descrevendo

Descrevendo is the gerund form of the Portuguese verb descrever, meaning to describe. In Portuguese grammar, the gerund (-ndo form) marks ongoing or concurrent action and is commonly used with auxiliary verbs such as estar to form the progressive aspect, as in Estou descrevendo o objeto. It can also function as a non-finite clause that describes the manner or circumstances of an action, for example: Descrevendo com detalhes, ele apresentou o relatório.

The word originates from Latin describere and shares its root with other descriptors in Romance languages. In Brazilian Portuguese, the gerund is widely used in everyday speech to signal ongoing actions. In European Portuguese, some prescriptive grammars prefer a periphrastic construction, such as estar a descrever, to express ongoing action, and discourage overuse of the bare gerund in formal writing.

The gerund can appear in non-finite clauses to provide additional information about concurrent actions, for instance: Enquanto ele descrevia, a audiência tomava notas. It also appears in adjectival phrases to describe a process, though this usage can be less common and sometimes considered stylistically heavy in formal prose. Related terms include descrever (to describe), descrição (description), and gerúndio (gerund).