C1 · Advanced

Advanced verbal periphrases

Periphrases with venir, ir, andar, llevar sin, quedar por, dar por, tener + participle, llegar a, acabar por and echarse a.

Gerund periphrases: venir, ir and andar + gerund

venir + gerund emphasizes a process that has been going on for a while and continues up to now, often with a slightly negative connotation. ir + gerund emphasizes a gradual, step-by-step development. andar + gerund describes an activity without a clear purpose, often with a disapproving connotation ('going around doing').

Perifrasis/PeriphrasisBetekenis/Meaning
venir + gerundioaanhoudend proces uit het verleden tot nu / ongoing process from past to now
ir + gerundiogeleidelijke ontwikkeling / gradual development
andar + gerundiodoelloze of afkeurende activiteit / aimless or disapproving activity

Examples

Vengo diciéndotelo desde hace meses.I've been telling you this for months.
El proyecto va mejorando poco a poco.The project is gradually improving.
Anda quejándose de todo últimamente.He's been going around complaining about everything lately.
Vamos avanzando, aunque despacio.We're making progress, even if slowly.

llevar + gerund and llevar sin + infinitive

llevar + gerund indicates the duration of an action that is still ongoing. llevar sin + infinitive indicates the duration of something that is not happening.

Perifrasis/PeriphrasisBetekenis/Meaning
llevar + gerundioduur van een lopende actie / duration of an ongoing action
llevar sin + infinitivoduur van iets dat niet gebeurt / duration of something not happening

Examples

Llevo tres años viviendo en Madrid.I've been living in Madrid for three years.
Llevo dos semanas sin dormir bien.I haven't slept well in two weeks.
Lleva un año sin fumar.He hasn't smoked in a year.

quedar por + infinitive and dar por + participle

quedar por + infinitive indicates that something still needs to be done (still pending). dar por + participle indicates that you consider or declare something to be a fact, without it necessarily being fully so. The participle agrees with the noun.

Examples

Quedan por resolver varios problemas.Several problems still remain to be solved.
Queda por ver si funcionará.It remains to be seen whether it will work.
Doy por terminada la reunión.I declare the meeting over.
Daban por perdido el partido.They considered the match lost.

tener + participle and llegar a + infinitive

tener + participle (agreeing in gender/number with the object) emphasizes the accumulated result of a repeated action. llegar a + infinitive expresses that someone eventually reaches an extreme point or achieves something, sometimes surprisingly.

Examples

Tengo leídas más de cien páginas.I've already read more than a hundred pages.
Tiene dicho lo mismo mil veces.He's said the same thing a thousand times already.
Llegó a ser director de la empresa.He eventually became director of the company.
Llegó a dudar de sus propias decisiones.He even got to the point of doubting his own decisions.

acabar por + infinitive and echarse a + infinitive

acabar por + infinitive means that after a process of doubt or resistance, someone ends up doing something anyway. echarse a + infinitive expresses the sudden start of an action, often with verbs like llorar, reír, correr or andar.

Examples

Acabó por aceptar la oferta.He ended up accepting the offer.
Tanto insistir, acabé por decirle la verdad.After so much insisting, I ended up telling him the truth.
Se echó a llorar sin motivo aparente.She suddenly burst into tears for no apparent reason.
Al ver al perro, el niño se echó a correr.When he saw the dog, the child suddenly started running.

💡 Tips

💡
'venir + gerund' often has a slightly negative connotation ('this has been going on for a while, and it's annoying'), while 'llevar + gerund' is more neutral.
💡
'tener + participle' is one of the few cases where the participle agrees with the direct object in gender and number (tengo escritas tres cartas).
💡
Remember the difference: 'acabar por' = eventually, after resistance or doubt; 'llegar a' = reaching a limit or peak, sometimes surprisingly.

🎯 Practise this topic with 10 interactive exercises (10)

Related grammar

The futuro and condicional of probability
How to use futuro, futuro perfecto, condicional and condicional compuesto to express a guess or supposition, and how to use 'deber de'.
Nuances of the subjunctive
How indicativo and subjuntivo change the meaning after aunque, cuando and quizás, and why negation often triggers the subjunctive.

← Formal and informal registerComplex sentences and subordination →

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