The Italian gerundio is the -ando / -endo form of the verb (parlando, leggendo, dormendo). It can be used in two ways: together with the verb stare, to say what is happening right now, or on its own, to explain how or why something happens. The good news? It’s one of the most regular forms in Italian.
In short
- -are verbs take -ando: parlare → parlando
- -ere and -ire verbs take -endo: leggere → leggendo, dormire → dormendo
- Stare + gerund = an action in progress: Sto mangiando
- The gerund alone often means “by / while / since doing something”: Studiando, ho imparato
- The gerund never changes: no gender, no number
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How to form the gerund
Take the stem of the infinitive and add -ando for -are verbs and -endo for -ere and -ire verbs.
| Infinitive | Gerund |
|---|---|
| amare | amando |
| avere | avendo |
| finire | finendo |
Only a few verbs are irregular. They build the gerund from their old Latin stem, the same one you see in the imperfect (facevo, dicevo, bevevo):
| Infinitive | Gerund |
|---|---|
| fare | facendo |
| dire | dicendo |
| bere | bevendo |
| porre (and proporre, supporre…) | ponendo |
| tradurre (and all -urre verbs) | traducendo |
Stare + gerund: the progressive form
The gerund with the verb stare makes the continuous tenses. We use it to stress that an action is in progress at a specific moment.
Present continuous
It describes an action happening right now, at the time of speaking: present of stare + gerund.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Sto andando al lavoro. | I’m going to work (right now). |
| Sto parlando con Maria. | I’m talking to Maria (right now). |
| Che cosa stai facendo? | What are you doing? |
Past continuous
It describes an action that was in progress at a certain moment in the past: imperfect of stare + gerund.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Stavo andando al lavoro quando mi hai chiamato. | I was going to work when you called me. |
| Stavo parlando con Maria. | I was talking to Maria. |
Careful
Italian uses this form much less than English. To talk about habits or the near future, the simple present is enough: Lavoro in una banca (I work / I’m working at a bank), Domani parto (I’m leaving tomorrow). And stare + gerund is never used in the passato prossimo.
The gerund on its own
While you may be more familiar with the gerund together with stare, it can also be used on its own. In this case it usually explains how, why or when something happens, a bit like the English “by / while / since + -ing.”
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Studiando molto, è riuscita a entrare in quell’università. | By studying hard, she managed to get into that university. |
| Non avendo molto tempo, prenderò un taxi per l’aeroporto. | Since I don’t have much time, I’ll take a taxi to the airport. |
| Correndo ogni giorno, ho perso 3 chili in un mese. | By running every day, I lost 3 kilos in a month. |
| Vivendo in Italia per due mesi, ho migliorato la mia pronuncia. | By living in Italy for two months, I improved my pronunciation. |
| Tornando a casa, ho incontrato Luca. | While I was going home, I ran into Luca. |
Three things to remember
- The gerund never changes its form: no gender, no number.
- The gerund has no subject of its own. It takes the subject of the main verb: studiando, ho imparato (io) / studiando, abbiamo imparato (noi).
- The Italian gerund doesn’t always translate the English -ing form (see below).
Italian gerund vs. English -ing
The two look similar, but they don’t always work the same way.
- In English, the -ing form can follow another verb: he started playing. In Italian, you use a preposition + the infinitive: ha iniziato a giocare.
- In English, the -ing form is often used as a noun: eating healthy is important. In Italian, you can’t use the gerund as a noun. Use the infinitive instead: mangiare sano è importante.
- After prepositions, English uses -ing, Italian uses the infinitive: before leaving → prima di partire.
The past gerund (gerundio composto)
The past gerund is formed with the gerund of avere (avendo) or essere (essendo) + the past participle. Verbs that take essere in the passato prossimo take essendo here too, and the participle agrees with the subject.
| Infinitive | Past gerund |
|---|---|
| andare | essendo andato/a |
| credere | avendo creduto |
| dormire | avendo dormito |
We use it when the action happened before the one in the main sentence.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Avendo mangiato troppo ieri sera, ha deciso di saltare il pranzo. | Having eaten too much last night, he decided to skip lunch. |
| Avendo vissuto molti anni in Brasile, adesso parla perfettamente portoghese. | Having lived in Brazil for many years, she now speaks perfect Portuguese. |
| Essendo arrivati tardi, abbiamo perso l’inizio del film. | Since we arrived late, we missed the beginning of the movie. |
Other uses of the gerund
Pur + gerund: “even though”
When the gerund, present (pur facendo) or past (pur essendo andato), comes after the conjunction pur, it means “even though.”
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Pur facendo una dieta ferrea, non riesco a dimagrire. | Even though I’m on a strict diet, I can’t lose weight. |
| Pur avendo studiato ogni giorno, non ho passato l’esame. | Even though I studied every single day, I didn’t pass the exam. |
The gerund instead of an “if” clause
Sometimes the gerund replaces an “if” clause. It’s not very common in speech, but you’ll find it in books and newspapers.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Studiando di più, supereresti l’esame. | If you studied more, you would pass the exam. |
Andare + gerund
With andare, the gerund expresses an action that develops little by little. It’s typical of written and formal Italian.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| Il tasso di natalità in Italia va diminuendo. | The birth rate in Italy is steadily decreasing. |
Gerund and pronouns
With stare + gerund, pronouns can go before stare or be attached to the end of the gerund. The first option is much more common and sounds more natural.
- Mi sto lavando i denti. / Sto lavandomi i denti. (I’m brushing my teeth.)
- Lo sto leggendo adesso. (I’m reading it now.)
When the gerund is used alone, the pronoun is always attached to the end of the verb.
- Guardandomi allo specchio, mi sono resa conto di avere qualche capello bianco. (Looking at myself in the mirror, I realized I had a few gray hairs.)
- Vedendolo, ho sorriso. (When I saw him, I smiled.)
Exercises
Use it or lose it! Here are some links to practice the gerund:
- Gerund exercises (advanced)
Frequently asked questions
How do you form the gerund in Italian?
Add -ando to the stem of -are verbs (parlare → parlando) and -endo to the stem of -ere and -ire verbs (leggere → leggendo, dormire → dormendo). Only a few verbs are irregular, like fare → facendo, dire → dicendo and bere → bevendo.
What is the difference between “sto mangiando” and “mangio”?
Sto mangiando stresses that the action is happening right now. Mangio is the simple present, which Italian also uses for actions in progress, habits and the near future.
Can I use the Italian gerund as a noun, like in English?
No. Where English uses an -ing noun (Swimming is fun), Italian uses the infinitive: Nuotare è divertente.
The gerund is everywhere in stories: characters are always stavano facendo something when the plot turns. Reading is the easiest way to get used to it. Here are three intermediate stories to try:
Cioccolato, Amore e Torino
Level B1+
Marie’s journey continues in Turin, between love, creativity and chocolate.
