Grammar Chapter 7 Verbals

Verbals Verbal: a word formed from a verb but acts as a noun, adjective, or adverb. Gerund: a verbal that ends in “-ing” and acts as a noun. Participle: a verbal that acts as an adjective. Infinitive: a verb form that usually begins with the word “to” and acts as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.

Gerunds as Nouns and Phrases Gerund: a verbal that ends in “-ing” and acts as a noun. Gerund Phrase: a gerund with its modifiers and complements. Gerunds and gerund phrases can be used anywhere that nouns can be used

Participles and Participial Phrases Participle: a verbal that acts as an adjective. Present participle: ends in “-ing” and modifies a noun or pronoun. Past participle: ends in “-ed” unless an irregular verb. Participial phrase: a participle plus its modifiers and complements. Part of Speech Example Present Participle The laughing children fell to the ground. (laughing describes the children) Past Participle The interested students read their books. (interested describes the students) Participial Phrase Working in the fields, the farmers were very tired. (working describes the farmers)

Participles vs. Gerunds vs. Verbs Part of Speech Example Explanation Participle The crying baby is very upset. “Crying” can be replaced by an adjective (angry) Gerund The crying is due to his hunger. “Crying” can be replaced by a noun (noise) Verb He is crying because he is upset. “Crying” follows a helping verb (is)

Infinitives and Infinitive Phrases Infinitive: a verb form that usually begins with the word “to” and acts as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. Infinitive phrase: an infinitive with its complements and modifiers. Part of Speech Example Noun To run quickly is the goal of track. Adjective Her goal to run quickly was attainable. (describes the goal) Adverb To run quickly, she will train everyday. (describes why she will train)

Infinitive Phrase vs. Prepositional phrase Since “to” can be a preposition, it is important to note the difference between an infinitive phrase and a prepositional phrase. Infinitive phrase: “to” is followed by a verb Prepositional phrase: “to” is followed by noun, pronoun, or modifier Type of Phrase Example Infinitive I like to swim in the ocean. (swim is a verb) Prepositional I like to go to the ocean to swim. (the ocean is a noun)