Verbal periphrases III

What it is

A periphrasis is a conjugated auxiliary plus an infinitive, gerund or participle that adds a point of view to the action: is it growing, still going on, finally happening, suddenly starting? You already use estar + gerund, ir a, acabar de, soler, ponerse a and llevar + gerund. C1 adds the nuances that make storytelling and analysis vivid, and that you hear constantly in natural Spanish.

How to form it

Only the auxiliary is conjugated; the infinitive, gerund or participle stays the same. Pronouns can go before the auxiliary or on the end of the non-finite form: Lo vengo diciendo / Vengo diciéndolo.

When to use it

ir, venir and andar + gerund: movement in time

ir + gerund shows something advancing step by step: El paciente va mejorando. In the imperative it means "start doing it": Ve preparando la mesa mientras termino. venir + gerund looks back from now to a starting point, often with a note of insistence or complaint: Vengo diciéndolo desde hace meses. andar + gerund describes an activity done here and there, without direction: Anda diciendo por ahí que lo van a ascender. It is colloquial and often critical; in Latin America it is also a neutral "be doing": Ando buscando trabajo.

acabar, terminar, llegar a: outcomes

acabar / terminar + gerund and acabar por + infinitive describe what finally happened, often after resistance: Al final acabó aceptando la oferta. llegar a + infinitive marks a goal reached or an extreme: Llegó a ser la primera alcaldesa de su ciudad. Llegó a amenazarme. In the negative it means "not get to": No llegué a ver la exposición.

echarse a, romper a: sudden starts

echarse a + llorar, reír, correr, temblar and romper a + llorar, reír, llover describe an abrupt start, stronger than ponerse a: Al oír la noticia, se echó a llorar. De repente rompió a llover. echarse a needs a person or an animal: rain rompe a llover or se pone a llover.

llevar and tener + participle: results so far

With a transitive verb, llevar or tener + participle counts what has been completed, and the participle agrees with the object: Llevo escritas veinte páginas. Tengo preparadas las preguntas. llevar stresses the progress so far; tener stresses the result available now.

venir a + infinitive: approximation

Viene a costar unos cien dólares (it comes to about…). Esto viene a decir que… (this amounts to saying that…).

• Ve preparando la mesa mientras termino.Start setting the table while I finish.ir + gerund, imperative
• Llegó a amenazarme.He even threatened me.llegar a = an extreme
• Terminamos cenando en un puesto de tacos.We ended up having dinner at a taco stand.outcome

Contrasts and traps

• The participle agrees. Llevo escritas veinte páginas, not escrito. In compound tenses with haber it never agrees: He escrito veinte páginas.
• ir + gerund ≠ ir a + infinitive. Va mejorando (is gradually improving) vs Va a mejorar (is going to improve). Never va a mejorando.
• echarse a needs a. Se echó a llorar, not se echó llorar.
• Rain doesn't "throw itself". Rompió a llover / Se puso a llover, not se echó a llover.
• andar + gerund has attitude. Avoid it in formal reports.

If you speak Portuguese

Good news: ir, vir, andar and acabar + gerund work as in Brazilian Portuguese (vai melhorando, venho dizendo, anda dizendo, acabou aceitando). The real trap is ter + participle. Portuguese tenho escrito muito means "I have been writing a lot lately"; Spanish tengo escritas tres cartas means "I have three letters written": it counts finished results and the participle agrees. For "I've been writing a lot lately", say he escrito mucho últimamente or vengo escribiendo mucho. And caiu no choro / desatou a chorar is se echó a llorar or rompió a llorar.

Practise