When verbs act like other parts of speech Verbals When verbs act like other parts of speech

What if verbs want to be nouns? Verbs sometimes get tired of being verbs; so, in some sentences the can act like nouns. When this happens, they are not called nouns, they are called GERUNDS and they have an “—ing” at the end of them Swimming Thinking Walking Cooking

So how are gerunds considered nouns? When the gerund (ing form of a verb) becomes a THING in a sentence, then the verb is acting like a noun. Ex. Swimming is my favorite sport. Cooking relaxes me. Working can make you tired. In each of these sentences the gerund, the ing form of the verb, is the subject and is acting like a noun.

Why use gerunds? Gerunds---“Writers sometimes want to indicate that a particular action takes on a noun role in a sentence and gerunds represent a way to communicate that information clearly and accurately” (Ruday, 97).

Verbs can act like adjectives too! If a verb wants to act like an adjective it needs to become a participle. A participle can have a “—ing” ending or a past tense form of the verb ending in “-en” or “ed”. If the verb is describing a noun or a pronoun, it becomes like an adjective and we call it a participle. Ex. Swimming in the pool, he imagined the gold medal. Amazed, John stared at his new car.

Why use participles? Participles— “Participles and participle phrases can help add important details to a piece of writing, as they allow writers to include information that helps readers clearly picture a situation” (Ruday, 97).

And what do we do with infinitives? Infinitives are formed by combining the base form of the verb with the word “to”. To drive To run To think Infinitives can act like nouns, adjectives, or adverbs!

Infinitives as nouns Infinitives function as nouns when the action being described takes on a noun role in a sentence. Ex. Josh wants to fly in a hot air balloon. To fly is the THING Josh wants

Infinitives as adjectives Infinitives function as adjectives when they are used to describe nouns. Ex. This is the best restaurant to eat pizza. “to eat” pizza is the adjective describing the noun restaurant

Infinitives as adverbs Infinitives are sometimes used to provide additional detail about a previously used verb (making it an adverb because it is describing a verb) Ex. Chris exercised to improve his health “To improve” is describing the verb exercised, so it is an adverb

Why use infinitives? Infinities– “The versatility of infinitives lies in the way they can not only function as nouns, but also adjectives and adverbs, grammatical tools that provide additional detail to a piece of writing” (Ruday, 98).

Why are vebals good in writing? “Verbals are important tools for writing because they allow writers to make their works as clear and accurate as possible” (Ruday, 97).