Duration: portar + gerund
"Portar + gerund" counts the time accumulated by the moment: Porto dos anys corrent — I have been running for two years now. Literally "I carry two years running": the action began then and is still with you. The gerund here is the one from unit 7: "-ant" for "-ar", "-ent" for the rest. For example: “Porto dos anys corrent cada matí” — I have been running every morning for two years now. A rule from the Valencian…
How it works
"Portar + gerund" counts the time accumulated by the moment: Porto dos anys corrent — I have been running for two years now. Literally "I carry two years running": the action began then and is still with you. The gerund here is the one from unit 7: "-ant" for "-ar", "-ent" for the rest.
The sense coincides with the familiar "fa X que + present": Fa dos anys que corro — the same thing, slightly more neutral. The difference is in the mood: "porto… corrent" stresses the stubborn "I am not quitting". Next to it lives the gradualness of "anar + gerund": Vaig millorant — it keeps getting better. Three frames — three answers to the question "how long, and how is it going".
Table
| frame | meaning | example |
|---|---|---|
| portar + gerundi | long ago and still going | porto dos anys corrent |
| fa X que + present | the same, more neutral | fa dos anys que corro |
| anar + gerundi | gradualness | vaig millorant |
By example
- Porto dos anys corrent cada matíI have been running every morning for two years now
- Porta tres hores estudiant i no paraHe has been studying for three hours straight and does not stop
- Portem un mes esperant la resposta del bancWe have been waiting for the bank's answer for a month now
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Duration: how does it work in Valencian?
"Portar + gerund" counts the time accumulated by the moment: Porto dos anys corrent — I have been running for two years now. Literally "I carry two years running": the action began then and is still with you. The gerund here is the one from unit 7: "-ant" for "-ar", "-ent" for the rest.
What does it look like in an example sentence Valencian?
“Porto dos anys corrent cada matí” — I have been running every morning for two years now. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.