Download the verbal trio - Coosa Middle School

The Verbal Trio
Learning about Verbals
Reading and Discussion
Every sentence needs a verb. Verbs are the action words in a sentence. They tell
us what the subject does or what the subject is. For example:

Susan jumped rope all afternoon.
Susan is the subject. The verb jumped tells what she did.
Sometimes verbs do not act like verbs at all. They act like other parts of speech
such as nouns, adjectives or adverbs. When they do this they are called verbals.
Verbals are still verbs. They still express action or state of being, but they are not
used as the main verb in a sentence. There are three main kinds of verbals:
1. infinitives
2. gerunds
3. participles
1. Infinitives are verb forms that can be used as nouns, adjectives or adverbs.
An infinitive combines the word to with the base form of a verb. For example, to
walk, to see, to run, and to dream, are all infinitives.

To walk the Appalachian Trail is Becky’s greatest dream.
To walk is used as a noun and it is the subject of the sentence. Infinitive
phrases contain the infinitive and the words needed to make the meaning clear.

To walk the Appalachian Trail is Becky’s greatest dream.
To walk the Appalachian Trail is the infinitive phrase.
2. Gerunds are verb forms that always end in ing and act like nouns. Gerunds
are often used as subjects or direct objects.

Riding is my favorite sport.
Riding is used as a noun, and it is the subject of the sentence.

Susan enjoys swimming and hiking.
Copyright 2008 LessonSnips www.lessonsnips.com
Swimming and hiking are used as nouns and they are direct objects in this
sentence. Gerund phrases include a gerund and any other words needed to
complete its meaning.

Riding my bike is my favorite activity.
Riding my bike is a gerund phrase.
3. Participles can be used as adjectives. Every verb has a present participle
and a past participle. The present participle always ends in ing, and the past
participle usually ends in d, t, n, ed, or en.
Although the participle acts like an adjective, it is still part of a verb. It can take a
direct object and it can be modified or described by an adverb. Participial
phrases are made of the participle and any other words needed to make its
meaning complete. For example:

The costumes hanging in the cloakroom need to be ironed.
Hanging in the cloakroom is a participial phrase in this sentence.
Participles can have two jobs:
1. They can show tense when combined with a helping verb.

I am riding my bike.
Am is the helping verb. Riding is the verb.
2. They can be used as adjectives. Remember that adjectives are words that are
used to describe nouns.

Burned spaghetti tastes awful.
Burned is the participle. It describes spaghetti.

The laughing hyena made us all giggle.
Laughing describes hyena. Although laughing is usually a verb because it is an
action word, here it is used as an adjective instead. Laughing is a participle. It is
a verb acting like an adjective.
Copyright 2008 LessonSnips www.lessonsnips.com
Activities
Activity A: Let’s review. Write the answers to the questions on the lines below.
1. A ___________________________________ is a verb that acts like
another part of speech.
2. What are the three main kinds of verbals? ______________________,
___________________________,________________________________
3. _____________________________ combine a base verb and the word to.
4. ____________________________are verbs that act like nouns.
5. _______________________________can be used as adjectives.
6. What are the two kinds of participles? ___________________________,
___________________________________
7. An _____________________________ is a word used to describe a noun.
8. An _____________________________is a word used to describe or modify a
verb, adjective or other adverb.
9. A present participle always ends in these three letters. _______________.
Activity B: Write your own sentences with infinitives and gerunds.
1. Write a sentence using the infinitive to jump. Use the infinitive as the subject
of the sentence.
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
2. Write a sentence using the gerund jumping. Use the gerund as the subject of
the sentence.
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Copyright 2008 LessonSnips www.lessonsnips.com
Answer Key
Activity A
1. A
verbal
is a verb that acts like another part of speech.
2. What are the three main kinds of verbals? Infinitives, gerunds, participles.
3. Infinitives
combine a base verb and the word to.
4. Gerunds
are verbs that act like nouns.
5.
Participles can be used as adjectives.
6. What are the two kinds of participles? Past or Present.
7. An adjective is a word used to describe a noun.
8. An adverb is a word used to describe or modify a verb, adjective or other
adverb.
9. A present participle always ends in these three letters: ing.
Activity B
Answers will vary.
Copyright 2008 LessonSnips www.lessonsnips.com