3.4 Verbal Nouns, Adjectives, and Adverbs

Verbal Nouns

Gerunds and Infinitives

Verbs can shape-shift. They can function as nouns, adjectives, and adverbs while still keeping some verb-like qualities. These transformed forms are called verbals, and understanding them is key to writing more precise, flexible sentences.

A gerund is a verb form ending in -ing that functions as a noun. Even though it looks like a verb, it fills noun slots in a sentence: subject, direct object, indirect object, or subject complement.

• Subject: Swimming builds endurance.
• Direct object: She enjoys reading.
• Subject complement: His favorite hobby is cooking.

An infinitive is the base form of a verb preceded by "to" (to run, to swim, to read). Infinitives are more flexible than gerunds because they can function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs depending on context. When they act as nouns, they fill the same roles gerunds do.

• As a noun (subject): To forgive is difficult.
• As an adjective: She found a place to sit. (modifies "place")
• As an adverb: He studied to pass. (modifies "studied")

Both gerunds and infinitives retain verb-like qualities: they can take direct objects (enjoying the movie, to read a book) and be modified by adverbs (running quickly, to speak clearly).

One tricky part: some verbs must be followed by a gerund, others by an infinitive, and some accept either. There's no single rule for this; it's largely a matter of memorization.

• Gerund only: enjoy, avoid, finish → She enjoys swimming.
• Infinitive only: want, decide, hope → He decided to leave.
• Either: like, begin, continue → They like swimming / They like to swim.

Verbal Nouns and Their Usage

A verbal noun derives from a verb but behaves entirely as a noun. The difference from a gerund is subtle but important: verbal nouns lose their verb-like qualities. You can pluralize them, put articles in front of them, and modify them with adjectives rather than adverbs.

Compare these two sentences:

Verbal nouns can also be formed through suffixes rather than -ing endings: decide → decision, confuse → confusion, arrive → arrival. These are common in formal and technical writing because they sound more abstract and impersonal.

• Verbal nouns take articles: the meeting, a sighting
• They can be modified by adjectives: an important decision, a brief reading
• They can be pluralized: meetings, readings, sightings

Participles

Present and Past Participles

Participles are verb forms that function as adjectives. They modify nouns and pronouns while still carrying the flavor of the verb they came from.

There are two types:

• Present participles end in -ing and describe an ongoing action or quality: running water, a sleeping child, the rising sun
• Past participles typically end in -ed, -en, -t, or take an irregular form, and they describe a completed action or resulting state: broken glass, a written report, a frozen lake

Both types can appear in two positions:

• Attributive (before the noun): the barking dog, the painted fence
• Predicative (after a linking verb): The dog was barking, The fence looked painted

Participles also combine with other words to form compound adjectives: a well-known author, a fast-moving vehicle, a sun-dried tomato. Note the hyphen when these appear before a noun.

Participle Usage and Dangling Participles

Participles can introduce participial phrases, which are groups of words that modify a noun or pronoun and add descriptive detail to a sentence.

Here, "Exhausted from the long hike" is a participial phrase modifying "we."

A dangling participle occurs when the participial phrase doesn't logically connect to the subject of the main clause. This creates confusion about who or what is performing the action.

This sentence implies the sun was driving to work. To fix a dangling participle:

1. Rearrange the sentence so the correct subject follows the participial phrase: Driving to work, I watched the sun rise over the horizon.
2. Convert the phrase to a subordinate clause: While I was driving to work, the sun rose over the horizon.

Always check that the noun right after a participial phrase is the one actually doing the action described.

Verbal Modifiers

Verbal Adjectives and Their Functions

Verbal adjectives are participles that have settled into a more permanent role as adjectives. While all participles can modify nouns, verbal adjectives often develop meanings that feel distinct from the original verb.

The pair interesting and interested is a good example. Both come from the verb interest, but they describe different things:

• The lecture was interesting. (describes the lecture; it causes interest)
• The students were interested. (describes the students; they feel interest)

This -ing vs. -ed pattern applies to many verbal adjectives: boring/bored, exciting/excited, confusing/confused. Mixing these up is one of the most common grammar mistakes, so pay attention to whether the noun is causing or experiencing the feeling.

Verbal adjectives can also take comparative and superlative forms: more interesting, most exhausting, less complicated. And like regular adjectives, they work in both attributive and predicative positions: a broken promise (attributive) vs. The promise was broken (predicative).

Verbal Adverbs and Their Usage

Verbal adverbs are words derived from verbs that function as adverbs, modifying verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Many are formed by adding -ly to a present or past participle: knowingly, hurriedly, repeatedly.

• She spoke knowingly about the topic. (modifies the verb "spoke")
• He left hurriedly. (modifies the verb "left")

Some verbal adverbs keep their participial form without adding -ly. In these cases, the participle itself acts as an adverb:

Verbal adverbs can also introduce adverbial phrases that describe manner, time, or circumstance:

Just like with participial phrases, you need to watch for misplaced modifiers. The verbal adverb phrase should be placed close to the word it modifies, and the subject performing the action should be clear. If it isn't, restructure the sentence using the same strategies you'd use to fix a dangling participle.