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Verbals
Verbals are verb forms that act as some other part of speech.
There are 3 types:
Infinitive – to + verb
To run, to walk, to cry, to sing
Gerund – the present participle WHEN IT
FUNCTIONS AS A NOUN.
Swimming (Swimming is good exercise.)
Flying (Flying makes her nervous.)
Participle – the past participle & the present participle WHEN
IT FUNCTIONS AS AN ADJECTIVE
The boy running through the hall is my brother.
The broken chair is useless.
Infinitive
An infinitive is the easiest verbal to recognize
because it is to + verb. If there’s no “to” or no
verb, it’s not an infinitive. The only real trick is
being careful to notice if it’s a verb that follows
“to” or a noun. If it’s a noun, you have, of
course, a prepositional phrase & not an infinitive.
Infinitives
to cry
to watch
to read
to show
prep. phrases
to church
to school
to the store
to gold
An infinitive can function as a noun, an adjective, or an
adverb:
Noun – I want to leave.
I want a book.
In both cases above, what follows “want” is a noun; I want
what? To leave/a book
Adjective – This is the man to elect.
This is the new man.
Although “to elect” follows the noun & “new” precedes it,
both identify “man.”
Adverb – He cheated to win the game.
“To win the game” answers the question “why.”
Important note: we’ve been talking about verbals, but you need to
realize that verbals are usually part of a verbal phrase.
Look at the last example: He cheated to win the game. How does the
word “game” function in that sentence?
It answers the question “won what?” It’s a direct object…but not the
direct object of the sentence. The verb is “cheated.” Game is NOT
the answer to “He cheated what?”
In short, “game” is the direct object of the infinitive “to win.” Although
verbals don’t function as verbs, they can have objects just like verbs
can. They can also have their own modifiers:
He learned to run swiftly through the field.
He didn’t LEARN swiftly. “Swiftly” describes “to run” ; it answers the
question “to run how?”
A verbal phrase is made up of the verbal & its objects and/or modifiers.
Gerunds
A gerund is a present participle (the –ing form of the verb) that functions as a
noun:
I like reading.
I like steak.
“Reading” & “steak” are direct objects.
Riding horseback is a great activity.
Football is a great activity.
“Riding horseback” & “football” are subjects.
I don’t believe in wasting food.
I don’t believe in the tooth fairy.
“Wasting food” & “the tooth fairy” are objects of the preposition.
In short, a gerund can do anything any other noun can do.
Participials
Participial phrases are probably the most useful of the verbal
phrases—and also the hardest to understand if you find
grammar in general difficult.
The participle can be a present (-ing) or past (the one used
with have/has/had) participle, & it functions as an adjective:
The man running down the street is the thief. (which man?)
The broken chair belongs to Baby Bear. (which chair?)
Very frequently, a participial phrase comes at the very
beginning of the sentence. When it does, it identifies the
SUBJECT:
Running down the street, the man screamed for help.
Laughing at his sister, the little boy held her toy out of reach.
You’ve heard of dangling participles? That’s when they
DON’T describe the subject:
Running down the road, the tree became visible.
This is a dangling participle, because there’s nothing in the
sentence to which the participle can refer. Obviously, the
tree wasn’t running down the road, but that’s how this
sentence makes it sound.
There are also dangling infinitives. Just as an introductory
participial phrase has to modify the subject, so does an
introductory infinitive phrase:
To get a good grade, you have to work hard. – correct
To get a good grade, the book is helpful. – incorrect; the
book isn’t trying to get a good grade.
Used correctly, participial phrases can add variety to your
writing:
He heard that his house had been robbed, & he fainted.
Hearing that his house had been robbed, he fainted.
The fish was caught in the net & flopped about to try to
escape.
Caught in the net, the fish flopped about to try to escape.
Remember that, like verbs, participials can have direct
objects:
Hearing his mother’s voice, he jumped out the window.
“Voice” is the direct object of “hearing,” which is a participle.
To sum up:
Infinitive = to + verb USE: noun, adj., adv.
Gerund = verb + ing USE: noun
Participial = verb + ing (present part.)
verb used w/have (past part.)
USE: Adjective
The following exercises were designed for this
class, but there are 3 more pages of
exercises for practice.
Verb or verbal?
Verbals 1 – Gerund or Particple
Verbals 2 – Infinitives
Verbals 3 – Infinitive or Prepositional Phrase?
Verbals 4 – Identifying Verbals
Verbals 4b – Identifying Verbals
Infinitive Exercises
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Infinitives and Infinitive Phrases
Infinitives and Infinitive Phrases - exercise 2
Infinitives and Infinitive Phrases - exercise 3
Infinitives and Infinitive Phrases - exercise 4
Infinitives and Infinitive Phrases - exercise 5
Infinitives and Infinitive Phrases - exercise 6
Gerund Exercises
Gerunds and Gerund Phrases
Gerunds and Gerund Phrases - exercise 2
Gerunds and Gerund Phrases (with functions) - exercise 3
Gerunds and Gerund Phrases (with functions) - exercise 4
Gerunds and Gerund Phrases (with functions) - exercise 5
Gerunds and Gerund Phrases (with functions) - exercise 6
Participial Exercises
http://www.towson.edu/ows/exerciseparticiples1.htm
http://www.towson.edu/ows/exerciseparticiples2.htm
http://www.towson.edu/ows/exercisepariciples3.htm
http://www.towson.edu/ows/exerciseparticiples4.htm
http://www.towson.edu/ows/exerciseparticiples5.htm