Verbals used rhetorically

Verbal Types There are three types of verbals: Participles Gerunds Infinitives

Participle (Ending in –ing or –ed) A word that looks like a verb but is used as an adjective (modify nouns). Examples: The crying baby reached for his mother. (Crying, and for of the verb cry, modifies or describes the noun baby.) Screaming, Matt jumped away from the spider. (Screaming, a form of the verb scream, modifies the noun Matt.)

Participle (cont.) The amused teacher chuckled at the student’s joke. (Amused, a form of the verb amuse, modifies the noun teacher.) Note: Participles and gerunds do not have helping verbs. If you see an –ing verb with a helping verb it is a verb. Example: The man is amusing the teacher.

Gerund (Ending in –ing) A word that looks like a verb but is used as a noun. Examples: Chewing with your mouth open always impresses people. (Chewing, a form of the verb chew, is the subject of the sentence. What impresses people? Chewing.) Mark practices speaking in public. (Speaking is the direct object of the verb practices. Mark practices what? Speaking.)

Infinitive (to + verb) A word that looks like a verb but is used as a noun, adjective, or adverb. Examples: To fly far away would be wonderful. (To fly is a noun and the subject of the sentence.) Erika is the woman to visit. (To visit is an adjective modifying the noun woman.)