Using the Present Tense Gerund in Italian

Or how to talk about something that’s happening or going to happen

“Che cosa stai facendo in questo momento?” – What are you doing (right now)?

I remember asking this question to my boyfriend multiple times on the nights when we would both be out with our friends but not with each other.

It usually resulted in him telling me: “Sono in discoteca. Stai arrivando?” – I’m at a nightclub. Are you coming?

(He was at the discoteca a lot back then. So was I! Now that we’re in our thirties, I’m sure his response would be vastly different.)

The grammatical form “stai facendo” can be labeled as the gerund (il gerundio). 

You use it to express what’s happening in the moment. If you’re an English speaker, you know that we use words in the -ing form A LOT.

Where are you going? What are you buying? Who are you talking to? What are you working on?

And so on + so forth. 

In Italian, they use this -ing form less frequently than we do, but it’s still common. 

Like so many pieces of grammar, knowing when and how to use the gerund in the present tense comes with practice.

How to form it

Secondo me, in comparison to the other grammatical trickery that Italian introduces, the gerund is simple.

However, that depends on how well you know the other verb tenses.

As long as you know how to conjugate the verb stare – to stay, you’re ready to conjugate the gerund.

Note to the passionate Italian language student: This is a paid article that I hope makes you laugh and love Italian just a little bit more than you already do. If you love this content, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. If you’re looking for free content, try any of the bite-sized lessons.