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Old December 24, 2010, 12:24 PM
AngelicaDeAlquezar's Avatar
AngelicaDeAlquezar AngelicaDeAlquezar is offline
Obsidiana
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Mexico City
Posts: 9,038
Native Language: Mexican Spanish
AngelicaDeAlquezar is on a distinguished road
I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds it hard to specify, but I think daily speech normally allows to avoid the use of the definite article before the infinitive, when the infinitive is the subject of the sentence, and it doesn't have any modifier.

María se va a cambiar de casa, porque dice que el murmurar constante de sus vecinas ya la tiene harta.
María is going to move house because she says she's fed up with the continuous gossipping of her neighbours.

El cantar de los pájaros todas las mañanas me pone de muy buen humor.
The birds' singing every morning puts me in a very good mood.

Me estoy acostumbrando al andar pausado de mi abuelo cuando lo acompaño a pasear.
I'm getting used to my grandfather's slow walking when I accompany him for a walk.



Indefinite articles can also be heard in (Mexican) daily speech, because they underline some sort of uniqueness of the action:

Estoy muy cansada. Hoy fue un ir y venir todo el día, de la casa al mercado, luego al banco, luego a la escuela...
I'm very tired. Today I was coming and going all day long, from home to the market, then to the bank, then to the school...

Pobre Juan, no durmió en toda la noche; era un toser espantoso.
Poor Juan, he couldn't sleep all night long; he was coughing horribly.
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