Phrases Participles gerund and infinitive Verbals Participles When

Phrases: Participles, gerund, and infinitive

Verbals: Participles When a verb is used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb, it is called a verbal. A participle is a verbal. Participles are a form of a verb that can act as an adjective. ● Present participles usually end in –ing (frightening, entertaining) ● Past participles usually end in –ed (frightened, entertained), but many have irregular endings such as burnt and written. Like other adjectives, participles answer the questions: What kind? Or Which one? ● Jane’s tearing eyes betrayed her sadness. ■ ● What kind of eyes? Tearing. The shattered tiles need to be replaced. ■ Which tiles? The shattered tiles

Participle Phrase A participle phrase is a participle modified by an adverb or adverbial phrase or accompanied by a complement. The entire participle phrase acts as an adjective. With an adverb: Traveling quickly, we arrived on time. With an adverb phrase: Traveling at breakneck speed, we arrived on time. With a complement: Avoiding delays, we arrived on time. If it is nonessential, you will use commas. If it is essential, don’t use commas

Verb or Participle? A verb shows an action, a condition, or the fact something exists. A participle acting acts as an adjective to modify a noun or a pronoun. ● The dog is growling at the intruder. ■ ● What is the dog doing? The growling dog attacked the intruder. ■ Which dog? A participle phrase is a participle modified by an adverb or adverbial phrase or accompanied by a complement. The entire participle phrase acts as an adjective.

Gerunds are a form of a verb that ends in -ing and acts as a noun. Subject: Reading is my favorite pastime. D. O. I enjoy reading. I. O. The coach gave running a new meaning. P. N. My sister’s favorite activity is running. Object of the Preposition: Their well-behaved horses showed signs of training. Appositive: Dan’s profession, acting, is very competitive.

Verb, Participle, or Gerund? Gerunds are words ending in -ing that act as nouns. ● ● Gerunds do not have helping verbs. They do not act as adjectives. Verb: Gabby is singing in her seat Participle: The singing girl is very joyful. Gerund: Singing is very soothing Note how the verb uses “is” as a helping verb in the first example, and how singing is modifying girl in the second example.

Gerund Phrase A gerund phrase consists of a gerund and one or more modifiers of a complement. These phrases act together as a noun. We can have gerund phrases with adjectives: ● His constant, angry, ranting made the commander difficult to tolerate. With an adverb: ● Speaking loudly is not always easy. With a prepositional phrase ● Walking on the grass is prohibited here.

Gerund Phrases With a Direct Object ● Blaine was incapable of remembering the speech. With an I. O and D. O. ● The literature professor tried giving her student praise. Always use the possessive pronoun before a gerund.

Infinitive An infinitive phrase is a form of a verb that generally appears with the word “to” in front of it and acts as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. Examples: ● ● ● ● Subject: To teach requires practice and patience D. O. : The students decided to read P. N. : The girl’s only option was to drive home. Obj of Prep: I have no goal in life except to sing. Appositive: You have only one option, to wait. Ajective: The team showed a willingness to cooperate. Adverb: Some people were unable to sing. They like to read quietly.

Preposition or Infinitive? A prepositional phrase will always end in a noun or pronoun. An infinitive always ends with a verb. Sometimes the “to” is omitted, but understood, using these verbs: ● Dare, hear, help, let, make, please, see, watch. Example: ● ● He won’t dare (to) go without a plan. Bob helped mike (to) see the game.

Infinitive Phrases An infinitive phrase consists of an infinitive and its modifies, complements, or subject, all acting together as a single part of speech. Infinitive phrases can be long! With an adverb: The family likes to read quietly With an adverb phrase: To run on the sand is sometimes difficult. With a direct object: Annie hated to leave San Francisco.

Infinitive Phrases Examples continued With an I. O. and a D. O. : She promised to show us the video from her soccer game. With a Subject and a Complement: I want him (subject) to decide his own future (complement).