Verbals

Verbs and Moods

Verbals

A verbal is a verb form that does not function as a verb. Verbals function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. There are three types of verbals:

Verbals (Participles)

A participle is a verb form that functions as an adjective.

There are two types of participles: the present participle (ending "ing") and the past participle (usually ending "-ed,"" -d,"" -t,"" -en," or "-n").

Here are some real-life examples:

A stirring dwarf we do allowance give before a sleeping giant. (Playwright William Shakespeare)
(Two present participles)Food is an important part of a balanced diet. (Author Fran Lebowitz)

(A past participle)Often, a participle will head up a participle phrase that functions as an adjective. In the examples below, all participles are in bold and the participle phrases are shaded.

Drooling saliva over the day's mail, the barking boxer quickly singled out the parcel from the bills and junk mail.
(This example has two present participles. The first heads up a participle phrase that describes "the barking boxer." The second modifies "boxer" in the normal way.)Baked in the oven for over six hours, the roast looked ruined.

(This example has two past participles. The first heads up a participle phrase that describes "the roast." The second describes the roast as a subject complement.)Read more about participle phrases.

Verbals (Gerunds)

Even though gerunds look like present participles (i.e., they also end "-ing"), a gerund is a noun, not an adjective. Here are some examples of gerunds (shaded):

You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing. (Comedian Michael Pritchard)
Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought. (Biochemist Albert Szent-Gyorgyi)
I have never taken any exercise except sleeping and resting. (Author Mark Twain)

A gerund will often appear in a gerund phrase. A gerund phrase consists of a gerund, its object, and all modifiers. For example (gerunds in bold with the gerund phrases shaded):

Singing the words out loud helped him with his stammer.
I started by photographing birds in my garden.

Verbals (Infinitives)

An infinitive is a verb form (often preceded by "to," e.g., "to dance," "to sing") that can function as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. For example:

An infinitive as a noun:

To win was everything.

(The infinitive is the subject of "was.")Compare it to this:

Winning was everything.

(This proves that the infinitive "to win" is being used a noun.)An infinitive as an adjective:

It is an appropriate saving to propose.

(The infinitive modifies "saving." This means it is functioning as an adjective.)Compare it to this:

It is an appropriate saving that he proposed.

(The clause "that he proposed" is an adjective clause. This proves that the infinitive "to propose" is being used an adjective.)An infinitive as an adverb:

The man paid to watch.

(The infinitive modifies the verb "paid." This means it is functioning as an adverb.)Compare it to this:

The man paid so he could watch.

(The clause "so he could watch" is an adverbial clause. This proves that the infinitive "to watch" is being used an adverb.)Read more about infinitives.

An infinitive will often appear in a infinitive phrase. An infinitive phrase consists of the infinitive and any objects and modifiers. For example (infinitives in bold with the infinitive phrases shaded):

She needed to find a lot of money quickly.

(The infinitive phrase is being used as a noun.)

I showed her the best way to make a Yorkshire pudding.

(The infinitive phrase is being used as an adjective.)

He set the camera to film whatever was eating his chickens.

(The infinitive phrase is being used as an adverb.)Read more about infinitive phrases.

More about Verbals

We said at the start that verbals don't function as verbs. This is not strictly true because participles are used to form verb tenses. More specifically, present participles are used to form the progressive (or continuous) tenses, and past participles are used to form the perfect (or completed) tenses. However, participles cannot function as verbs by themselves. They require the help of the finite verbs "to be" or "to have." For example: #

He is eating his dinner.
(The present participle "eating" is part of the verb phrase "is eating." The verb phrase is functioning as a verb, but the verbal (i.e., "eating") cannot do this alone. It needs the help of "is" (i.e., the verb "to be"). This is an example of the present progressive tense.)He has eaten his dinner.

(The past participle "eaten" is part of the verb phrase "has eaten." The verb phrase is functioning as a verb, but the verbal (i.e., "eaten") cannot do this alone. It needs the help of "has" (i.e., the verb "to have"). This is an example of the present perfect tense.)

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