Gerunds, Infinitives, and Participles. Oh my! What the heck are these things? What do they do? Why are we do we need to learn about them?

Verbals Gerunds, participles, and infinitives are all verbals. Words or phrases formed from verbs, verbals are used as another part of speech (noun, adjective, adverb).

Gerund Gerunds are formed by adding –ing to a verb and function as a noun. Reading is my favorite pastime. (subject) I enjoy reading. (direct object) A love of reading will result in a lifetime of learning. (object of the preposition) I’ll give reading a chance this year. (indirect object) My favorite pastime is reading. (subject complement)

Participle Participles are formed by adding –ing, -en, or –ed to a verb. They function as adjectives. The frightened puppy cowered in the corner. A thunderstorm can be a frightening experience for young children. The spoken word lingers in the mind long after it has faded from the ear. All of the red words are participles, and they are all working as adjectives. What are they modifying/describing?

Infinitive Infinitives are formed by adding “to” to a verb. Infinitives can function as a noun, adjective, or adverb. He lacked the strength to resist. (adjective) We must study to learn. (adverb) To wait seemed foolish when action was clearly in order. (noun / subject) He wants to dance. (noun / direct object) His dream is to sing. (noun / subj. complement)

Phrases When words are added to the gerund, participle, or infinitive in order to complete the idea, it’s called a phrase: gerund phrase, participial phrase, infinitive phrase. Listening to her iPod at full volume, Caroline failed to hear the blaring horn of the approaching bus. What kind of phrase is hi-lighted in orange? What is its function in the sentence? Can you identify any other verbals in this sentence?

Ask yourself, “What is this phrase doing in the sentence? “ Listening to her iPod at full volume, Caroline failed to hear the blaring horn of the approaching bus. Ask yourself, “What is this phrase doing in the sentence? “ It’s describing or telling us something about Caroline, a person, a noun so it’s working as AN ADJECTIVE! So we know it’s… A PARTICIPIAL PHRASE!

I enjoy listening to many types of music. What kind of phrase it? First, ask your question. “What is this phrase doing in the sentence?” It’s telling us WHAT I enjoy. WHAT indicates a thing, a noun. It’s working as A NOUN. And since it’s telling us what I enjoy, it’s a DIRECT OBJECT. So what is it? A GERUND PHRASE!

How else can a gerund function in a sentence? Subject: Taking a walk on a crisp autumn day is one of my favorite pastimes. Object of the preposition: When attending a concert, you should refrain from singing at the top of your lungs. Nobody paid $90 to hear YOU sing. Subject complement: The scariest event of my life was learning that my son had cancer.

Can you identify the infinitive phrase and how it functions in the sentence?

Everyone wanted to be team captain. Is it working as a noun, adjective, or adverb? A noun! It tells us WHAT everyone wanted. It’s working as the direct object of the verb wanted. I have no desire to see that movie. An adjective! It describes desire. We are studying gerunds, participles, and infinitives to improve our writing. We are studying gerunds, participles, and infinitives to improve our writing. An adverb! It tells WHY we are studying gerunds, participles, and infinitives.

REMEMBER GERUNDS - ALWAYS work as nouns. - end in –ing - can function as subject, direct object, indirect object, subject complement, or object of the preposition.

- ALWAYS work as adjectives - are verb forms ending in REMEMBER PARTICIPLES - ALWAYS work as adjectives - are verb forms ending in –ing, -ed, or –en

REMEMBER INFINITIVES - are verbs preceded by to: to eat, to sleep, to drink. - Be careful not to confuse a prepositional phrase for an infinitive phrase: I went to the store. - Infinitives can work as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.