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Verbals Review
A verbal is a word that is formed from a verb but is used as a noun, adjective, or adverb.
There are 3 kinds of verbals: 1.participles 2.infinitives
3.gerunds
A participle is a verb form that ends with –ing, -d, -ed, -n or –t and can be used as an adjective.
Participle Phrase: Ex. Reading the assignment, she took notes carefully.
Ex. The tornado predicted by the weather forecaster did not hit our area.
An infinitive is a verb form preceded by “to” that can be used as a noun , adjective , or adverb.
Note: This is NOT the same as a prepositional phrase!!!!
Ex. I am going to the mall today.(prepositional phrase)
(infinitive)
I am going to shop for new shoes.
Infinitives used as nouns:
1.To succeed is my goal.
2. My ambition is to teach Spanish.
Infinitives used as adjectives:
1.The place to meet tomorrow is the library. 2.She is the one to call.
Infinitives used as adverbs:
1.Kelly claims she was born to surf.
2.The math problem will be hard to solve without a calculator.
A gerund is a verb form ending in - ing that functions as a noun.
It occupies some positions in a sentence that a noun ordinarily would (S, DO, PN, OP).
Ex. Traveling might satisfy your desire for new experiences. ( subject )
They do not appreciate my singing. ( direct object )
The police arrested him for speeding. ( object of the preposition )
Gerund Phrase: Ex. Finding a needle in a haystack would be easier than what we're trying to do.
Verbals Practice
Part A: Gerund, Participle, Infinitive, or Preposition?
A = Gerund, B = Participle, C = Infinitive, or D = Prepositional Phrase
____1. Watching the ballerina was fascinating.
____2. Theresa, relaxing by the pool, read a magazine.
____3. Her humming drove me crazy.
____4. The pouting child hid behind the couch.
____5. Children like eating cookies.
____6. He is responsible for drawing all the illustrations.
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____7. Belching out loud after dinner is not acceptable in my family.
____8. To finish will take hours of work.
____9. He left home to seek his fortune.
____10. Using a hand pump, we added air to the back tire.
____11. Zachary tried to catch the ball.
____12. He threw it to Lisa.
Part B: Identification
Choose the best answer for each question:
____13. A gerund ends in which of the following?
A. –ing
B. –ed
C. –ly
____14. A gerund acts like which part of speech?
A. adverb
B. noun
C. preposition
____15. Which ending is not used as the end of a participle?
A. –ing
B. –ed
C. –ly
____16. A participle acts like which part of speech?
A. noun
B. verb
C. adjective
____17. Which part of speech does an infinitive not act like?
A. noun
B. verb
C. adverb
____18. "Dancing is my favorite activity," Claire told her classmates before gym class.
How is the word "dancing" being used in this sentence?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Dancing is a verb, being used as an adjective to describe Claire’s favorite activity.
Dancing is a verb, being used as an adjective to describe what would happen in gym class.
Dancing is a verb, being used as a noun and forming the subject of the sentence.
Dancing is a verb, being used as a noun and forming the predicate of the sentence.
____19. Identify the infinitive in the sentence.
I am not trying to be negative, but you should have gone to the bank and then to the grocery
store instead of going to the movies.
A. To be
B. To the bank
C. To the grocery store
D. To the movies
____20. Identify the participle in the following sentence.
Casey began tossing and turning that night because he knew eventually he had to
confess about stealing the chewing gum.
A. Tossing
B. Turning
C. Stealing
D. Chewing
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