Verbals

Gerunds, infinitives, and participles, are words that originate from verbs. They can be confusing because they are like verbs and at the same time like other parts of speech.

They have verb forms, and, like verbs, they can show tense, take complements, and be modified by adverbs. They function, however, like other parts of speech: the noun, adjective, and adverb. In short, verbals are verb forms that do not function as verbs.

Gerund The gerund is a verb form that ends in “ing” and is used as a noun. Writing a paper is not as easy as you might think. John’s laughing in class caused the principal to reprimand him.

The gerund had two tenses: present and perfect Present: walking, speaking Perfect: having walked, having spoken

The infinitive The infinitive is the basic form of the verb, usually preceded by the preposition “to”. It may function as an adjective or an adverb. To write To run To laugh To walk It is not as easy to write a paper as you might think.

The infinitive also has two tense forms: present and perfect). Present: to walk, to speak Perfect: to have walked, to have spoken

the participle The participle is a verb form that usually ends in “ing” or “ed” or, less frequently, “en”, “d”, or “t”. It functions primarily as an adjective, although it may also serve as an adverb.

The laughing boy was silenced by harsh words. Frightened, the little girl hid behind her mother.

The participle has three tense forms: present, past, and perfect. Present participle: walking, speaking Past participle: walked, spoken Perfect participle: having walked, having spoken