Verbals.
Participles, lnfinitives and Gerunds,
Gtlq,gc3,t irrd althoughit is basedon A .r1err ii; n verbalthat endsin -ing and functionsas a noun. Therefore, ( inrl lherefbreexpresses a vix ir the actionor a stateof being),it occupies positionin a sentence that a noun ordinarilywould. For example.
Travelingmight satis$ your desirefor newexperiences. The gerundtrweling indicatesOlatthe study abroadprogrun might satisryyour desirefor newexperiences.
The police arrsstedhirn for speeding.
The gemnd speedingindicatesthat the police arrestedhim for il lcgal driving pnactices.
* A gerundvirtually neverrequires any punctuation with it. Pa,Clgirrle! A partir;ipleis a verbalthat is usedas an adjectiveand most often endsin -ing or -ed. Becauseit is br.rsccl a verb it expresses stateof actionor being. However,sinceit functionsas an on a participlewill modifo a noun or pronoun. Therearetwo typesof participles.present adj<;r;{.ive, a parucipleswhich end in -ing and pastparticiples which end in --d,-en, -d, -t, or -n, suchas usklr,|,eolen,saved,dealt, andseen. For gxample:
'l'hc cryingbabyhada wet diaper. cryingis an adjeaivemodifyingthe nounDaDy. The participle
The participle shokenis an adjective modifying lhe pronoun he and the participle wrecked is an adjective modifying the noun car.
,Shrk:n, hc rvalked away fiom lhe wrecked rar.
Pa't4ltlrrft, Phrases A pi:rit,;i1rle phrase a groupof wordsconsisting a participle thedirectobject(s), is and indirect of 6irir',r;i(r), complement(s) theaction state or of in or expressed theparticiple.For example:
,' 'tr' ':'i;'tl: lus coat, Jack rushed to the river. The participle phraserema,ing his coat functions as an adjective modifuing thenounJack. Removing is the participle and ijs coat is the direct object of the acion removing. The participle phrasesintroduced to music early firnctions as an adjective modi$ing the noun children. Introduced (to) is thc participle, music is the direct object of the action ,,:,;Xfl::* andearty is an adverb modifying lhe action
)': i -,', inlinduced to music early dodop fager.
* r{i, ttlder to preventconfusion,a participlephrasemust be placedas closeto the noun it n'ir,{lrii*s possible, the nounmustbe clearlystated.For example: as and
t.i,r lirry;*Car, ; i rtli a hcavy pile of books, he caugfit hisfoot on a step. This sentence readsas tf hisfoot was carrying the books. This sentence makes it clear that he was carrying the books and hisfoot caught on a step.
Punctuation and Particinle Phrases A participlephraseis set offwith commaswhen it comesat the beginningof the sentence, intcrruptsthe sentence with nonessential informatiorLor comesat the end of the sentence separiiled lrom the word it modifies. Here is a closerlook at theserules: 1. When a participlephrase beginsa sentence, commashouldbe placedafter the phrase.For a example:
Arriving at the store,I found that it was closed. Aniving at the store is the participle phrasethal starts the sentence. Note the corrurn following that phrase.
2 If the participleor participlephrasecomesin the middle of a sentence, shouldbe set off it with commasonly if the informationis not essential the meaningof the sentence.If the to participlephrasecould be theoreticallyremovedfrom the sentence without changingthe sentence's meaning,it mustbe set offwith commas- For example: Thechurctr, destroydbyafire,wasneverrebuilt. Theparticiplephrase fustroyedbyafireisnot
essentiallo lhe sentence'sprimary meaning that the church was never rebuill. The student earning the best grade lryill be rewarded. , The participle phrase earning the best grade is essential to understanding the senlcnce's meaning about who will be rewarded.
3. If a participlephrasecomesat the end of a sentence, commausually precedes phraseif it a the modifies an earlierword in the sentence not if the phrasedirectly follows what it modifies. but For example:
The local residents often saw Ken wandering lhe streets. The participle phrase wandering the streels modifies the noun Ken, which comes immediatcly before the phmsc. Thereforc, no conma is necessary. The participle pttrase alarmed by her silence modifies lhe noun Tom,whichcomes carlier in the sentence. Thercfore. a mmrna is necessaryto show that it modihes Tom andnot the woman.
Tom newously watched the woman, alarmed by her silence.
Infinitives An infinitive is a verbalthat can function as a noun,adjective,or adverb. It consists the word of to anda verb in its simplest"stem" form. For example:
To wait seemedfoolish when quick action was required. To wait is an ffinitive sentence'ssubiect. functioning as a noun as the
He lacked the strength to resist.
To resist is an infinitive functioning as an adjective modifying the noun strenglh. To learn is an infinitive fimctioning as an adverb modifoing lhe verb slay.
We must *ay to learn.
Infinitive Phrases direct object(s), An infinitive phraseis a gtoup of words consistingof an infinitive and the in of the action or stateexpressed the infinitive' For indirect object(s),o. *r-pl".en(s) example:
I havea paryr to write beforeclass. is To write before class an infinitive phrasefunctioningasan adjective paryr. To write is the infinitive andbeforeclassis modifing lh e noun modifYingto writea phrase fimctioning asthe dirwt-object of To leaveeorly isan infinitive phrase isthe infinitiv e md early is an adverb theverb inteided. To leave modi$ing to leave.
We intended to leave earlY.
Punctuation and rnfinitive Phrases ic rhp hacinninonhr tt I shouldbe set off If th"-tft"it"* is usedas an adverband is the beginningphrasein a sentence' For example: for is no with a comm&. Otherwise, punctuation needed an infinitive phrase'
To buy a basketofflowers, John had to spendhis la$ dollar' To buy a basket offlowers is an infinitive phxasestarting this sentence. Note the comnu following the PhraseTo buy a box of candy is an infinitive phrase that is not at &e begiruring of a sentence. Note that thcre is no mmma-
John had to spendhis las dollar to buy a box ofcandy
Avoidine Split Infinitives @additionalwordsareincludedbetweentoandtheverbinan find a singleadverbsplitting the infinitive to be acceptable' infinitive. Although somereaders this practiceshouldbe avoidedin all formal writing. For example:
+.
On a nice day, I like to walk in thewoodstons
To walk is an infinitivc that is split by the phraseon a nice day. Thrs should be avoided. To correct this sentence, one would move lhe phrase on a ntce tlay in order to ensure that the infinitive Io walk is not split' To gather is an infinitive thal is split by $e adverb quickly' This should be avoided. To correct lhis sentence, one would move lhe adverb quickly in order to enswe that the infinitive to gather is not split'
quickly. to I needed gather my possessions
Gerunds vs. ParticiPles can subtly the Sometimes useo-a gerund(usedas a noun) or a participle(usedas an adjective) changethe meaningof a sentence'For example:
I was irritated by Bill's constantintemtpting-
inlemtpting is a genrnd(functioningas a In this sentencr-, noun). Here intemtpting is clearly a specificbehaviorthat irritatesthe speaker. intemtpting is a participle(functioning as an In this sentencr', of modiffing BitD. Hetethe cause irritationis Bill' adjective just happens be intem-rpting' to who
I was irritatedby Bill, constan8 intemtpting'
Gerundsvs. Infinitives Gerunds alwaysfunctionasnouns, infinitivescanalsoserve nouns.Confusion between but as gerunds infinitivesoccursprimarilyin cases whichoneor the otherfunctions the direct and as in objectin a sentence. verbstakegerunds verbaldirectobjects while other Some as exclusively verbstakeonly infinitivesastheir directobjects.Some verbscantakeeither. Hereis a brief list of verbsorganized which verbaldirectobjecttheytake: by Yerbsthot takeonly infinitivesas verbaldirect objectsinclufu:
Agree Learn Hope Propose Decide Need Want Inteld Expect Promise Plan Pretend Hesitate Neglecl Attempt
Ihoptogo onavamtionsoon. Theyagreed tosignthebeaty.
Heretogoisaninfinitiveandhope istleverbindicatingthatthe infinitive form mustbe usedratherthanthe genurdgoing. Heretosignisaninfinitiveandagreedistheverbindicatingthathe infinitive form mustbe usedralherthanthe genud signing as verbal direct objects include: Delay Considsr Give up Be fond of Put off Practice Suggest Stop Keep Dislike Recall Mind Appreciate Recomrnend Heredrinking is a gerundafr avoid isthe verb ladisatingthat the genmdmustbe usedrAher than the infinitive to drink. Hereaskingis a gennd andrecallis the verb indicatingthat the genmdmustbe usedraher than the infinitive to ask.
Verbs that take only gerunds Deny Risk Can't help Keep Finish Quit Postpone Tolerate Regrt EnFy Admit Avoid Mis Detest
They always avoiddrinking beforedriving. I recall askingher that question
Yerbs that can take either gerunds or infinitives qs verbal direct objects include: Start Begin Continue Hate Prefer Like love Trv Remember Shehascontinuedto work at the store. Shehascontinuedworkingat the store. They like to go lo the movies. They like goizg to the movies. Here /o work is an ffinitive andcontinuedis the verb indicatingthat eitherthe infinitive or gennrdwould be correct. Hereworking is a gerundandcontinuedis theverb indicating that eitherthe genrndor infinitive would be correct. Hereto go is an infinitive attdlike is the verb indicatingthat either the infinitive or the gennrdwould be correct. Heregoing is a gerundandlike is the verb indicatingthat either thegerurd or the infinitive would be corect.
This handoutwas adapted from the owl, anhrdue univenity websiteavailableat: engtistr.purdue.O hUp/lou,t.
