When not to use the gerund

[artistnatural]

Hola todos!
I created a DO and DON'T list The present progressive and if it requires a gerund progressive) or an infinitive.


Do Use the gerund

1> Estoy mirándole I am watching him (implies right now -present progressive)
2> He estado hablando I have been speaking
3> Estaba viajando i was traveling (implies still currently traveling)
4> Estuve viajando I was traveling (implies not currently traveling)
5> Estaré viajando, I will be traveling
6> Estaría mirándole I would be watching him.


Do not use the gerund

7> I like to dance Me gusta bailar
8> We are eating at 7 "Nosotros comer a las siete" .

(?) 9> Seeing is believing Ver es creer is correct but why?


(?) 10> Speaking Spanish is fun Hablar español es divertido is correct but why

11>I like eating. Me gusta comer.

12> I bought the running shoes Compré los zapatos de correr


13> She has a man-eating tiger Tiene un tigreque come hombres.

I would love input particularly on 9, 10
Thank you all

[Rusty]

First off, the gerund in English is not the gerundio in Spanish.

In English, the -ing form of the verb that functions as a noun is called the gerund.
The -ing form of the verb that is used to form the progressive is called the present participle.
Both the gerund and the present participle can be used as adjectives in English.

In Spanish, the form of the verb that functions as a noun is called the infinitivo.
The form of the verb that is used to create the progressive is called the gerundio.
Neither the infinitivo nor the gerundio can be used as adjectives in Spanish.
¡Hola a todos!
...

Do Use the gerundio
1> Estoy mirándolo. I am watching him. (implies right now - present progressive)
2> He estado hablando. I have been speaking.
3> Estaba viajando. I was traveling. (implies still currently traveling)
4> Estuve viajando. I was traveling. (implies not currently traveling)
5> Estaré viajando. I will be traveling.
6> Estaría mirándolo. I would be watching him.

Do not use the gerundio (Use the infinitive instead)
7> I like to dance. (also: I like dancing.) Me gusta bailar.
8> We are eating at 7. (Nosotros) Comemos a las siete.
(This example demonstrates one of the possible translations of the simple present tense and, therefore, doesn't belong in this group.)

9> Seeing is believing. Ver es creer, is correct, but why?
10> Speaking Spanish is fun. Hablar español es divertido, is correct, but why?
11> I like eating. Me gusta comer.
(Here you didn't ask why it is correct. I hope you can see why this and the two above are correct. You use the infinitive in Spanish as the equivalent to the English gerund.)

12> I bought the running shoes. Compré los zapatos de correr.
(In English, the gerund can be used as an adjective. Not so in Spanish. You use the prepositional phrase with an infinitive as its object.)

13> She has a man-eating tiger. Ella tiene un tigre que come hombres.
(The English gerund that acts as an adjective is sometimes conveyed with a noun clause. Since the infinitive doesn't appear in the noun clause, it doesn't belong in this group.)In both English and Spanish, the present participle (the gerundio in Spanish) can be used as an adverb.

[artistnatural]

¡Hola a Rusty y todos!

I have rewritten my notes to (I HOPE CORRECTLY) to include your corrections. Thank you very much for your help


DoUse the gerundio: mirando, viajando, escribiendo, and so on
...when constructing progressives (use estar + gerundio)

01> I am watching him. Estoy mirándolo, (implies right now - present progressive)
02> I have been speaking. He estado hablando.
03> I was traveling. Estaba viajando, (implies still currently traveling -past progressive)
04> I was traveling. Estuve viajando, (implies not currently traveling -past progressive)
05> I will be traveling. Estaré viajando, (-future progressive)
06> I would be watching him. Estaría mirándolo, (-conditional progressive)

Do NOT use the gerundiooutside of the progrssives (recast to use the infinitive instead) . Recasting the sentence allows the use of the infinitive, as a close equivalent to the English gerund.


07> I like dancing, (recast as I like to dance or It is pleasing to me to dance), Me gusta bailar.
08> We are eating at 7, (recast as We eat at 7), Nosotros comemos a las siete.
09> Seeing is believing, (recast as To see is to believe), Ver es creer.
10> Speaking Spanish is fun, (recast as To speak Spanish is fun), Hablar español es divertido.
11> I like eating. (recast as It is pleasing to me to eat), Me gusta comer.
12> I bought the running shoes. (recast as I bought the shoes to run), Compré los zapatos de correr.
13> She has a man-eating tiger. (She has a tiger that eats men), Ella tiene un tigre que come hombres.


Note:
In English, the gerund can be used as an adjective. Not so in Spanish. You use the prepositional phrase with an infinitive as its object.
I hope the above indicates my understanding of what you wrote me