The Present Gerund – Il Gerundio Presente
The Present Gerund it is formed by taking off the ending of the verb and replacing it with -ANDO for -ARE verbs, or -ENDO for -ERE or -IRE verbs:
AMARE → AMANDO
CRESCERE → CRESCENDO
SENTIRE → SENTENDO
Examples:
Amando Dario, mi sono sentita finalmente felice (= mentre amavo)Loving Dario, I finally felt happy.
Crescendo, ho imparato ad ascoltare di più gli altri (= mentre crescevo)Growing up, I learned to listen more to others.
Si addormentò, sentendo il rumore della pioggia (= mentre sentiva)He fell asleep, hearing the sound of the rain.
There are some irregular verbs which use their first person singular in the Present Indicative to form the Gerund:
BERE (to drink) → BEVO → BEVENDO
FARE (to make/do) → FACCIO → FACENDO
DIRE (to say) → DICO → DICENDO
Examples:
Mentre stavamo bevendo un aperitivo, abbiamo visto LucaWhile we were drinking an aperitivo, we saw Luca.
Stavo facendo l’esercizio e non ho capito cosa mi stavi dicendoI was doing the exercise and I didn’t understand what you were saying to me.
The Past Gerund – Il Gerundio Passato
The Past Gerund it is formed by “ESSERE” or “AVERE” at the Present Gerund + Past Participle of the verb:
AMARE → AVENDO AMATO
CRESCERE → ESSENDO CRESCIUTO
SENTIRE → AVENDO SENTITO
Examples:
Avendo amato molti uomini, veniva giudicata negativamenteHaving loved many men, she was judged negatively.
Essendo cresciuto in città, non aveva mai visto una mucca!Having grown up in the city, he had never seen a cow!
Avendo sentito dell'incidente, corse in ospedaleHaving heard of the accident, he ran to the hospital.
The Present Progressive – Il Presente Progressivo
The Present Progressive is used to talk about an action happening at the same time we are speaking, like the English Present Continuous.
It is formed with the present tense of the verb “STARE” + GERUND.
| STARE | GERUND | |
| Io | sto | mangiando (-are) leggendo (-ere) partendo (-ire) |
| Tu | stai | |
| Lui/lei/Lei | sta | |
| Noi | stiamo | |
| Voi | state | |
| Loro | stanno |
Dov’è Lucia? Sta bevendo un aperitivo con MartaWhere’s Lucia? She’s drinking an aperitif with Marta.
Cosa stai dicendo? Non riesco a sentirti, la musica è troppo altaWhat are you saying? I can’t hear you, the music is too loud.
Sbrigati! L’autobus sta partendoHurry up! The bus is leaving.
Other use of the verb “STARE”: “STARE PER”+ Infinitive expresses an action which is about to happen, or the English equivalent “to be about to”:
La lezione sta per finire, mancano solo 5 minutiThe lesson is about to finish, there are only 5 minutes left.
Prendi l’ombrello, sta per piovereBring the umbrella, it’s about to rain.
Se vuoi parlare con Paolo chiamalo subito, sta per uscireIf you want to talk to Paolo call him now, he’s about to go out.
The Imperfect Progressive – L’Imperfetto Progressivo
The Imperfect Progressive tense is used to express actions that were in progress at some point in the past. It is formed with “STARE” in Imperfect tense + GERUND.
| STARE | GERUND | |
| Io | stavo | mangiando (-are) leggendo (-ere) partendo (-ire) |
| Tu | stavi | |
| Lui/lei/Lei | stava | |
| Noi | stavamo | |
| Voi | stavate | |
| Loro | stavano |
Quando ero piccola mi piaceva il gelatoWhen I was younger I liked ice cream.
Quando vivevo a Rimini mi alzavo tardi e poi andavo al mareWhen I lived in Rimini I got up late and then went to the sea.
Nel 2008 andavo in palestra tutti i pomeriggiIn 2008 I went to the gym every afternoon.
We can use the Imperfect Indicative or the Imperfect Progressive form with the same meaning when we want to express an action in progress in the past:Mentre Francesca stava mangiando/mangiava la pizza, Luca stava ascoltando/ascoltava la musicaWhile Francesca was eating/ate the pizza, Luca was listening/listened to music.
Mentre Carlo stava leggendo/leggeva, Marta e Luisa stavano chiacchierando/ chiacchieravanoWhile Carlo was reading/read, Marta and Luisa were chatting/chatted.