Salut Amanda, I wrote an article in my blog about the gérondif and the participe présent in French : https://askthefrenchteacher.com/2015/11/04/gerondif-vs-participe-present/ Basically the gérondif is used to express simultaneity. That's why you wouldn't use it to translate "i am listening to music". However, if you wanted to say "I am listening to music while working", you would have two simultaneous actions and could translate the sentence as "j'écoute de la musique en travaillant". If you only have the -ant from of the verb without the "en" then it's called participe présent and is used to express cause. Ex: "travaillant depuis l'âge de 17 ans, j'ai économisé beaucoup d'argent." ( having worked since the age of 17, I saved a lot of money) I hope it's clear. Don't hesitate to get in touch if you have more questions

Bonjour! There are two types of gerund in French. "Je suis en train d'écouter de la musique" (I'm listening to the music). What you're doing right now. And for example: "En lisant, j'améliore mon français" (Reading, I improve my french). Talking about the activity itself (reading). Well I am still studying French, but I have moved on from gerund.