Get a

whiteboard
rag
marker
Verbals
Participles,
Gerunds,
Infinitives
Goal: I will be able to identify
and correctly punctuate
verbals.
What is a verbal?
• A verbal is a verb functioning as
some other part of speech.

• There are three types of verbals:

participles, gerunds, and infinitives.
What is a participle?
• A participle is a verb functioning as
an adjective.
Well, what is an
adjective?
• What is an adjective?
• A word that modifies a noun or
pronoun.
• Adjectives answer the questions
which one? and how many?
Participles
• A participle is a verb functioning as
an adjective.

• There are two types of participles:

past and present.

– Past participles end in –ed

– Present participles end in -ing
Note!!
• Be aware of irregular verbs with –n,
-t, or –en endings

• Example: torn, lost, written, etc.

Example
• A raging fire destroyed the
uninsured building.

– What kind of fire? Raging (present

participle)
– What kind of building? Uninsured
(past participle)
 Choose the
word that is the
participle in
each sentence.
The moving van was
parked beneath the
tree.

MOVING
The beaten eggs are
in the bowl on the
counter by the
microwave.

BEATEN
I enjoy freezing
temperatures in the
winter.

FREEZING
The growling dog
scared away the
children from the
park.

GROWLING
The whistling wind
made an eerie sound
at night.

WHISTLING
Participle Phrases
• What is a phrase?
• A group of words functioning as a
single part of speech.

• A participial phrase is a participle

with its modifiers and complements
—all working as an adjective.
Example
• The fire station located nearby
promptly responded to the fire.

• We saw the hawk soaring

effortlessly above us.
Select the
words that form
the participle
phrase.
Write the letter of
the correct choice
on your whiteboard.
A.Driving through the snow
B.my father had
C.to use caution.

A
A. The dinner
B. cooking on the stove
C. smelled wonderful.

B
A. Pushing the wagon up
the hill
B. the paperboy
C. continued to deliver
papers.

A
A. Riding my bicycle,
B. I began
C. to breathe heavily.

A
A. The actor
B. overtaken by fans
C. hurried into the hotel.

B
Punctuation with
Participles
• The punctuation is the same as
with prepositional phrases and
appositives.
• Introductory participles are followed
by a comma.
• If the participle is nonessential, it is
followed by a comma.
 Which is the
proper way to
punctuate the
sentence?
A. Racing to the finish line I
smiled victoriously.
B. Racing to the finish line, I
smiled victoriously.

B
A. My band, marching in the
contest, took the audience
by surprise.
B. My band marching in the
contest took the audience
by surprise.

A
A. Showering the fields the
rain fell all day.
B. Showering the fields, the
rain fell all day.

B
A. Joel, smiling after the win
joined his teammates on
the field.
B. Joel, smiling after the win,
joined his teammates on
the field.

B
A. Eating the spicy food I
began to sweat.
B. Eating the spicy food, I
began to sweat.

B
 What is a gerund?
• A verbal ending in –ing and acts as
a noun.
noun
• Because it is acting as a noun, it
can be anything a noun is: subject,
direct object, indirect object, object
of a preposition, predicate
nominative, appositive.
• A gerund phrase consists of the
gerund with its modifiers and
complements.
Examples
• Subject: Talking loudly always
attracts attention.
• Direct object: Everyone in my
house enjoys watching the World
Series.
Series
• Indirect object: He gave voting for
class president careful thought.
Examples Continued
• Object of a preposition: She
worked eight hours without taking
a break.
break
• Predicate nominative: A great thrill
for her was winning the state
tennis tournament.
tournament
• Appositive: Dad’s hobby, carving
wooden soldiers,
soldiers has taught him
much about history.
Note!!
• The possessive form of a noun or a
pronoun is used before a gerund
and is considered part of the
gerund phrase.

• Example: Mrs. Lambert insists on

our typing our compositions.
compositions
 Write the
Gerund in each
sentence.
Horseback riding
has many benefits
for people with
disabilities.
Horseback riding
has many benefits
for people with
disabilities.
subject
People with
disabilities or
emotional problems
can enjoy moving
around.
People with
disabilities or
emotional problems
can enjoy moving
around.
around
Direct object
One horse, named
Silver, was
especially good at
walking slowly and
carefully.
One horse, named
Silver, was
especially good at
walking slowly and
carefully.
Object of the preposition at
Waiting took
patience, but Silver
let the teachers lift
a woman named
Maria onto his
back.
Waiting took
patience, but Silver
let the teachers lift
a woman named
Maria onto his
back.
subject
When Maria started
riding, she had
never walked in her
life.
When Maria started
riding,
riding she had
never walked in her
life.
Direct object
Her activity had
been limited to
rolling in her
wheelchair.
Her activity had
been limited to
rolling in her
wheelchair.
Object of the preposition to
From Silver, she
learned balancing.
From Silver, she
learned balancing.
balancing
Direct object
After building her
strength, she cold
even walk with a
little help.
After building her
strength, she cold
even walk with a
little help.
Object of the preposition after
Silver contributed
to Maria’s healing.
Silver contributed
to Maria’s healing.
healing
Object of the preposition to
As a result of
training with Silver,
Maria now lives
independently.
As a result of
training with Silver,
Maria now lives
independently.
Object of the preposition of
 What is an infinitive?
• An infinitive is a verb form that
usually begins with to.
to It is used as
a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.
• An infinitive phrase is an infinitive
plus any modifiers or complements.
 Infinitives
• Do not confuse an infinitive with a
prepositional phrase.

• A infinitive is to plus a verb.

verb
• A prepositional phrase is to plus a
noun.
Examples
• To exercise regularly is very
important. (subject)
• I hope to visit soon.
soon (direct object)
 Write the
Infinitive phrase
in each
sentence.
Ringo the cat liked to
nap indoors every
morning.

• To nap indoors
To play outside was for
afternoons.

• To play outside
Yet one morning he was
determined to get out.

• To get out
His owners, Carol and
Ray, were too sick to
let him out.

• To let him out

Carol finally managed
to open the door.

• To open the door

Meowing, the cat went
to the gas meter and
began to dig.

• To dig
Carol thought he was
trying to tell her about a
gas leak.

• To tell her
She called the gas
company, to check the
hole Ringo had dug.

• To check the hole

“Your house is about to
blow up!” the
technician shouted.

• To blow up
Ringo’s instinct to warn
his owners had saved
their lives.

• To warn
 Now let’s
practice
deciding if we
have and
infinitive phrase
or prepositional
phrase.
 REMEMBER
• Do not confuse an infinitive with a
prepositional phrase.

• An infinitive is to plus a verb.

verb
• A prepositional phrase is to plus a
noun.
 Label each
underlined
portion I if it is
an infinitive or
PP if it is a
prepositional
phrase.
There are many
different factors that
contribute to
research.

• Prepositional Phrase
It is important to plan
your research paper
very carefully.

• Infinitive
Once you have
completely developed
your plan, get to
work.

• Infinitive
To research for any
topic will require
some supplies.

• Infinitive
Organize all of your
research information
according to type.

• Prepositional Phrase
You should plan to
school yourself
thoroughly in your
topic.

• Infinitive Phrase
If you follow a
schedule, your
research should
proceed according to
plan.

• Prepositional Phrase
Several people went
to school and wrote
their papers in the
computer lab.

• Prepositional Phrase
It is difficult to work
when it is noisy in the
room.

• Infinitive
If your final draft is
too long, you will
need lots of patience
to type it.

• Infinitive
 Gerund
or
Participle
 Gerund or Participle
• A gerund is a verbal that ends in
–ing and acts as a noun.
noun
– We were annoyed by the moth’s
fluttering. (DO)
• A participle is a verb form that ends
in –ing and acts as an adjective.
adjective
– The moth’s fluttering wings were
white.
 Identify the
verbal
Then label it as
a Gerund or
Participle
Many TV
commercials feature
acting animals.

• Acting
• participle
There are bell-ringing
turkeys and typing
chickens.

• Bell-ringing – Participle
• Typing - Participle
Training any type of
animal requires
patience.

• Training - gerund
Have your seen the
dog food commercial
that shows a dog
chasing a chuck
wagon?

• Chasing – gerund (do)

The trainer aroused
yearning in the dog
by hiding a squeaky
toy in a closet.

• Yearning – gerund (do)

• Hiding – gerund (do)
Then the excited dog
was let loose.

• Excited - participle
Staring at the door,
the dog waited for
the trainer to open it.

• Staring at the door-

participle
In the finished
commercial, the
chuck wagon
disappears right
through the cabinet
door.

• Finished - participle
Working comes
naturally to most
animal actors.

• Working – gerund (sub)