Transcript Gerunds, Infinitives, and Participles. Oh my!

Gerunds, Infinitives, and Participles. Oh my!
What the heck are these things?
What do they do?
Why are we do we need to learn
about them?
Verbals
• Gerunds, participles, and
infinitives are all verbals.
Words or phrases formed from
verbs, verbals are used as
another part of speech (noun,
adjective, adverb).
Gerund
• Gerunds are formed by adding –ing to a verb and
function as a noun.
• Reading is my favorite pastime. (subject)
• I enjoy reading. (direct object)
• A love of reading will result in a lifetime of learning. (object of the
preposition)
• I’ll give reading a chance this year. (indirect object)
• My favorite pastime is reading. (subject complement)
Participle
• Participles are formed by adding –ing, -en, or –ed
to a verb. They function as adjectives.
• The frightened puppy cowered in the corner.
• A thunderstorm can be a frightening experience
for young children.
• The spoken word lingers in the mind long after it
has faded from the ear.
All of the red words are participles, and they are all
working as adjectives. What are they
modifying/describing?
Infinitive
• Infinitives are formed by adding “to” to a verb.
Infinitives can function as a noun, adjective, or
adverb.
• He lacked the strength to resist. (adjective)
• We must study to learn. (adverb)
• To wait seemed foolish when action was clearly in
order. (noun / subject)
• He wants to dance. (noun / direct object)
• His dream is to sing. (noun / subj. complement)
Phrases
• When words are added to the gerund, participle,
or infinitive in order to complete the idea, it’s
called a phrase: gerund phrase, participial
phrase, infinitive phrase.
• Listening to her iPod at full volume, Caroline
failed to hear the blaring horn of the approaching
bus.
What kind of phrase is hi-lighted in orange? What
is its function in the sentence? Can you identify any
other verbals in this sentence?
Listening to her iPod at full volume, Caroline
failed to hear the blaring horn of the
approaching bus.
Ask yourself, “What is this phrase doing in the
sentence? “
It’s describing or telling us something about
Caroline, a person, a noun so it’s working as
AN ADJECTIVE! So we know it’s…
A PARTICIPIAL PHRASE!
I enjoy listening to many types of
music.
What kind of phrase it? First, ask your question.
“What is this phrase doing in the sentence?”
It’s telling us WHAT I enjoy. WHAT indicates a
thing, a noun. It’s working as A NOUN. And since
it’s telling us what I enjoy, it’s a DIRECT OBJECT.
So what is it?
A GERUND PHRASE!
How else can a gerund function
in a sentence?
Subject: Taking a walk on a crisp autumn day is
one of my favorite pastimes.
Object of the preposition: When attending a
concert, you should refrain from singing at the
top of your lungs. Nobody paid $90 to hear
YOU sing.
Subject complement: The scariest event of my
life was learning that my son had cancer.
Can you identify the
infinitive phrase and
how it functions in the
sentence?
• Everyone wanted to be team captain.
Everyone wanted to be team captain.
Is it working as a noun, adjective, or adverb?
A noun! It tells us WHAT everyone wanted. It’s
working as the direct object of the verb wanted.
• I have no desire to see that movie.
I have no desire to see that movie.
Is it working as a noun, adjective, or adverb?
An adjective! It describes desire.
• We are studying gerunds, participles, and infinitives
to improve our writing.
We are studying gerunds, participles, and
infinitives to improve our writing.
Is it working as a noun, adjective, or adverb?
An adverb! It tells WHY we are studying gerunds,
participles, and infinitives.
REMEMBER
• GERUNDS
- ALWAYS work as nouns.
- end in –ing
- can function as subject, direct object,
indirect object, subject complement, or
object of the preposition.
REMEMBER
• PARTICIPLES
- ALWAYS work as adjectives
- are verb forms ending in
–ing, -ed, or –en
REMEMBER
• INFINITIVES
- are verbs preceded by to: to eat, to sleep, to
drink.
- Be careful not to confuse a prepositional
phrase for an infinitive phrase: I went to the
store.
- Infinitives can work as nouns, adjectives, or
adverbs.