cortando

Cortando is the gerund form of the verb cortar in Spanish and Portuguese, meaning “cutting.” It corresponds to the English present participle and is used to express ongoing or simultaneous actions, depending on the language and regional usage.

In Spanish, cortando typically forms the progressive aspect with estar: Estoy cortando las verduras. It can also function as an adverbial modifier: Cerró la puerta, cortando para evitar el ruido. While common in everyday language, the Spanish gerund is sometimes avoided in formal writing, where a more explicit verb form or a subordinate clause is preferred.

In Brazilian Portuguese, cortando is commonly used with estar to indicate ongoing action: Estou cortando os legumes. It is widely understood in casual speech. In European Portuguese, the progressive sense is more often conveyed with estar a cortar: Estou a cortar os legumes. Nonetheless, cortando appears in colloquial speech and written texts, especially in contexts mirroring Brazilian usage.

Usage notes and examples:

- Cortando describes actions such as cutting food, materials, or other objects (Cortando madeira, ele mediu o tempo).

- It can appear with adverbs or prepositional phrases to specify manner or tempo, e.g., cortando lentamente, cortando de pressa.

- In both languages, the gerund is not used to form perfect tenses on its own; auxiliary verbs are required to express aspect clearly.

See also: cortar, gerúndio, progressive aspect, estar (Portuguese).