Lesson 7: Verbals
Most of us are familiar with verbs. They describe the action or state of being. For example:
I run.
(âIâ is the subject, ârunâ is the verb)
They crashed.
(âTheyâ is the subject, âcrashedâ is the verb)
I think, therefore I am.
(âIâ is the subject in each clause, âthinkâ and âamâ are the verbs)
The plane is flying overhead.
(âplaneâ is the subject, âflyingâ is the verb preceded by the helper verb âisâ)
But sometimes, a verb is not a verb!
A verbal is a word formed from a verb that functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb. There are three types of verbals:
- Gerunds
- Participles
- Infinitives
Gerunds
Gerunds end in â-ingâ and act as a noun:
Flying is my favorite pastime.
(âFlyingâ is the subject of the sentence)
I love running.
(ârunningâ is the direct object of the sentence)
Participles
Participles act as adjectives. There are two types of participles: present and past.
Present participles, like gerunds, end in â-ingâ, but theyâre used as adjectives, not nouns:
The flying squirrel was amazing.
(âflyingâ is an adjective modifying âsquirrelâ)
The squirrel flying across the sky was amazing.
(âflying across the skyâ is a present participial phrase acting as an adjective modifying âsquirrelâ)
Past participles usually end in â-edâ or â-enâ:
The crashed server made us frantic. (âcrashedâ is an adjective modifying âserverâ)
The broken windows leaked a lot of rain. (âbrokenâ is an adjective modifying âwindowsâ)
Donât confuse gerunds and present participles with verbs in the progressive tense, which come after a form of the verb âto beâ:
The plane is flying overhead. (verb)
The cat was running across the lawn. (verb)
Donât confuse past participles with verbs in the passive voice, which start with was/were:
The windshield was cracked. (verb)
The windows were broken. (verb)
Infinitives
Infinitives start with âtoâ and end with the simple present form of a verb, such as âto flyâ and âto crackâ. They can act as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.
Nouns
To live is to adjust.
I want to go.
I love to fly.
Adjectives
This is the best time to start.
(modifies âtimeâ)
The first attempt to build the Panama Canal ended in failure.
(adjectival infinitive phrase modifying âattemptâ)
Adverbs
You know an infinitive is acting as an adverb if you can put âin orderâ in front of it and get the same meaning.
To win, you need the highest number of points.
(adverb modifying âneedâ)
In order to win, you need the highest number of points.
(same thing)
We nailed plywood on the store windows to prepare for the storm.
(adverbial infinitive phrase modifying ânailedâ).
We nailed plywood on the store windows in order to prepare for the storm.
(same thing)
If you look at the noun or adjective examples of infinitives, however, you canât put âin orderâ in front of them and get the same meaning. âI love in order to flyâ doesnât have the same meaning as âI love to flyâ, so you know in this case the infinitive is not an adverb.
Note that you use a comma after the adverbial infinitive when it starts a sentence:
To prepare for the storm, we nailed plywood on the store windows.
But you do not separate the adverbial infinitive from the rest of the sentence if it comes at the end of the sentence:
We nailed plywood on the store windows to prepare for the storm.
Donât confuse infinitives with prepositional phrases. In infinitives, âtoâ is followed by a verb, whereas in prepositions âtoâ is followed by a noun.
I want to go.
(Infinitive - âtoâ is followed by the verb âgoâ)
I went to the park.
(Prepositional phrase - âtoâ is followed by the noun â(the) parkâ)
So thatâs all you really need to know about verbals. And now Iâm guessing (verb) you want to go (infinitive) to the bar (prepositional phrase) and forget all about them.
Summary
- Verbals are verbs that act like other parts of speech.
- Gerunds end in -ing and are nouns.
- Present participles end in -ing but are adjectives.
- Past participles end in -ed or -en and act as adjectives.
- Infinitive start with âtoâ and can be nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.
Additional resources
https://webapps.towson.edu/ows/verbals.html
đAssignment
- Give an example of one sentence using an -ing verb and another sentence using that same word as a gerund, such as âThe squirrel is flyingâ and âI love flyingâ.
- Give an example of that same word as a present participle, such as âThe flying squirrel was cute.â
- Give an example of that same word in the past participle form, such as âThe flown airplane was out of fuel.â
- Give an example of an infinitive used as a noun, an adjective, and an adverb. For example, âI want to winâ, âThis is our chance to winâ, âTo win, we must train hardâ.