Verbals
Overview
Introduces the topic of verbals in the English language, including verbs, gerunds, participles, and infinitives.
Introduction
Overview of concepts related to verbal.
Emphasis on the understanding of the difference between a verb and a verbal.
Clarification of definitions and purposes of gerunds, participles, and infinitives.
Encourages participation in discussion and application of knowledge.
Verbs and Verbals
Definition of Verbs
Verb: A word that shows an action, state, or event.
Essential part of a sentence; known as the 'soul' of the English language.
Definition of Verbals
Verbals: Words that seem to carry the idea of action or being but do not function as a true verb.
Sometimes referred to as "nonfinite" verbs, meaning they are unfinished or incomplete.
Difference between Verb and Verbal:
A verb shows a state of action, inactivity, or being.
A verbal assumes relations and functions akin to a verb but lacks finite properties.
Types of Verbals
Categories of verbals: Gerunds, Participles, Infinitives.
Examples of Verbals
Infinitive Example:
"I like to walk to school."
"Like" is the main verb, while "to walk" is an infinitive functioning as a noun, acting as the direct object of the verb.
Gerund Example:
"Walking is good exercise."
"Is" is the verb; "walking" is a gerund acting as the subject.
Participle Example:
"He wore walking shoes."
"Wore" is the main verb; "walking" is a participle used as an adjective describing "shoes."
Gerunds
Definition
Gerunds: Words formed from verbs that function as nouns in a sentence.
Ending: Gerunds always end in -ing.
Examples of Gerunds
Swimming in the ocean has been Sharon’s passion since she was five years old.
The ballerina taught us dancing.
Apologizing to me isn’t enough this time.
She is afraid of flying.
They are capable of doing hard work.
Functions of Gerunds
Can function in the following ways:
Subject of a Verb: "Visiting New York is always an experience."
Object of a Verb: "I love visiting New York."
Object of a Preposition: "I surprised them by visiting New York."
Subject Complement: "My highlight was visiting New York."
Participles
Definition
Participle: A word derived from a verb that can modify a noun or noun phrase (like an adjective) or form certain verb tenses.
Typically ends with -ing or -ed; some have different spellings.
Examples of Participles
The man is sleeping on the couch.
The sleeping man was on the couch.
The puppy was howling at the moon.
The howling puppy looked at the moon.
Participle Phrases
Definition: A participle phrase includes a participle and its modifiers, acting like an adjective that modifies a noun.
Example: "Books placed onto the cart will be put back when the library closes at 5:00 p.m."
Keep in mind the subject in the participle phrase must match the subject of the independent clause.
Usage Consideration
Avoid starting a sentence with a participle that does not refer to the subject:
Example: "Steaming from the heat, the baseball player carefully sipped his hot cocoa."
Types of Participles
Present Participle
Formed by adding -ing.
Adjustments: Remove ‘e’ before adding ‘ing’ if a verb ends in ‘e’; double the final consonant in some monosyllabic words (ending with a single consonant); change ‘ie’ to ‘y’ in specific cases.
Past Participle
Regular Past Participles are formed by adding the suffix “-ed” (e.g., “walk” becomes “walked”).
Irregular Past Participles: Vary in formation (e.g., “kneel” to “knelt”). They do not follow a consistent pattern.
Used as adjectives, in participle phrases, to form perfect tenses, or for passive constructions.
Perfect Participle
Describes actions occurring before another action in the main clause.
Formed with “having” followed by a past participle.
Infinitives
Definition
Infinitives: Special verb forms that can function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.
Definition in context: "An infinitive is a verbal consisting of the word to plus a verb (in its simplest 'stem' form)."
Express actions that aren't restricted by time, person, or number.
Infinitive Phrases
Contains an infinitive with modifiers and/or nouns functioning in relation to the action or state expressed in the infinitive.
Example: "Phil agreed to give me a ride."
Forms and Functions of Infinitives
Types and Examples
As a Subject: "To find the right property takes time."
As an Object: "People may choose to buy a larger house."
As a Subject Complement: "Your goal is to make the best investment possible."
As an Adjective: "Give him an ornament to polish."
As an Adverb: "The officer returned to help."
Infinitives Following Adjectives
Infinitives can follow adjectives, often expressing feelings about the action.
Some adjectives like afraid, amazed, excited, require infinitives without gerunds.
Major Types of Infinitives
Full Infinitives: (“to + verb”)
Bare Infinitives: (Use only the verb without “to” after modal auxiliary verbs and perception verbs.)
Split Infinitives: Involve inserting words between “to” and the verb.
Example: "I wanted to boldly go for what I stand for."
Infinitives vs. Gerunds
Some verbs can be followed by either infinitives or gerunds, often without meaning change (e.g., begin, love, hate).
Example: "You may prefer to invest in a bigger lot." vs. "You may prefer investing in a bigger lot."
Other verbs have a significant change in meaning between the two forms (e.g., forget, remember, regret).
Example: "Don’t forget to talk to the neighbors" vs. "Don’t forget talking to the neighbors."
Passive Infinitives
Present Passive Infinitive: Formed as "to + be + past participle". Example: "Request to be shown houses in your price range."
Past Passive Infinitive: Formed as "to + have + been + past participle". Example: "The renovations were to have been done quickly."
References
Various resources are provided for further reading and exploration on verbals, gerunds, participles, and infinitives.
Includes links to educational websites like Purdue OWL, Grammarly, and others focusing on grammar resources.