Download Eng10Ch20VerbalsNotes

Chapter 20 “Phrases and Clauses”
Verbals
Notes
1. verbal-a verb form used as another part of speech
a) verbs used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs
2. verbals, although not used as verbs, still retain the characteristics of a verb
a) may be modified by adverbs or prepositional phrases
b) retains its function as an action or linking verb
c) may be followed by complements such as direct and indirect objects and predicate
nominatives or adjectives
3. verbals that have modifiers and/or complements are called verbal phrases
4. three kinds of verbals
a) participles-verb forms used as adjectives
b) gerunds-verb forms used as nouns
c) infinitives-verb forms used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs
5. participle-a verb form that can act as an adjective
ex. Her shining eyes betrayed her excitement. (shining is the verbal and is used as an
adjective to describe eyes-tells what kind of eyes)
The shattered window needs replacement. (shattered is the verbal and is used as an
adjective to describe window-tells which window)
6. 3 kinds of participles
a) present- the verb form that ends with –ing
b) past-the verb form that ends with -d, -ed, or t (if the verb is a regular verb)
c) perfect-the helping verbs being or having placed in front of the past participle
7. participial phrase-the participle plus any modifiers or complements
a) the entire phrase acts as an adjective
ex. Traveling quickly, we saw much of the French countryside. (includes an adverb)
The tourist, confused by the signs, got lost. (includes a prepositional phrase)
Scanning the French dictionary, Ann found the words for “entrance” and “exit.”
(includes a direct object)
8. gerund-a verb form that acts as a noun
a) always ends with –ing
b) always acts as a noun
c) generally function as the subject, direct object, indirect object, predicate nominative,
object of a preposition, or appositive in a sentence
ex. Eating is my favorite pastime in France. (eating is the gerund and is the subject)
The French people make visiting a pleasure. (visiting is the gerund and is a direct
object)
Mr. Mendoza’s lecture gave traveling a new dimension. (traveling is the gerund and
is an indirect object)
One Frenchman’s favorite activity was debating. (debating is the gerund and is a
predicate nominative)
The well-behaved dog showed signs of careful training. (training is the gerund and is
the object of a preposition)
Brady’s profession, advertising, is very competitive. (advertising is the gerund and is
an appositive)
9. gerund phrase-a gerund plus any modifiers or complements
a) the entire phrase acts as a noun
ex. His constant, angry ranting made Napoleon difficult to tolerate. (includes adjectives)
Arguing about grades will get you nowhere. (includes a prepositional phrase)
Answering quickly is not always a good idea. (includes an adverb)
The French teacher tried giving her students praise. (includes direct and indirect
objects)
10. infinitive-a verb form that acts as a noun, adjective, or adverb
a) generally appears with the word to in front of the verb form
b) infinitives used as nouns generally function as a subject, direct object, predicate
nominative, object of a preposition, or appositive
ex. To understand requires maturity and acceptance. (to understand is the infinitive and is
the subject of the sentence)
The peasants of France decided to rebel. (to rebel is the infinitive and is the direct
object of the sentence)
The French soldier’s only hope was to surrender. (to surrender is the infinitive and is
the predicate nominative in the
sentence)
Our flight from Paris was about to leave. (to leave is the infinitive and is the object of
a preposition in the sentence)
You have only one choice, to stay. (to stay is the infinitive and is an appositive in the
sentence)
ex. The children showed a willingness to cooperate. (to cooperate is the infinitive and is
an adjective in the sentence)
ex. During the war, the French people struggled to resist. (to resist is the infinitive and is
an adverb in the sentence)
Some people were unable to fight. (to fight is the infinitive and is an adverb in the
sentence)
11. infinitive phrase-an infinitive plus any modifiers, complements or a subject that acts as a
single part of speech
ex. Jeffrey’s entire family likes to rise early. (includes an adverb)
To skate on the ice without falling was not easy for him. (includes prepositional
phrases)
He hated to leave the city of Lyon. (includes a direct object and prepositional phrase)
They promised to show us the slides from their trip to France. (includes direct and
indirect objects and
prepositional phrases)
I would like her to determine her own goals. (includes a direct object and a subject)
*note the subject will be the wrong case
pronoun)
12. infinitives without the word to in front of the verb usually follow one of the following verbs:
dare, hear, help, let, make, please, see, watch
ex. She doesn’t dare go without permission.