Spanish gerundio: conjugation/form of a verb (ending -ndo)
that shows an action in progress (without being specific). In general:
-ar verbs → stem + -ando
-er and -ir verbs → stem + -iendo
Estoy buscando – I’m looking for (compound verb)
Salío corriendo – He went out (left) running (used as an
adverb)
In general, the progressive/continuous tenses are:
estar + gerundio
e.g.,
Él estaba leyendo – He was reading (imperfect)
Estoy leyendo – I am reading (present)
Estuve leyendo – I was reading (past – not actually progressive/continuous)
Estará trabajando – He will be working (future)
In English
- the gerund is the noun form of a verb, ending in -ing, as in:
Swimming is fun. This use, in Spanish, uses the infinitive
of the verb: Es divertido nadar.
- the present participle is the -ing form used in compound verbs:
I’m swimming (Estoy nadando).
Hence gerundio best matches present participle