English Grammar - Verbals

Verbs convey either action or a state of being. Verbs are the essence of a sentence's predicate--what the subject does. Verbals, however, while they suggest action or a state of being, cannot stand on their own in the role of a verb. Because they suggest action or a state of being but do the job of nouns (subjects or objects) and modifiers (adjectives and adverbs), they can be very powerful in discerning or containing the power of the verb form while they do their other tasks.

The infinitive

If you have studied another language, you have most likely learned to conjugate a verb. For example, "I dance," "you dance," "he/she/it dances" are conjugations of the verb "dance." One begins conjugation from something called an infinitive. For the example in the preceding sentence, the infinitive is to dance. All verbs have an infinitive form: to sing, to laugh, to sweep, to study, to wake up.

The infinitive is, as its name suggests, a kind of pure form from which we can conjugate other verbs. However, the infinitive at work in a sentence is not a verb. It is a verbal. It functions not as a verb but as a noun (as a subject or an object) or a modifier (adverbial or adjectival).

Examples:

   1. To shoot a fly with a canon is waste of energy.
      Italics indicate the pure infinitive working as a pure subject; underlining indicates the whole infinitive phrase working as the whole subject.

   2. When Alex read the comments on his paper, he began to feel elated about his improvement.
      Italics indicate the pure infinitive working as an object of the verb. Underlining indicates an infinitive phrase working to complete the meaning of the object.

   3. Teaching adults to read makes Sarah feel worthy.
      Italics indicate the pure infinitive working as an adjective which modifies the subject "teaching" - another kind of verbal, by the way. Underlining indicates the whole subject, but here we cannot call it an infinitive phrase because the infinitive does not form the subject or control it; it simply modifies the subject or adds to its dimensions.

   4. Mary cried to deal with the pain.
      Italics indicate the pure infinitive working as an adverb which modifies the verb "cried". Underlining indicates the whole adverbial infinitive phrase.

The gerund

The gerund is another type of verbal. It is a present participle which works as a noun (either in a subject or an object position). But what is a present participle? Review the verb tense section where you learned to conjugate progressive forms (past, present and future). The progressive form has two parts: the auxiliary verb that determines the verb's relationship to time (e.g., is, was, will have been, etc.) and the present participle (e.g., running, singing).

If we isolate the present participle, the "ing" verb, and make it work as a subject or an object (noun), we have turned it into a gerund; we have turned it from a verb (part of one actually) into a verbal.

Note the difference in function between the "ing" verbs in the following examples.

   1. He was running away from his past.
      The "ing" verb is part of the verb; it is not a noun; it is part of the action that the subject performs.

   2. Running the race was good for his image.
      Here, the "ing" verbal is a thing. It is a noun. We can replace it with a noun. (e.g., New clothes were good for his image.) Running, in this example, works as a subject.

   3. She wanted the running of the race to be over.
      In this example, running works again as a noun, but it serves the function of an object. She wanted "what"? She wanted "the running."

Gerunds can be powerful; they work as things, solid or seemingly so and yet they imply action or activity or movement. Use them carefully and sparingly; overdoing the "ings" in a paragraph or an essay can have a detrimental effect on the overall tone of your writing.

The participle

In the preceding section, you refreshed your memory of the present participle. We also need to recall the past participle. The present participle is an "ing" verb form; the past participle is an "ed" verb form. Like the present participle, the past participle, when it appears with an auxiliary verb has its own special roles. Without an auxiliary verb, an "ed" verb form is simply either past tense (if it functions as a verb) or a verbal (it functions as a adjective). The present or past participle, when we use them as verbals, are adjectival in function; they modify things - subjects or objects.

Be careful with the present participle, the "ing" form - it looks just like the gerund, but the gerund is a noun and the participle is an adjective.

Examples:

   1. Running along the river relaxed Tom. This is a gerund; it is a noun and the subject of the sentence.

   2. Running along the river, Tom felt relaxed. This is a participle; it is an adjective which modifies the subject, Tom.

      Hint: Make sure the participle can modify the subject or the sentence will contain what we call a dangling participle. For instance, we cannot say "Trying to escape, the garbage can blocked his path." We can say, "Trying to escape, he found a garbage can blocking his path. Like any other adjective, the participle (present or past) must be next to the noun (subject or object) that it modifies.

   3. Angered by the article, Drake decided to write a letter to the editor. This sentence contains two "ed" verb forms: one is a verbal and one is a verb. "Angered" is an adjective describing Drake's state of being; "decided" is a past tense verb stating the subject's (Drake's) action in the sentence.

      One could write this sentence as "Drake was angered by the article and decided to write a letter." In this case, "angered" is no longer a verbal; it is part of a verb and the sentence contains two verbs for its one subject. However, the sentence is wordier and contains two types of voice, passive (was angered) and active (decided). The result is a wordy and unbalanced sentence.