Italian Gerund (Gerundio): Forms, Uses, and the Subject Trap

Italian gerundio is not the English gerund: the false friend to remove first

English calls two very different forms gerund: the verbal noun (“Swimming is good for you”, “I enjoy reading”) and the progressive-continuous participle (“She is reading”). Italian never uses the gerundio as a noun and never uses it as the subject of a sentence. When English says Swimming is good for you, Italian says Nuotare fa bene, with an infinitive. When English says I enjoy reading, Italian says Mi piace leggere. The Italian gerundio appears only in two zones: inside a progressive construction with stare (and, in elevated style, with andare or venire), and as an adverbial clause that adds means, cause, time, or condition to a main verb.

How to form the Italian gerundio: -ando and -endo

The gerundio is a single invariant form. First-conjugation verbs (-are) take -ando. Second and third conjugation verbs (-ere, -ire) take -endo. No gender, no number, no agreement with anything.

Infinito	Conjugation	Gerundio
lavorare	-are	lavorando
preparare	-are	preparando
scrivere	-ere	scrivendo
prendere	-ere	prendendo
partire	-ire	partendo
finire	-ire	finendo

A handful of verbs build the gerundio from the imperfect root, not from the infinitive. If you already know the io form of the imperfect, you already know the gerundio: drop -vo, add -ndo.

Infinito	Imperfetto (io)	Gerundio
fare	facevo	facendo
dire	dicevo	dicendo
bere	bevevo	bevendo
produrre	producevo	producendo
tradurre	traducevo	traducendo
porre	ponevo	ponendo

Same pattern for the -durre family (condurre, dedurre, sedurre, indurre) and the -porre family (comporre, esporre, opporre, supporre). The only verb that really refuses to behave is essere: imperfect ero, gerundio essendo.

Stare + gerundio: the Italian progressive (present, past, future)

The most visible use of the gerundio is the progressive construction stare + gerundio. It signals an action in full unfolding at the reference time. Italian treats this construction as optional: Anna legge il giornale and Anna sta leggendo il giornale both describe the same moment, but the progressive form puts the spotlight on the action in motion.

Present progressive: sto facendo

Persona	parlare	scrivere	dormire
io	sto parlando	sto scrivendo	sto dormendo
tu	stai parlando	stai scrivendo	stai dormendo
lui / lei	sta parlando	sta scrivendo	sta dormendo
noi	stiamo parlando	stiamo scrivendo	stiamo dormendo
voi	state parlando	state scrivendo	state dormendo
loro	stanno parlando	stanno scrivendo	stanno dormendo

• Non posso rispondere adesso, sto guidando in tangenziale.
  I can’t answer right now, I’m driving on the ring road.
• La caldaia sta facendo un rumore strano da stamattina.
  The boiler has been making a strange noise since this morning.
• Stiamo ristrutturando il bagno, quindi per due settimane ci laviamo dai vicini.
  We are renovating the bathroom, so for two weeks we wash at the neighbours’.

Past progressive: stavo facendo

Persona	parlare	scrivere	dormire
io	stavo parlando	stavo scrivendo	stavo dormendo
tu	stavi parlando	stavi scrivendo	stavi dormendo
lui / lei	stava parlando	stava scrivendo	stava dormendo
noi	stavamo parlando	stavamo scrivendo	stavamo dormendo
voi	stavate parlando	stavate scrivendo	stavate dormendo
loro	stavano parlando	stavano scrivendo	stavano dormendo

• Mentre stavo chiudendo la valigia è saltata via la cerniera.
  While I was closing the suitcase the zipper popped off.
• Stavamo discutendo il contratto quando è saltata la corrente.
  We were going through the contract when the power went out.
• Al telefono ha detto che stava uscendo dalla metro.
  On the phone she said she was getting off the metro.

Like the present progressive, the past progressive is optional: stavo cucinando and cucinavo cover the same imperfect-aspect territory. The progressive version just foregrounds the action in development as the background to a second event.

Future progressive: starò facendo

Persona	parlare	scrivere	dormire
io	starò parlando	starò scrivendo	starò dormendo
tu	starai parlando	starai scrivendo	starai dormendo
lui / lei	starà parlando	starà scrivendo	starà dormendo
noi	staremo parlando	staremo scrivendo	staremo dormendo
voi	starete parlando	starete scrivendo	starete dormendo
loro	staranno parlando	staranno scrivendo	staranno dormendo

• Domani alle undici starò facendo l’ecografia, quindi chiamami nel pomeriggio.
  Tomorrow at eleven I will be having the ultrasound, so call me in the afternoon.
• Quando atterri a Fiumicino, noi staremo ancora cenando.
  When you land at Fiumicino we will still be having dinner.

Where stare + gerundio cannot go

The progressive with stare is not universally available. There are four blocking zones English speakers step on all the time.

1. State verbs. A verb that describes a state rather than an incremental activity refuses the progressive: essere, stare, avere (in the sense of possess), possedere, sapere, capire, volere, potere, dovere, giacere, sedere, rimanere/restare. You say So l’italiano, not *Sto sapendo l’italiano. You say Voglio un caffè, not *Sto volendo un caffè. The same verbs become available only when they switch from state to action: Sta avendo molto successo works because avere means obtain, not possess.

2. Bounded time spans. A sentence that names a closed interval (“for five minutes”, “until midnight”) rejects stare. You cannot say *Stavo mangiando solo per cinque minuti. Use the simple imperfetto or passato prossimo instead: Ho mangiato solo per cinque minuti.

3. Interrupted or repeated actions. If the activity happens in separated bursts (“every three days”, “twice a week”), progressive stare does not fit. *Stava pulendo la stanza ogni tre giorni is wrong; Puliva la stanza ogni tre giorni is right.

4. Unavailable tenses. Stare + gerundio lives in four tense forms only: infinitive, future, present, imperfect. It does not exist in the passato prossimo (*è stato mangiando), in the passato remoto (*stette mangiando), or in the passive (*sta essendo letto). It also resists modal stacking: *Può stare leggendo, *Deve stare leggendo are marginal at best.

Starà dormendo: the future-of-probability

Italian uses the future form of stare + gerundio for something very different from an actual future event: a probability judgement about the present. When you say Starà dormendo, you are not predicting what will happen tomorrow; you are guessing what is probably happening now, given the evidence.

• Non risponde al citofono: starà facendo la doccia.
  She isn’t answering the intercom: she is probably in the shower.
• Le luci del cortile sono accese: i vicini staranno rientrando proprio adesso.
  The courtyard lights are on: the neighbours are probably coming back right now.
• Mauro ha detto che partiva presto: a quest’ora starà già guidando verso Bologna.
  Mauro said he was leaving early: by now he is probably already driving towards Bologna.

English reaches for must be + -ing or is probably + -ing for this meaning. Italian packs it into one tense.

Gerundio as adverb: means, manner, cause, simultaneity

Outside the progressive, the gerundio’s main job is to glue a second action to a main clause with no conjunction. One verb does the work that English normally hands to by …-ing, while …-ing, since …-ing, or as I was …-ing. The Italian reader recovers the relation from context.

• Means (by …-ing). Ho risparmiato cinquanta euro cambiando gestore telefonico. / I saved fifty euros by changing phone carrier.
• Manner / attitude. Parlando francamente, non sono convinta del preventivo. / Speaking frankly, I am not convinced by the quote.
• Cause / reason. Non avendo la ricevuta, non hanno voluto rimborsarmi. / Because I didn’t have the receipt, they refused to refund me.
• Simultaneity. Ho incontrato Giulia uscendo dal supermercato. / I ran into Giulia as I was coming out of the supermarket.
• Hypothetical condition. Partendo alle sei, arriviamo in ufficio per le otto. / If we leave at six, we get to the office by eight.
• Coordination. Ha lavorato tutta la notte consegnando il rapporto all’alba. / He worked all night and handed in the report at dawn.

All of these sentences share one structural trait: the subject of the gerundio is the same as the subject of the main verb. I saved, I changed carrier. I ran into Giulia, I was coming out. We leave, we arrive. Keep that fact in mind for the trap at H2 10.

Pur + gerundio: the elegant “even though”

Place the particle pur in front of a gerundio and you get a tight, formal-but-alive way of saying even though, although, despite the fact that. It is one of the two most useful concessive tools in written Italian (the other being sebbene/benché + congiuntivo).

• Pur conoscendo tutti i clienti, non è riuscita a chiudere il contratto.
  Even though she knew every client, she did not close the deal.
• Pur avendo due lauree, fa fatica a trovare lavoro nella sua città.
  Even though he has two degrees, he struggles to find work in his city.
• Sofia pur essendo la più giovane del team, coordina il progetto.
  Sofia, although she is the youngest on the team, coordinates the project.

Two small rules: the subject of pur + gerundio must match the subject of the main clause, and pur does not take an apostrophe in this use (it is not the short form of pure in the sense of also, which does keep the apostrophe in expressions like pur’io, rare and literary).

Perfective gerundio (avendo / essendo + past participle): “because”, never “after”

The gerundio has a compound form made of avendo or essendo plus the past participle: avendo mangiato, essendo arrivato, avendo deciso, essendosi addormentata. English calls the equivalent having + past participle. The trap for English speakers is that Italian avendo fatto means only one thing: since / because / given that something happened. It never means after.

• Avendo perso il treno, ho preso un taxi.
  Since I had missed the train, I took a taxi. / Because I had missed the train, I took a taxi.
• Essendo partita troppo tardi, Lucia è rimasta bloccata nel traffico.
  Because she left too late, Lucia got stuck in traffic.
• Avendo già firmato il preliminare, non possiamo più ritirarci.
  Given that we have already signed the preliminary contract, we can no longer pull out.

For plain after, Italian does not use the perfective gerundio. It uses dopo + infinito passato or dopo che + finite verb:

• Dopo aver chiuso negozio, siamo andati a mangiare una pizza.
  After closing the shop, we went for a pizza.
• Dopo essere tornata a casa, Anna si è addormentata sul divano.
  After getting home, Anna fell asleep on the sofa.

Non + gerundio vs senza + infinito: “by not” versus “without”

English mixes two different ideas in one word. Italian keeps them apart:

• Non + gerundio = by not …-ing. The missing action is the means by which the main event happens.
  Ho convinto il capo non insistendo troppo sui numeri. / I convinced the boss by not hammering on the numbers.
• Senza + infinito = without …-ing. The missing action is simply absent; it is not the tool.
  Ho convinto il capo senza insistere sui numeri. / I convinced the boss without hammering on the numbers.

Both English translations start with without or by not, but Italian forces you to pick. If the absence is doing the work, use non + gerundio. If the absence is just a passive co-fact, use senza + infinito.

The subject trap: why “Ho visto il ragazzo uscendo dalla chiesa” is a minefield

This is the single most expensive gerundio mistake English speakers make, and no competitor guide we have seen flags it clearly. The Italian gerundio carries its subject from the main verb. In Ho visto il ragazzo uscendo dalla chiesa, the subject of uscendo is io, not il ragazzo. The sentence means I saw the boy as I was coming out of the church, not I saw the boy who was coming out of the church.

• Ho incontrato il professore passeggiando in centro.
  → I met the professor as I was walking downtown. (I am the walker, not him.)
• Abbiamo salutato i nonni salendo sul treno.
  → We said goodbye to our grandparents as we were boarding the train. (We are boarding.)

To say I saw the boy while he was coming out of the church — the reading most English speakers intend — Italian uses the pseudo-relative che + verb:

• Ho visto il ragazzo che usciva dalla chiesa.
• Ho incontrato il professore che passeggiava in centro.
• Abbiamo salutato i nonni che salivano sul treno.

There are two limited exceptions worth knowing but not worth imitating in everyday speech. In formal written Italian the gerundio can carry its own explicit subject, placed after the verb: Uscendo il ragazzo dalla chiesa, lo vidi. And a few fixed expressions treat the gerundio as generic-impersonal: L’appetito vien mangiando (“appetite comes as one eats”). Both are legitimate; neither is the first tool you reach for.

When the English gerund equals Italian infinito (gerund as noun)

Italian cannot use the gerundio as a noun, a subject, an object, or after a preposition. Every English -ing in these roles becomes an infinito.

• Swimming is good for the back → Nuotare fa bene alla schiena.
• I love cooking at home → Mi piace cucinare a casa.
• She stopped smoking last year → Ha smesso di fumare l’anno scorso.
• Before leaving, close the window → Prima di partire, chiudi la finestra.
• Thanks for calling me back → Grazie per avermi richiamato.

The pattern holds for every preposition: di, a, da, prima di, dopo (di), senza, invece di, oltre a. All of them introduce an infinito, never a gerundio. For the full catalogue of infinitive uses see our dedicated guide to the Italian infinitive.

Un dialogo — Elena e Marco, giornata storta

📌 Italian gerundio at a glance

🎯 Mini-challenge

Turn each sentence into correct Italian. Solutions at the end of the list.

1. She is probably studying right now. (probability)
2. Even though he is tired, he keeps working. (pur + ger)
3. I met Paolo as I was leaving the gym. (simultaneity, same subject)
4. Because we had booked late, we paid more. (perfective)
5. After paying the bill, we left the restaurant. (NOT gerundio)
6. Reading is my favourite hobby. (gerund as noun)
7. I convinced her by not raising my voice. (non + ger)
8. I saw the child playing in the yard. (different subject)

Answers: 1. Starà studiando adesso. 2. Pur essendo stanco, continua a lavorare. 3. Ho incontrato Paolo uscendo dalla palestra. 4. Avendo prenotato tardi, abbiamo pagato di più. 5. Dopo aver pagato il conto, siamo usciti dal ristorante. 6. Leggere è il mio hobby preferito. 7. L’ho convinta non alzando la voce. 8. Ho visto il bambino che giocava in cortile.

Practice Italian with a real teacher

FAQ: Italian gerund, the real doubts

Related reading on dante-learning.com: the Italian infinitive, Italian adverbs: the complete guide, Italian modal verbs.

For the fully technical description of the gerundio in Italian you can consult the Treccani entry on gerundio.