Using a gerund instead of an infinitive

I am studying Spanish two, lesson 1.4, and wanted to know if I could use this gerund instead of the infinitive that you used. For example: Yo fui pescar. I went fishing. Could you say" Yo fui pescando?. I'm a little confused as to when to use the infinitive and the gerund in this example. Thanks, mcvogel

Hi Mcvogel, You can't really use the gerund "gerundio" in this sentence and simply change the verb, you will need to change the whole sentence... I think a good rule is to remember that in most cases the "gerundio" is used in conjunction with the verb "Estar" like "estoy comiendo", "estoy caminando" or "estoy pescando"... The other instance you can use the "gerundio" is when using it in conjunction with the verbs "seguir" or "continuar"... eg. "sigo caminando" or "continuo pescando"... So I think the sentence you are looking for as in "I went fishing" using the gerund is "yo estuve pescando" I hope that helps. Mauricio.

I believe the gerund which is used in the "progressive" tense if for actions that are happening now (or then).  It is more restricted in Spanish and cannot be used to specify something that is going to happen in the future.

In English, we can say "I am going fishing" but in Spanish we need to say "voy a pescar" and not "estoy yendo pescando".

As for "I will work teaching Spanish", that seems like a rather awkward English construction.  I would seem more natural to say "I will work as a Spanish teacher" but if we must use that construction, I would think it is better to use your second construct, "Trabajaré enseñar español".  The first version doesn't feel right to me.

The first version is the text given in the lesson, that is why I was wondering.

Hi guys,

My translation for "I went fishing" would be "Yo fui a pescar"; try to take the Spanish sentence and translate it into English, I think if you do it backwards it would be harder... Using either infinitive or gerund in a sentence is more flexible in English but not quite in Spanish; in English you could say:

"Walking is good for your lungs"; in Spanish the sentence is "Caminar es bueno para tus/sus pulmones"; you cannot say "Caminando es bueno para tus/sus pulmones"; since the verb is implying a different action.

** For the sentence "I will work teaching Spanish" the right way to say it is "Trabajaré enseñando español". The person is explaining how he/she will work, in this case, "teaching Spanish".

"How will you survive?" - Eating, cooking, sleeping, etc...
"¿Cómo sobrevivirás?" - Comiendo, cocinando, durmiendo, etc...

"How will you work?" - Teaching
"¿Cómo trabajarás?" - Enseñando

I hope this helps! Cheers!

 

Yes, thanks!

Janet