deciso di fare il giornalista.
  Being capable in writing, Marco decided to be a journalist.
  
  
• a cause (since)
  
  Parlando il tedesco, ho deciso di andare a lavorare in Germania
  
  
  Speaking German, I decided to go to work in Germany.
  Since I speak German, I decided to go to work in Germany.
  
  
• a contrast (even if) with pure
  
  Pur trovando le chiavi, non potrei arrivare in orario al lavoro.
  Even finding my keys, I couldn't arrive on time to work.
  Even if I find my keys, I couldn't arrive on time to work.
  
  
• time (while)
  
  Andando al teatro, ho visto i miei migliori amici.
  (While) going to the theater, I saw my best friends.
  
  
• manner (by)
  
  Studiando sempre, e bene, si è laureata presto.
  By always studying well, she graduated early.

The gerundio also has a past form that is composed of the gerundio of avere or essere along with a past participle -- you use avere or essere depending upon the past participle:

• essendo andato | having gone
  
  Essendo andata al supermercato ieri, Marta ha dimenticato di comprare del latte.
  Having gone to the supermarket yesterday, Marta forgot to buy some milk.
  
  
• avendo giocato | having played
  
  Avendo giocato a tennis con Michele, Giovanni è tornato a casa e ha fatto la doccia.
  Having played tennis with Michele, Giovanni returned home and took a shower.

The compound gerundio refers to an action that has taken place before the action of the main clause, instead of being contemporaneous to the action of the main clause with the gerundio semplice.

Remember: when using the essere form of the compound gerund, make sure that the past participle used with essere agrees with the subject that it refers to. If the subordinate clause which contains the compound gerundio contains a direct object pronoun, the past participle agrees with the pronoun instead of the subject of the main clause.

Also, the compound forms of the gerund are typically used only in writing and are not common in spoken Italian.

This post was challenging to write and research, so if you notice an error or are confused,

please leave a comment so that I can clear up the post and make it flow better.