Verbals Gerunds and Infinitives (Participles will be covered separately)

Gerunds…  A gerund is a form of a verb. Don’t be fooled, though. It actually functions as a noun in the sentence.  Gerunds always end in ing.  Be careful that the ing word is not a verb.

Examples Gerund: Drooling is rude. Drooling is a gerund because it’s used as a noun, the subject of the sentence. Verb Phrase: The baby is drooling in to the mashed carrots. Drooling is part of the verb phrase is drooling. Is drooling is the main verb of the sentence.

Gerund Phrases A gerund phrase consists of a gerund and all of its complements and modifiers. Gerund: Walking is good for your health. Gerund Phrase: Walking across a busy freeway, can be harmful to your health.

Another… A gerund or a gerund phrase is used in the same position that a noun is used in a sentence. Like a noun, a gerund or gerund phrase might function as a subject, direct object, indirect object, object of the preposition, or predicate nominative. Subject: Sitting on burning ashes causes rashes and hot flashes. Direct Object: The judge forbids snoozing, sneezing, and snoring in his courtroom.

Object of the preposition: Rhonda won first place in the rodeo for riding a rodent. Predicate nominative: Wakefield’s favorite hobby is photographing fruitcakes.

Infinitives An infinitive generally consists of the word to followed by a verb: to giggle, to wiggle, to hobble, to gobble, etc.

Beware… It’s easy to mistake a prepositional phrase beginning with to for an infinitive. Here’s a valuable piece of information:  to followed by a noun or pronoun is a prepositional phrase,  to followed by a verb form is an infinitive.

Examples Infinitive: The muscular mice threw dice to scare away the advancing lice. Prepositional Phrase: The unusually fit lice tossed the dice back to the surprised mice.

An infinitive can function as a noun, adjective, or adverb within a sentence. Noun: To belch is rude. (subject) Truman tried to belch. (direct object) Figaro’s favorite activity is to belch. (predicate nominative) Adjective: Molly made the decision to belch. (To belch modifies the noun decision) Adverb: Hogs are happy to belch. ( To belch modifies the adjective, happy ) Patsy politely left the party to belch. (to belch answers the question why? About the verb left.

An infinitive phrase consists of an infinitive plus all of it modifiers and complements. To ride a roller coaster with a rhinoceros is risky.  The infinitive phrase is acting as a noun.  It’s the subject of the sentence.  Notice that the entire phrase includes the infinitive to ride, its complement, a roller coaster, and a prepositional phrase, with a rhinoceros.

Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a feisty ferret. The infinitive phrase, to fetch a feisty ferret, acts as an adverb that answers the question why? and the verb went.

To avoid calling attention to himself, Rutherford sometimes wears a paper sack over his head.