Verbals in Grammar: Gerunds, Participles, and Infinitives

A verbal is a verb form that does not independently express tense or subject agreement. The three types commonly taught in English grammar are gerunds, participles, and infinitives.

Consider these sentences:

• Restoring old furniture requires patience.
• The carpenter restoring the cabinet works in a small workshop.
• The carpenter hopes to restore the cabinet before Friday.

The first sentence uses restoring old furniture as its subject. In the second, restoring the cabinet identifies the carpenter. The third uses the infinitive to restore to complete the meaning of hopes.

The Three Types of Verbals

English grammar commonly groups verbals into three types.

Gerunds and present participles share the -ing form. Past participles may also look identical to simple-past verbs.

For example, finished can be a simple-past verb or a past participle, while write has the distinct forms wrote and written.

What Makes Verbals Different from Finite Verbs?

A finite verb carries the grammatical tense of a clause and may also change to agree with its subject. A non-finite verb form does not independently show tense or subject agreement.

Compare:

The gardener trimmed the branches before sunset.

Trimmed is a finite simple-past verb.

Now consider:

Trimming the branches before sunset took longer than expected.

Trimming is a gerund. The activity does not independently express past or present tense. The finite verb of the main clause is took.

Finite and Non-Finite Forms Can Work Together

Consider:

The children were searching for the missing keys.

Were is the finite auxiliary. It shows past tense and agrees with the plural subject children.

Searching is a non-finite present participle. Together, were searching forms the main verb phrase.

Now compare:

The children continued searching for the missing keys.

Here, continued is the finite verb, while searching for the missing keys completes its meaning.

Although searching appears in both sentences, it has a different relationship to the finite verb.

A non-finite construction also cannot normally stand alone as an independent declarative sentence.

For example:

Waiting outside the closed library.

This is a sentence fragment when presented as a complete statement without further context.

A complete version would be:

We were waiting outside the closed library.

The finite auxiliary were allows the sentence to express the situation as a complete clause.

Gerunds: -ing Forms in Noun-Like Positions

A gerund is an -ing verb form used in a noun-like grammatical position.

Gerunds commonly function as subjects and complements or occur after prepositions.

Gerunds as Subjects

Learning to identify local birds takes time.

The entire phrase learning to identify local birds functions as the subject.

Another example:

Repairing the roof before winter became their main priority.

Repairing the roof before winter identifies the activity that became the priority.

Gerunds After Verbs and Prepositions

Some verbs are commonly followed by -ing forms.

The photographer enjoys capturing unexpected moments.

Capturing unexpected moments completes the meaning of enjoys.

Gerunds also occur after prepositions.

The neighbors discussed ways of reducing traffic noise.

Reducing traffic noise follows the preposition of.

Gerunds Retain Verbal Properties

Although a gerund phrase can occupy a noun-like position, the gerund itself retains properties of a verb.

Consider:

Carefully checking the measurements prevented an expensive mistake.

Checking takes the object the measurements and is modified by the adverb carefully.

The complete phrase functions as the subject of the sentence.

Infinitives: Forms With and Without To

An infinitive uses the base form of a verb, either with to or without it.

Infinitives frequently complete the meaning of another word or express the purpose of an action.

To-Infinitives After Verbs

Certain verbs commonly take a to-infinitive complement.

The residents decided to challenge the proposed closure.

To challenge the proposed closure tells us what the residents decided to do.

Other verbs that commonly take to-infinitives include hope, plan, promise, refuse, and agree.

An infinitive construction may also follow a noun or pronoun.

The guide reminded the visitors to bring their identification.

Here, the visitors are expected to bring their identification.

Who Performs the Action of an Infinitive?

An infinitive does not independently show subject agreement, but its action still has a performer.

Compare:

Maya decided to lead the tour.

Maya is understood to lead the tour.

Now consider:

Maya asked Daniel to lead the tour.

Daniel is understood to lead the tour.

The infinitive to lead remains unchanged. The surrounding construction tells us who is expected to perform the action.

Some infinitive constructions can include an explicitly expressed subject:

It would be unusual for Daniel to leave without telling anyone.

Here, Daniel is the expressed subject of the infinitival clause for Daniel to leave without telling anyone.

Infinitives Expressing Purpose

An infinitive can explain why an action takes place.

Priya opened the windows to let the paint dry.

To let the paint dry expresses the purpose of opening the windows.

Compare:

Priya wanted to let the paint dry.

Here, the infinitive completes the meaning of wanted rather than expressing the purpose of a separate action.

Bare Infinitives

A bare infinitive is the base form without to.

It commonly appears after modal auxiliaries.

The committee may reconsider its decision.

Reconsider follows the modal may.

Bare infinitives also occur after certain verbs, including let and make, in particular constructions.

The supervisor let the apprentices operate the equipment.

Operate is a bare infinitive following let.

Compare:

The apprentices were allowed to operate the equipment.

Here, allowed is followed by a to-infinitive.

Different verbs and constructions require different infinitive forms.

Participles: Modifiers and Parts of Verb Phrases

English has two basic participle forms: present participles and past participles.

Present participles use the -ing form. Past participles may have regular endings such as -ed or irregular forms such as broken, chosen, and written.

Participles That Describe Nouns

A participle can describe a noun directly.

The flickering sign made the shop difficult to find.

Flickering describes the sign.

The forgotten suitcase remained at the station overnight.

Forgotten describes the suitcase.

A participle can also introduce a longer modifier.

The woman carrying the antique mirror asked for assistance.

Carrying the antique mirror identifies the woman. The participle carrying takes the object the antique mirror, even though the whole phrase modifies a noun.

Participles Within Verb Phrases

Participles also work with auxiliary verbs.

The staff are preparing the hall for the ceremony.

Preparing is a present participle used with the finite auxiliary are.

The invitation has been delivered.

Been and delivered are past participles within a perfect passive construction. The finite auxiliary is has.

Participles therefore have important uses beyond describing nouns. They also help form progressive, perfect, and passive constructions.

How Verbal Phrases Work

A verbal can be accompanied by objects, complements, and modifiers.

Traditional grammar lessons commonly call the resulting group of words a verbal phrase.

Consider:

Carefully examining the evidence helped the investigator notice a missing signature.

The gerund examining takes the object the evidence and is modified by carefully.

The entire phrase carefully examining the evidence functions as the subject of the sentence.

Now compare:

The researcher examining the evidence noticed a missing signature.

Here, examining the evidence modifies researcher.

In both sentences, examining takes an object. What changes is the function of the larger construction.

An infinitive can also introduce an extended phrase.

The family planned to visit the restored lighthouse before sunset.

To visit the restored lighthouse before sunset completes the meaning of planned. Within that construction, visit takes the object the restored lighthouse.

Gerunds, Participles, and Infinitives in the Same Sentence

A sentence can contain several non-finite forms, each serving a different purpose.

Consider:

Preparing the exhibition took several weeks, but the volunteers arranging the displays still needed to label the photographs.

The sentence contains all three types of verbals.

The finite verbs are took and needed.

Preparing the exhibition names the activity that took several weeks. Arranging the displays identifies the volunteers, while to label the photographs explains what they still needed to do.

The three non-finite constructions contribute different information without independently expressing tense.

Identifying Several Verb Forms Together

Consider another sentence:

Hoping to catch the last train, Maya hurried through the station, carrying a heavy suitcase.

Hurried is the finite simple-past verb of the main clause. Hoping introduces a participial clause explaining Maya’s intention, while the infinitive to catch completes the meaning of hoping. The final participial clause, carrying a heavy suitcase, describes Maya as she hurried through the station.

The sentence shows how non-finite forms can appear before, within, or after a finite clause, each contributing a different part of the meaning.

Gerunds, participles, and infinitives are easier to recognize when you consider their function within the complete sentence. The same verb form may play different grammatical roles, while finite verbs provide the grammatical structure that allows the sentence to stand on its own.

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