Note: Not Everyone
Considers This To Be Its
Own Part of Speech
What are some words
ending in –ing that
could describe this
picture?
A. Verbals are words made from verbs that function as other
parts of speech.
B. Verbals can be participles.
1. A participle is a verb form used as an adjective.
2. Remember that verbs can have a past, present, or perfect participle
form.
3. Participles can be used alone or as part of participial phrases, which
include the participle, its object or complement, and any modifiers.
A sizzling piece of steak tempts any hungry man. (present participle alone)
Sizzling on its plate, the sirloin beckoned to be consumed. (present participle in
phrase)
A seasoned cut of sirloin provides the perfect summer meal. (past participle alone)
Seasoned with Old Bay and pepper, the cut of mean emanated flavor. (past participle
in phrase)
The talented chef lit the grill for his marinating steak. (present participle alone)
Having marinated for hours, the steak appeared tender and juicy. (perfect participle
in phrase)
The best chefs, having studied the art of butchery, know where to harvest the best beef
from a cow.
Cut from the short loin of a cow, the porterhouse offers the richest flavor.
The rear end of a cow, packed with juicy fat, provides bottom round for roast beef.
Butchers utilize the breast of a cow for ground beef, constituting the majority of
hamburgers in America.
4. Participles are commonly misused. A dangling participle does not
appear to modify any word in a sentence. A misplaced participle
seems to modify the wrong word.
The hungry student gazed upon the t-bone steak drooling at the mouth.
(misplaced)
Having burned it on both sides, the chef felt disappointed. (dangling)
Covered in a spicy seasoning blend, the chef placed the steak on the
grill. (misplaced)
Having been eaten by the hungry customer, the chef threw the bone to
his dog. (dangling)
C. Verbals can be gerunds.
1. A gerund is a verb form ending in –ing used as a noun.
2. Gerunds, like participles, can be used in phrases.
3. Gerunds can be used as subjects, objects, or appositives.
Many men in America relish the act of eating. (as object)
Devouring delicious pork has become a popular choice. (as subject)
Many do not realize the abundance of pig parts fit for cooking in a variety of
ways. (as object)
The idea behind a brine, soaking pork in sugar and salt, is to enrich the flavor
of the meat. (as appositive)
Remember: the same word can be used as a participle
(verb used as adjective) or as a gerund (verb used as a
noun)
Cooking Bacon in the morning causes the house to emanate with aroma. (as gerund)
The cooking bacon began to burn on the skillet. (as participle)
Though many consider pigs dirty, butchering a pig yields many flavorful cuts of
meat.
Used for lunchmeat ham, the pig’s rear end offers fatty, flavorful flesh.
Pig’s stomachs, salted and smoked, produce crispy bacon.
Carnivores everywhere enjoy devouring succulent bacon.
D. Verbals can be infinitives.
1. An infinitive is a verb form preceded by the word “to”
that is used as a noun, adjective, or adverb.
2. Infinitives can be used on their own or as part of
phrases.
3. Infinitives can be used as subjects, complements,
objects, adjectives, adverbs, or appositives. (yikes!)
To eat crabs gives many Marylanders pleasure. (as subject)
Fishermen now struggle to catch enough crabs. (as object)
The primary task of environmentalists in Maryland is to preserve the crab
population. (as complement)
Their goal, to restore the crab population, requires a great deal of work.
(as appositive)
In the summer, my family visits the Wye River to catch crabs. (as adverb)
There are fewer crabs to catch than ever before. (as adjective)
4. Do not “split” infinitives. This refers to placing an adverb
between the word “to” and the verb.
For example:
All-U-Can-Eat restaurants allow customers to joyfully eat
unlimited crabs.
Many kindly offer customers the chance to continuously
consume steamed shrimp as well.
Everyone sat around the picnic table to pick crabs.
People from outside of Maryland often must learn to pick crabs appropriately.
If you get the chance to eat snow crab, I highly encourage it.
To catch snowcrabs proves a difficult and challenging lifestyle.
Snowcrab fishermen must travel to the far reaches of Earth to find the elusive creatures.
Their life choice, to spend many cold nights on the arctic sea, is confusing to many people.
One day, my hope is to try a fresh snow crab.