Verbals

• ​It functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb.

• ​There are three types of verbals:

  1. ​Gerunds

  2. ​Participles

  3. ​Infinitives

• ​Ex. He loves running.

• ​The verb in the sentence is "loves." "Running" is the verbal (gerund) and it functions as a noun (direct object). You could replace it with another noun and the sentence would still make grammatical sense. (Ex. He loves dogs.)

• ​Ex. Skiing is her favorite sport.

• ​All gerunds end in -ing. However, not all words ending in -ing are automatically gerunds.

• ​There are two types of participles:

  ​1. Present Participles --> end in -ing

  • Ex. The crying baby belongs to her.

• ​2. Past Participles- --> end in -ed, -en, -d, -t, -n

  • ​Ex. The broken window was fixed.

    ​Ex. We ate the cooked meal.

• ​Sometimes participles begin participle phrases, which also describe nouns.

  • ​Ex. Sitting in the front row, the girl listened carefully.

• ​Remember, participles can also be verbs when used with a helping verb.

  • ​Ex. I am singing.

• The infinitive is formed by placing the word "to"​ in front of the present simple form of the verb.

  • ​Ex. She loves to bake. (functioning as a noun)

  • ​Ex. Bring a book to read in class. (functioning as an adjective describing book).

  • ​Ex. He went to ask the teacher. (functioning as an adverb describing why he went).

​