Verbals

When is a verb not a verb? When it is a verbal.

You remember that in English there are only four forms of each verb: the present, the present participle, the past, and the past participle. Sometimes when you see these forms in a sentence, they are not actually being used as verbs.

Definition:

 

A verbal (or non-finite verb) is a verb form that is not being used as a verb. Verbals can act as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. There are three types of verbals: the present participle, the past participle, and the infinitive, which is formed by putting to in front of the present tense form. (A verb being a verb is called a finite verb.)

Verb: We were walking along the midway at the carnival.
Verbal: Walking along the midway at the carnival, we ate our funnel cakes. (present participle)

Verb: All that dancing tired me out.
Verbal: Tired out by all that dancing, I went home and collapsed. (past participle)

Verb: We always sing the National Anthem at the ball game.
Verbal: I really like to sing. (to + present = infinitive)

Participles

Definition:

 

A participle is a form of a verb that needs a helping verb. There are two participles, the present participle and the past participle.

Present	Present Participle (needs to be)	Past	Past Participle (needs have)
dance(s)	dancing	danced	danced
eat(s)	eating	ate	eaten
become(s)	becoming	became	become

• The present participle of all verbs ends in ing.
• The past participle of regular verbs ends in ed.
• The past participles of irregular verbs have different forms.

In order to work as a verb in a sentence, all participles must have a helping verb. A participle without a helping verb is being used as either a participle or a gerund. (We'll get to gerunds later.)

Used as a verb:

We were singing as we walked along the sidewalk.
Peter was laughing and fell out of his chair.

Used as a participle:

Singing, we walked along the sidewalk.
Peter, laughing, fell out of his chair.

Past participles and present participles can be used as adjectives in sentences. When used as adjectives, we identify them as participles instead of verbs.

The burning sun beat down on us. (burning tells what kind of sun)
The broken flowerpot lay on the ground. (broken tells what kind of flowerpot)
The museum was closed when we got there. (closed is a predicate adjective describing museum)

Participial Phrases

Definition:

 

A participial phrase is made up of the participle along with its objects and modifiers.

Singing a silly song, we walked along the sidewalk.
Peter, laughing at Allie's joke, fell out of his chair.

Participial phrases act as adjectives because they modify nouns.

Singing a silly song, we walked along the sidewalk.
(Singing a silly song describes "we".)

Peter, laughing at Allie's joke, fell out of his chair.

(Laughing at Allie's joke describes Peter.)

Definition:

 

A phrase is restrictive (also called essential) if it narrows down the word it modifies. It tells which one of a noun you are writing about. A restrictive phrase is necessary to the meaning of the sentence. Restrictive phrases do not have commas around them.

The man wearing the white jacket is our coach.
There are several men. Wearing the white jacket restricts which man is the coach. If we take the phrase out, we don't know who the coach is.

Definition:

 

A phrase is nonrestrictive (also called nonessential) if we know exactly who or what is being written about without the phrase. A nonrestrictive phrase is simply adding extra information. Nonrestrictive phrases need commas around them.

Mr. Davis, wearing a white jacket, is our coach.
We know Mr. Davis is the coach. We are adding that he is wearing a white jacket. If we take the phrase out, we still know that Mr. Davis is the coach.

A participle or participial phrase generally follows the noun or pronoun it modifies. Nonessential phrases can sometimes come before the noun. Phrases before nouns are set off with commas.

Kevin, playing with his new puppy, did not finish his homework.
Playing with his new puppy, Kevin did not finish his homework.

Justin, working on his homework, made good use of his time.
Working on his homework, Justin made good use of his time.

Moving the phrase can change which word the phrase is modifying.

Justin made good use of his time working on his homework.
(Now the phrase is modifying time.)

Definition:

 

A participial phrase is misplaced if it seems to modify a word other than the one the writer intended to modify. It is often added to a sentence as an afterthought. The idea was clear in the author's mind, but it didn't translate to the reader.

Misplaced: We got on the bus, soaked from the rain. (Was the bus soaked?)
Better: Soaked from the rain, we got on the bus.

Definition:

 

A participial phrase is dangling if it modifies a word that is not in the sentence at all.

Dangling:

Sitting in the back row, the board was hard to see. (The board wasn't sitting in the back row.)
Mowing the lawn, grass clippings got all over my face. (The grass clippings weren't mowing the lawn.)

Corrected:

Sitting in the back row, I couldn't see the board well.
Mowing the lawn, I got grass clippings all over my face.

Definition:

 

A gerund is a verbal that uses the present participle of a verb (the ing form) but acts as a noun. It can act as a subject, a subject complement, a direct object, an indirect object, or an object of a preposition.

Reading is my favorite activity. (gerund as a subject)
Julie's best subject is writing. (gerund as a subject complement)
Carlos really enjoys biking. (gerund as a direct object)
Maria gives singing all her attention. (gerund as an indirect object)
I got this bruise from fencing. (gerund as the object of a preposition)

Hint:

 Watch out for present participles used as participles (adjectives).

Participle: Let's meet at the bowling alley. (Bowling describes alley.)
Gerund: On the weekends, I go bowling. (Bowling is acting as a noun.)

Definition:

 

A gerund phrase is the gerund plus its object and modifiers.

Reading mystery novels is my favorite activity. (gerund phrase as a subject)
Julie's best subject is creative writing. (gerund phrase as a subject complement)
Carlos really enjoys biking through the mountains. (gerund phrase as a direct object)
I got this bruise from fencing with my instructor. (gerund phrase as the object of a preposition)

Hint:

 If you're not sure if a word or phrase is a gerund, replace it with the word something. Since a gerund is a noun, replacing it with a pronoun should work.

Playing the banjo is a skill I am learning.
Something is a skill I am learning.

Note: Because a gerund is a noun, it requires a possessive noun or pronoun before it.

Johnny's swimming has improved this last year.
Not: Johnny swimming has improved this last year.

I think that our swimming will be even better next year.

Not: I think that us swimming will be even better next year.