Spanish flag

Why 'ran out' is 'salió corriendo' in Spanish

In English, the main verb usually tells you how someone moves, and a little word after it tells you where: run out, swim across, walk away, jump down. Spanish usually works the other way round. The main verb carries the direction (salir, entrar, cruzar, subir), and the manner is added afterwards as a gerund such as corriendo or nadando. So 'he ran out' becomes salió corriendo, literally 'he went out running'.

English speakers trip over this because they look for a Spanish verb meaning 'run' and then try to bolt on a word for 'out'. The result is understandable but sounds translated. Once you start with the direction verb, the sentence falls into place.

Word list
andarA1 to walk volvió andando = she walked back bailarA1 to dance entró bailando = she danced in caminarA1 to walk se alejó caminando = she walked away correrA1 to run entró corriendo = he ran in irA1 to go fue corriendo a casa = he ran home irseA1 to leave se fue volando = it flew away llegarA1 to arrive llegó corriendo = she came running nadarA1 to swim cruzó nadando = she swam across salirA1 to go out salió corriendo = he ran out venirA1 to come vino corriendo = he came running volarA1 to fly salió volando = it flew out bajarA2 to go down bajó saltando = it jumped down bajarseA2 to get off se bajó del autobús de un salto = he jumped off the bus bajarseA2 to get out se bajó del coche de un salto = he jumped out of the car conducirA2 to drive salió del garaje conduciendo = she drove out of the garage entrarA2 to enter entró de puntillas = he tiptoed in esquiarA2 to ski bajó esquiando = she skied down manejarA2 to drive salió del garaje manejando = she drove out of the garage (Lat. Am.) marcharseA2 to leave se marchó corriendo = he ran off regresarA2 to return regresó caminando = he walked back saltarA2 to jump bajó saltando = it jumped down subirA2 to go up subió corriendo = he ran up subirseA2 to get on se subió al tren de un salto = he jumped onto the train volverA2 to return volvió nadando = she swam back acercarseB1 to approach se acercó despacio = he crept up acudirB1 to go acudieron corriendo = they came running (to help) alejarseB1 to move away se alejó caminando = she walked away brincarB1 to jump entró brincando = she skipped in descenderB1 to go down descendió flotando = it floated down escaparB1 to escape escapó nadando = he swam away escaparseB1 to escape se escapó corriendo = he ran away meterseB1 to get in se metió en el coche corriendo = she ran and jumped into the car partirB1 to leave partió a caballo = he rode off pasearB1 to take a walk volvió paseando = she strolled back treparB1 to climb subió trepando = she climbed up apartarseB2 to move away se apartó de un salto = he jumped aside aproximarseB2 to approach se aproximó nadando = it swam up arrastrarseB2 to crawl salió arrastrándose = he crawled out atravesarB2 to cross atravesó el bosque a caballo = he rode through the forest cruzarB2 to cross cruzó la calle corriendo = she ran across the street danzarB2 to dance salió danzando = she danced out (literary) fugarseB2 to flee se fugó = he ran off (escaped) gatearB2 to crawl salió gateando = the baby crawled out huirB2 to flee huyó = he ran away navegarB2 to sail cruzaron el estrecho navegando = they sailed across the strait patinarB2 to skate cruzó el lago patinando = she skated across the lake cabalgarC1 to ride a horse se alejó cabalgando = he rode away cojearC1 to limp salió cojeando = he limped out renguearC1 to limp salió rengueando = he limped out (Lat. Am.)
How it works

Build the sentence in two slots. Slot one is a path verb that says where the movement goes: out, in, up, down, back, across, towards, away. Slot two is optional and says how: a gerund (corriendo, nadando, volando) or a short phrase (de puntillas, a caballo, en bici, de un salto). If the manner is obvious or unimportant, you can simply leave it out.

El niño salió corriendo de la casa.
(The boy ran out of the house.)
Cruzó el río nadando.
(She swam across the river.)

Rule of thumb: when the movement crosses a boundary (into a room, out of a building, across a street, over a border), Spanish strongly prefers the path verb. This is a tendency, not a ban. A manner verb is perfectly fine when you only add a direction or a goal, as you will see below.

The words
Path verbs: the main verb

These verbs say where the movement goes: salir (out), entrar (in), subir (up), bajar and the more formal descender (down), volver and regresar (back), cruzar and atravesar (across, through), acercarse and aproximarse (up to, towards), alejarse and apartarse (away, aside), llegar (arrive, come up), irse (off, away), and huir and escapar (run away, get away). Further examples are pasar por delante (go past) and meterse de un salto (jump in).

Entró de puntillas para no despertar al bebé.
(He tiptoed in so as not to wake the baby.)
Subí las escaleras corriendo porque llegaba tarde.
(I ran up the stairs because I was late.)
El perro se acercó despacio a la puerta.
(The dog crept up to the door.)
Los ladrones huyeron en coche.
(The thieves drove off. / The thieves got away by car.)
Manner verbs: the gerund

These verbs usually become the gerund in slot two: correr (corriendo), nadar (nadando), caminar and andar (caminando, andando), volar (volando), saltar and brincar (saltando, brincando), gatear (gateando), arrastrarse (arrastrándose) and trepar (trepando).

El gato bajó del tejado saltando.
(The cat jumped down from the roof.)
Se alejó caminando sin decir nada.
(She walked away without saying a word.)
Volvimos a casa andando.
(We walked back home.)
El pájaro salió volando por la ventana.
(The bird flew out of the window.)
El bebé cruzó el salón gateando.
(The baby crawled across the living room.)
Watch out

The typical mistake is a word-for-word phrasal verb: corrió fuera de la casa for 'ran out of the house', or nadó a través del río for 'swam across the river'. A Spanish speaker will understand you, but it sounds like a translation. Say salió corriendo de la casa and cruzó el río nadando instead.

Manner verbs are still fine with a direction or a goal when no boundary is crossed. Prepositions like hacia (towards), hasta (as far as) and por (along, around) work well with them.

Corrió hacia la puerta.
(He ran towards the door.)

Some path verbs already contain the manner, so the gerund is often unnecessary. Huir and escapar already suggest speed, so huyó alone is enough for 'he ran away'. Llegar corriendo is the natural way to say 'come running'.

Summary

When English says how and then where (run out, swim across, walk back), Spanish says where and then how: pick the direction verb first (salir, entrar, cruzar, subir, volver) and add the manner as a gerund (corriendo, nadando) or a phrase (de puntillas, a caballo), or leave it out. This matters most when someone crosses a boundary. For a simple direction, corrió hacia la puerta is fine.