Honors+Verbal+Tutorial


 * Verbals**


 * Verbals:** gerunds, infinitives, and participles, are words that originate from verbs. They can be confusing because they are like verbs and at the same time like other parts of speech. They have verb forms, and, like verbs, they can show tense, take complements, and be modified by adverbs. They function, however, like other parts of speech: the noun, adjective, and adverb. In short, verbals are verb forms that do not function as verbs.

The gerund is a verb form that ends in “ing” and is used as a noun.
 * The Gerund**

Writing a paper is not as easy as you might think. John’s laughing in class caused the principal to reprimand him. Running requires diligence. Jenny likes walking to work when it is sunny and cool.

The gerund had two tenses: present and perfect. (The perfect tense refers to action occurring before the action represented by the main verb in the sentence.) Present: walking, speaking Perfect: having walked, having spoken

While walking home, I met my sister. Eating all those cookies gave Johnny a stomachache. Having completed the job earned me a vacation. Having missed the bus made us late for the concert.

The infinitive is the basic form of the verb, usually preceded by the preposition “to”. It may function as an adjective or an adverb.
 * The Infinitive**

To write To run To laugh To walk It is not as easy to write a paper as you might think. John started to laugh when the teacher explained the meaning of the word “obscene”. To run every day requires diligence. Johnny likes to walk to work when it is sunny and cool. He wouldn’t dare laugh in the principal’s office. (omission of “to”)

The infinitive also has two tense forms: present and perfect). Present: to walk, to speak Perfect: to have walked, to have spoken

Mary has to walk to the bus stop. Harold wasn’t supposed to eat the cookies. We were supposed to have completed the job by Monday. We were sorry to have missed the concert.

The participle is a verb form that usually ends in “ing” or “ed” or, less frequently, “en”, “d”, or “t”. It functions primarily as an adjective, although it may also serve as an adverb.
 * The Participle**

The laughing boy was silenced by harsh words. Frightened, the little girl hid behind her mother. Poached eggs are delicious. The stolen purse was retrieved by the police yesterday. Grasping the life preservers, the exhausted passengers fell into the dinghy waiting below.

The participle has three tense forms: present, past, and perfect. Present participle: walking, speaking Past participle: walked, spoken Perfect participle: having walked, having spoken

The man walking down the street is her uncle. The people eating in the restaurant are obviously wealthy. The paper, having been written and revised, was ready for publication. The table, well constructed, was on display at the museum.