Another weird question. I encountered something like "me encanta leer", which apparently translates to "I love reading". But if "leer" means "to read", then why is the translated sentence "I love reading"?
Is there a special rule that changes "leer" into a gerund when translated into English?
This is one of the confusing bits of Spanish to explain so bear with me
Note that these are different from using unconjugated verbs with helping verbs like tener que, querer, poder, etc.
There are times when you can use infinitives [the -ar, -er, -ir verbs unconjugated] almost like nouns
With verbs that use indirect objects like gustar [gustar, encantar, apetecer, interesar, fascinar, and others] tend to use verbs in their infinitive form like this
This is because the infinitive used this way is what I've called "substantive verb" [el sustantivo is "noun", so it's "using a verb like a noun]
Basically though it's "the action or result of the verb"
As an example you might say entender es más fácil que hablar which is "understanding is easier than speaking" - but in a more literal sense it's "the act of understanding is easier than the act of speaking"
*Note: You may sometimes see an infinitive with el, or sometimes al - the al in particular is almost like "upon" or "once (something happens)", but literally it's "at the + (act or result of the verb)"
This can be a bit confusing when you get to times of day because el amanecer is "dawn" but al amanecer is either "at daybreak" or "when day broke" OR sometimes when talking about people it can be "when (someone) woke up in the morning"
...You can also see atardecer used as a noun "dusk" or a verb "for the sun to set / get dark", or anochecer "evening/dark of night" or a verb "for night to fall" which is just very dark as opposed to atardecer which is like twilight time
You'll also notice that some nouns may look like verbs - poder "to be able to" can be el poder "power", or saber "to know" could be el saber "knowledge" [less common than la sabiduría "knowledge/wisdom" but still]
Al despertar... = Upon waking... / Upon waking up...
Al leer esto... = Upon reading this...
Al descubrir el problema... = Upon discovering the problem... / Once (he/she/they) discovered the problem...
"Al cumplir los dieciséis años, se pinchará el dedo en el huso de una rueca, y morirá." = "Upon her 16th birthday, she'll prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel, and die."
[from Sleeping Beauty; but literally "upon turning 16 years old..." the verb endings in -á here are future tense; cumplir (los años) is "to have a birthday" or "to turn X years old", exactly how you see cumpleaños "birthday", but cumplir by itself is understood as "to fulfill" or "to complete" in a way, so it's like "to reach another year"]
This is sort of how the verbs like gustar work where you're saying "the act of reading is very pleasing to me" in a literal sense - it's not quite "I love reading", at least not literally, but it makes more sense in translation
You might see something like me gusta ver que... which is "I like to see that..." or "I like seeing that..." but it's just like me gusta/encanta leer where you can translate it as "I like/love reading" or "I like/love to read"
As far as the actual gerund/progressive form of verbs, this is considered a kind of....... I don't know what the right word is, I want to say "conjugation" but that's not right
It's a specific verbal form used in specific situations, typically understood as implying motion or continuation at that moment
They imply a state of motion, while the plain infinitive is more "static" or stays still if that makes sense
Typically you see them with estar or verbs of motion/continuation like ir, andar, seguir, continuar etc. - like a popular one is salir corriendo which is "to run out of (a place)" but literally "to exit/leave running"
You do sometimes use it in other places but it's like something happening at that moment like narration
An example: me gusta pasar todo el día leyendo "I like to spend the whole day reading" - in these cases the gerund is almost like an adverb, describing the way you do something
There are times when you could use either but they have a bit of a nuance difference
#1 - Al desubrir la verdad... = Upon learning the truth...
#2 - Y, descubriendo la verdad... = And, learning the truth...
#1 seems to imply looking back on something as a series of completed actions. It seems more like... I don't know, to me it's like snapshots like this happened, then this, then that
#2 is a more fluid narration style, it's as if you can see the scene playing out, so maybe more like a video than a snapshot?
They express the same sorts of things but it's a matter of perception; you see a lot of the gerund forms for continuous narration styles
