Phrases!

2
Verbals and Verbal Phrases
A verbal is a verb form that functions in a sentence as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.
A verbal phrase is a verbal plus any complements and modifiers.
(Verbals include participles, gerunds, and infinitives.)

Participle a verb form that can function as an adjective.

Present participles always have an ing ending.
Past participles often end in ed, but can have other endings.
Most commonly used adjectives are actually participles.
Examples:

Rising prices are inevitable.

I cut my finger on the broken glass.
The opening speech detailed many needed changes.

A participle that is part of a verb phrase is not acting as an adjective.

Examples:

The lost ship has been recovered. (Participle as an adjective)

The warehouse had lost a big shipment. (Participle in verb phrase)

A participial
Examples:

phrase contains a participle plus any complements and modifiers.

Preparing for the lunar eclipse, we set our alarm clocks.

The full moon, suspended in the sky, was brilliant.
Badly needing sleep but delighted by the spectacle, we maintained our vigil.

A past participle may be used with the present participle of the auxiliary verb have or be.
Examples:

Having read about the eclipse, we were anxious to see it.

We watched the moon being consumed by shadow.

Exercise 1: Highlight the participle or participial phrase that acts as an adjective in each sentence.
Draw a line to the word each one modifies.
1. George Lucas achieved international fame in 1977 with his stunning science fiction movie Star
Wars.
2. Celebrated for its superb special effects and suspenseful story, Star Wars has become a classic.
3. Raised in California, Lucas developed an interest in movies.

4. Having competed against other students, he won a national film competition in 1967 at the age of
twenty-three.
5. Lucas first major success was the popular American Graffiti (1973), a film portraying the lives of
California teenagers in the 1960s.
6. By 1983, having produced The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi, Lucas again
proved his great versatility.

Gerunds and Gerund Phrases

A gerund is a verb form that ends in ing, and is used in the same way a noun is used.
Examples:

Training is essential.
We considered flying.
We should give speaking more attention.
Do all of us get credit for trying?
Their passions were sailing and sculling.
Two skills, reading and writing, are basic.

A gerund phrase is a gerund plus any complements and modifiers.

Examples:

Actively participating in sports has many benefits.

This suit shows expert tailoring.

NOTE: Although both a present participle and a gerund end in ing, they serve as different parts of
speech. A present participle is used as an adjective in its sentence, whereas a gerund is used as a
noun.
Examples:

Waiting in line, we grew impatient. (participial phrase)

Waiting in line made us impatient. (gerund phrase)

Exercise 2: Highlight the gerunds and gerund phrases.

1. Hieroglyphics show that boxing was popular in Egypts Nile Valley as early as 4000 B.C.
2. Early inhabitants of Ireland are known for holding the first organized sports competition, the
Tailltean Games, around 1800 B.C.
3. In Mexico, around 1000 B.C., the Omecs enjoyed playing a game much like soccer.
4. The playing of soccer was outlawed in England in A.D. 1363.
5. In the 1400s, people in Italy and Germany began to enjoy fencing as a competitive sport.

Exercise 3: Participles or Gerunds? Highlight the verbal or verbal phrase in the sentences below.
Label each as participle or gerund.
1. One of the most devastating natural disasters in American history, Hurricane Andrew struck
Florida and Louisiana in August 1992.
2. Beginning as a patch of thunderstorms over western Africa, it moved across the Atlantic as a lowpressure wave.
3. About one thousand miles from Florida, the wind shear began slackening, and a high-pressure
zone to the north grew stronger.
4. Winds blowing at hurricane strength soon grew to 164 miles an hour.
5. At the National Hurricane Center in Coral Gables, Florida, the instruments for measuring wind
were knocked down.