Daniela explains what are called "indefinite modes." They are indefinite because they don't refer directly to a person or object. They commonly occur in a subordinate clause, and we need the context of the main clause to give us that information. There are three forms: the infinitive, the past participle, and the gerund.

In Italian, there's not only a past participle, as in English, there is also a present participle. Many nouns and adjectives we use every day come from this tense, as well as from the past participle.

In this segment, Daniela talks about the gerund. As you will see, in Italian, the gerund is often used by itself, whereas in English we need an extra word before it — a conjunction or preposition. We are on more familiar ground when Daniela talks about using a gerund with the verb stare (to be) to form what we call the present continuous or present progressive.

Daniela gives us some more examples of gerunds used in subordinate clauses. Asking ourselves what questions the gerund answers can help us understand its role in a sentence.