Verbals Participles, Gerunds, Infinitives

Verb A word that shows an action, being, or links a subject to a subject compliment.

Noun A person, place, thing, or idea.

Phrases Verbals are one of the three types of phrases. A phrase is a group of words without a subject and its predicate that acts like a single part of speech. Without a subject, predicate, or complete thought, a phrase is not a sentence. A phrase allows us to add detail and elaborate on an idea.

Verbals form of a verb that functions as another part of speech There are three types of verbals in English: participles gerunds infinitives A verb form used as a noun, adjective, or adverb

Participles Verb used as an adjective Can have different endings Participles a verb form used as an adjective to modify nouns and pronouns The children, crying and exhausted, were guided out of the collapsed mine.

Gerunds ing verb used as a noun Gerunds a verb form ending in -ing that functions in a sentence as a noun Although both the present participle and the gerund are formed by adding -ing to a verb, note that the participle does the job of an adjective while the gerund does the job of a noun. Compare the verbals in these two sentences: The children, crying and exhausted, were guided out of the collapsed mine. Crying will not get you anywhere.

Infinitives The to- form of a verb used as a noun or modifier. verb form--often preceded by the particle to -- that can function as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. Compare the verbals in these two sentences: I don't like crying in public unless I'm getting paid for it. I don't like to cry in public unless I'm getting paid for it.