Hi. I was wondering if anyone could tell me the difference between the ending -zaje (as in aprendizaje) and the ending -ando/-iendo (as in aprendiendo.
I do not see much of a distinction between the two, except with to possibility of one being used in Spain and the other in Latin America.
Thanks!
Both aprendizaje and aprendiendo are used in both Spain and Latin America. Aprendiendo is strictly a verb which corresponds to the -ing ending in English.
So aprendiendo- learning, comiendo- eating, viviendo- living, etc.
And then you have the -aje ending (aprendizaje)…
I like to think of that as “the process of…”, so “el aprendizaje de Español,” is “the process of learning Spanish,” just like “viaje,” which is like, “the process of travelling (viajar) hence, journey,” but you can’t say, “el aprendiendo de Español” because aprendiendo is “strictly a verb” like I previously stated above.
Sorry if I confused you with too much grammar, but I would suggest just getting exposed to these different forms from reading and you will gradually absorb them, since that’s how I learned it. Also, there are not so many words that end with -aje in Spanish anyways, so it’s going to be mostly words that end in -a(e)ndo like “aprendiendo”. 