Verbals are verbs that act as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. There are three types of verbals: a gerund, a participle, and an infinitive. This set of activity sheets will review your students' knowledge of various verbals. Activities include writing sentences using a given infinitive, identifying infinitives, participles and gerunds, and more. Answer sheets have been provided for worksheets for instructors, but please note that in some cases, your students' answers will vary. Talk about super action words! These guys will really get you going along with proper use in the story.
Printable Verbals Worksheets
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Verbals: Using Infinitives
For each infinitive and its function, write a sentence which uses the infinitive as indicated.
Infinitive, Participle, or Gerund?
Each sentence below contains either an infinitive, a participle, or a gerund. Write which it is on the line.
Looks Like a Verb
Use each verbal in a sentence. On the line beside the verbal, indicate whether it is a gerund, a participle, or an infinitive in your sentence.
Da Verbals
Underline the verbal phrases in each sentence. On the line, write whether it is a gerund (g), a participle (p), or an infinitive (I). This is a study sheet that is completed for you.
Infinitives
An infinitive is the word "to" plus a verb. Infinitives can be used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.
Writing with Infinitives
Use an infinitive phrase to combine each pair of sentences. Make sure that the language flows well.
Gerunds and Gerund Phrases
Write sentences that use the gerunds and gerund phrases as the part of speech indicated.
Gerund or Infinitive?
Circle the correct verbal to complete each sentence. Make sure that it focuses your language.
Verbals: Quick Reference Guide
Is it used as a noun? Remove the infinitive or infinitive phrase from the sentence. Is the sentence missing a subject, direct object, indirect object, predicate nominative, or object of a preposition?
Identify the Verbal
Each sentence below contains either an infinitive, a participle, or a gerund. Write which it is on the line.
Writing with Participles
Use the bolded word to create a participial phrase to combine the two sentences. Be sure to use commas correctly.
What Are Verbals?
In traditional grammar, verbs are the bedrock of sentence formation. They are crucial in explaining and expressing different actions. Therefore, they need to be versatile, have many forms, and be flexible enough to satisfy different scenarios.
Consequently, verbs tend to have many different forms and moods. Verbals are forms of verbs that function as nouns, adjectives, or verbs in different sentences. We use these in our daily conversations as well, if you were wondering. Today, we will learn about the different types of verbals and how they're used in sentences!
Types
There are three types of verbals; infinitives, gerunds, and participles. Unlike several verb forms, verbals are not inflected for tense or person and remain the same for a particular type. Different types of verbals serve different purposes. For instance, participles are verbals that function as adjectives even though they are technically verbs!
Participles
As discussed, participles verb forms that function as adjectives. You can spot them right before the noun they modify, or you can find them after linking verbs, functioning as predicate adjectives. Participles have two types in the English language: the present participle and the past participle. For example:
| Basic Verb | Present Participle | Past Participle |
| To stir | The stirring giant | The stirred giant |
| To decrease | The decreasing levels | The decreased levels |
| To bake | The baking cake | The baked cake |
Here are some common examples of participles being used in sentences:
- What's Eating Gilbert Grape is an insanely depressing movie.
- Watching Johnny Depp's What's Eating Gilbert Grape makes me feel depressed.
- I could barely grasp the confusing concept.
Participles can also be used in participle phrases to describe the subject of a sentence, such as:
- Killed during the final moments of the war, the dying soldier became a martyr for his homeland.
- Seething with rage, the riding warrior barreled into the enemy's flank.
In the examples above, the first participles (killed/seething) were used in the participle phrase describing the subjects, and the second participles (dying/riding) modify the subjects in the normal way.
Gerunds
Gerunds are verbals ending in -ing. Even though they look like present participles (baking, fighting), gerunds function as nouns and not adjectives. For instance, the word reading can be used as a verb in sentences, but it can also be used as a noun:
As a verb
I was reading the latest edition of the Food Network Magazine yesterday.
As a gerund
Reading is as good a hobby as any.
It is not uncommon for gerunds to appears as subjects of sentences:
- Killing is looked down upon in civilized society.
- Cooking and baking are therapeutic activities.
- Smoking is injurious to health.
Similarly, gerunds can also function as objects in a sentence. For example:
- I think swimming is an excellent form of cardio.
- The coach doesn't believe that losing is an option.
- Remote learning has led to an increase in cheating.
Notice how the gerund is functioning as a noun in all these examples.
Infinitives
Infinitives are also among the types of verbals. Unlike gerunds and participles, these verbal forms can function as nouns, adjectives, and even adverbs! An infinitive is formed by adding the word to before a present-tense verb, such as: to be, to hunt, to laugh, or to play.
Here are some examples of infinitives functioning as adjectives, modifying nouns:
- Your ability to hunt is impressive yet horrifying. ("to hunt" modifies the noun "ability")
- Italy is the best place to be during springtime. ("to be" modifies the noun "place")
- Let's go to the soccer field to play. ("to play" modifies the noun "soccer field")
Infinitives as adverbs:
To hunt, they all drew their swords from their scabbards. ("to hunt" modifies the verb "drew")
Infinitives as nouns, either as objects or subjects:
- To love is to risk heartbreak. ("to love" is the subject)
- I would like to read. ("to read" is the direct object)
Conclusion
Verbals are excellent language tools and can help aspiring writers reduce their word count, improve sentence structure, enhance reading flow, and replace wordy phrases. It's important to teach the concept of verbals to students early on in their academic lives.
We hope our article helped you understand the different types of them and how they're used in different sentences. Practice using them so you can teach them to others later!