'El' with verbs?

[lollykh]

Hey guys

In some grammar books, I have seen sentences like this:

El vivir en Madrid es muy agradable and

El beber puede conducir a la intoxicación e incluso a la muerte.

Could anyone tell me why is the masculine definite article before the infinitive? Obviously verbs are not gendered.

[Rusty]

Welcome to the forums!

What you're calling a verb is actually an infinitive. An infinitive acts as a noun. As such, a masculine article may precede it.

The translation of the Spanish construct into English also employs a noun, one that also happens to look like a verb. This noun is called a gerund in English. The equivalent of the English gerund is the Spanish infinitive. Both function as nouns.

Living in Madrid is very nice.
Drinking can lead to poisoning, even death.

[JPablo]

Rusty's answer is spot on.

Antonio Machado had some verses that read,

Entre el vivir y el soñar
hay una tercera cosa,
adivínala.

[Between living and dreaming,
there is a third thing,
you need to guess what.]
[or "divine which one"]

Welcome to the forums!