Gerunds, Participles & Infinitives

A gerund is a verbal that ends in -ing and functions as a noun.

A participle is a verbal that can function as an adjective and typically ends in -ing or -ed.

In this sentence, 'running' is a gerund functioning as the subject.

In this sentence, 'excited' is a participle functioning as an adjective.

A gerund functions as a noun, while a participle functions as an adjective.

Example: 'Swimming is a great workout.'

Example: 'The broken vase lay on the floor.'

An infinitive is the base form of a verb, usually preceded by 'to' (e.g., 'to run').

In this sentence, 'to eat' is an infinitive functioning as the object of the verb 'want.'

Participles modify nouns or pronouns, providing more information about them.