comprendendo

Comprendendo is the present participle (gerund) of the Portuguese verb compreender, meaning to understand or to comprehend. It translates to “understanding” or “comprehending” in English and is used to express ongoing action or state, as in “Estou compreendendo” (I am understanding).

Etymology: Comprender comes from Latin comprehendere, meaning “to seize together,” formed by the prefix com- and the root prehendere. The modern Portuguese verb lineage includes related nouns such as compreensão (understanding) and adjectives like compreensível (understandable).

Usage: In Brazilian Portuguese, the gerund is commonly used to form progressive tenses: “Ele está compreendendo as instruções.” In European Portuguese, speakers often prefer “está a compreender” or alternative constructions for ongoing action, and the gerund is less frequent in formal writing. The gerund generally denotes ongoing cognitive processing rather than a completed understanding.

Other senses: The verb compreender also has the sense of “to include” or “to comprise” (as in a set or text). The gerund form is rarely used in that sense; the present or other tenses are normally employed (e.g., “este livro compreende várias seções”).

Related terms: compreensão (noun), compreensível (adjective meaning understandable), incompreensível (incomprehensible). The verb is cognate with Spanish entender/comprender, which share similar forms such as comprendiendo in the present progressive.

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