VERBALS
The term “verbal” comes from the word “verb” which means “an action word”. Let’s define verbal. Verbal is another part of speech that acts as an adjective, noun, or adverb. Verbal creates verbal phrases. There are three different types of verbal, namely, gerund, participles, and infinitives.
1. Gerund
A gerund is a verb that acts as a noun. It is a verb with “-ing” at the end of the word. A few of the examples are the following:
Eating is my favorite hobby.
My most-awaited part of the year is traveling.
Writing calms my soul.
Remember, Gerund is the subject of the sentence. Also, Gerund can create “gerund phrases”, few of the examples are the following:
Running towards the goal is not an easy journey.
The traveler was given a traveling strategy in Asia.
Loving a man takes a lot of patience.
2. Participles
A participle is another type of verbal that acts as an adjective in a sentence. There are two types of participles, namely, present participles and past participles.
Present participles are verbs that end with “-ing”. Let’s not be confused between Gerunds and Present Participles. Again, gerund acts as a noun (subject) while present participle acts as an adjective (descriptive). Present participles modify a noun. A few of the examples are the following:
Smiling, the man shook the hand of the love of his life.
Studying as a pre-medicine student, Gab drank her hot coffee and sighed.
Standing, the girl smiled at a boy on the street.
Past participles are past tense verbs that act as an adjective. The examples are the following:
The burned spaghetti was eaten by the kid.
The vaccinated baby cries in the hospital emergency room.
Chopped into smaller pieces, the meat was put into the frying pan.
Remember, adjectives describe or modify.
3. Infinitives
Infinitives are verbals that function as nouns, adverbs, or adjectives. It is the same as gerund and participles, however, it starts with the word “to”. The following are infinitive examples as a noun, adverbs, and adjectives.
Infinitive noun examples:
My plan after graduating college is to go to medical school.
Getting a job is my goal this year.
Infinitive adverb examples:
To pass the exams, one must study.
To have a healthy body, a person should have a healthy lifestyle.
Infinitive adjective examples:
Switzerland is a beautiful place to relax.
A café’ is a good place to study for an exam. Learning about verbals can help you create a brief and concise sentence. To not be confused, always remember the function of a noun, adjective, and adverb.
