The following collection of worksheets will teach your students how to identify and use verbals.

Verbals are verbs that act as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. There are three types of verbals: a gerund, a participle, and an infinitive. This set of activity sheets will review your students' knowledge of various verbals. Activities include writing sentences using a given infinitive, identifying infinitives, participles and gerunds, and more. Answer sheets have been provided for worksheets for instructors, but please note that in some cases, your students' answers will vary. Talk about super action words! These guys will really get you going along with proper use in the story.



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Printable Verbals Worksheets

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Infinitives Worksheet

Verbals: Using Infinitives

For each infinitive and its function, write a sentence which uses the infinitive as indicated.

Infinitive, Participle, or Gerund Worksheet

Infinitive, Participle, or Gerund?

Each sentence below contains either an infinitive, a participle, or a gerund. Write which it is on the line.

Like a Verb Worksheet

Looks Like a Verb

Use each verbal in a sentence. On the line beside the verbal, indicate whether it is a gerund, a participle, or an infinitive in your sentence.

Part 2 Worksheet

Part 2 Looks Like A Verb

Use more of these guys in a series of different sentences.

Label It Worksheet

Da Verbals

Underline the verbal phrases in each sentence. On the line, write whether it is a gerund (g), a participle (p), or an infinitive (I). This is a study sheet that is completed for you.

Infinitive Worksheet

Infinitives

An infinitive is the word "to" plus a verb. Infinitives can be used as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.

Writing with Infinitive Worksheet

Writing with Infinitives

Use an infinitive phrase to combine each pair of sentences. Make sure that the language flows well.

Gerund Phrases Worksheet

Gerunds and Gerund Phrases

Write sentences that use the gerunds and gerund phrases as the part of speech indicated.

Gerund or Infinitive Worksheet

Gerund or Infinitive?

Circle the correct verbal to complete each sentence. Make sure that it focuses your language.

Phrases Worksheet

Phrases Worksheet

Use an infinitive phrase to combine each pair of sentences.

Writing With Them Worksheet

Writing with Gerunds

Write sentences that use each gerund as indicated.

Participles Worksheet

Participles

Underline the participle or participial phase in each sentence.

Reference Guide Worksheet

Verbals: Quick Reference Guide

Is it used as a noun? Remove the infinitive or infinitive phrase from the sentence. Is the sentence missing a subject, direct object, indirect object, predicate nominative, or object of a preposition?

Identify Worksheet

Identify the Verbal

Each sentence below contains either an infinitive, a participle, or a gerund. Write which it is on the line.

Participles Worksheet

Verbals: Participles

Choose the correct participle form of each word to complete the sentence.

Writing with Participles Worksheet

Writing with Participles

Use the bolded word to create a participial phrase to combine the two sentences. Be sure to use commas correctly.

What Are Verbals?

In traditional grammar, verbs are the bedrock of sentence formation. They are crucial in explaining and expressing different actions. Therefore, they need to be versatile, have many forms, and be flexible enough to satisfy different scenarios.

Consequently, verbs tend to have many different forms and moods. Verbals are forms of verbs that function as nouns, adjectives, or verbs in different sentences. We use these in our daily conversations as well, if you were wondering. Today, we will learn about the different types of verbals and how they're used in sentences!

Types

There are three types of verbals; infinitives, gerunds, and participles. Unlike several verb forms, verbals are not inflected for tense or person and remain the same for a particular type. Different types of verbals serve different purposes. For instance, participles are verbals that function as adjectives even though they are technically verbs!

Participles

As discussed, participles verb forms that function as adjectives. You can spot them right before the noun they modify, or you can find them after linking verbs, functioning as predicate adjectives. Participles have two types in the English language: the present participle and the past participle. For example:

Basic Verb Present Participle  Past Participle
To stir  The stirring giant The stirred giant
To decrease  The decreasing levels  The decreased levels
To bake  The baking cake  The baked cake

Here are some common examples of participles being used in sentences:

- What's Eating Gilbert Grape is an insanely depressing movie.

- Watching Johnny Depp's What's Eating Gilbert Grape makes me feel depressed.

- I could barely grasp the confusing concept.

Participles can also be used in participle phrases to describe the subject of a sentence, such as:

- Killed during the final moments of the war, the dying soldier became a martyr for his homeland.

- Seething with rage, the riding warrior barreled into the enemy's flank.

In the examples above, the first participles (killed/seething) were used in the participle phrase describing the subjects, and the second participles (dying/riding) modify the subjects in the normal way.

Gerunds

Gerunds are verbals ending in -ing. Even though they look like present participles (baking, fighting), gerunds function as nouns and not adjectives. For instance, the word reading can be used as a verb in sentences, but it can also be used as a noun:

As a verb

I was reading the latest edition of the Food Network Magazine yesterday.

As a gerund

Reading is as good a hobby as any.

It is not uncommon for gerunds to appears as subjects of sentences:

- Killing is looked down upon in civilized society.

- Cooking and baking are therapeutic activities.

- Smoking is injurious to health.

Similarly, gerunds can also function as objects in a sentence. For example:

- I think swimming is an excellent form of cardio.

- The coach doesn't believe that losing is an option.

- Remote learning has led to an increase in cheating.

Notice how the gerund is functioning as a noun in all these examples.

Infinitives

Infinitives are also among the types of verbals. Unlike gerunds and participles, these verbal forms can function as nouns, adjectives, and even adverbs! An infinitive is formed by adding the word to before a present-tense verb, such as: to be, to hunt, to laugh, or to play.

Here are some examples of infinitives functioning as adjectives, modifying nouns:

- Your ability to hunt is impressive yet horrifying. ("to hunt" modifies the noun "ability")

- Italy is the best place to be during springtime. ("to be" modifies the noun "place")

- Let's go to the soccer field to play. ("to play" modifies the noun "soccer field")

Infinitives as adverbs:

To hunt, they all drew their swords from their scabbards. ("to hunt" modifies the verb "drew")

Infinitives as nouns, either as objects or subjects:

- To love is to risk heartbreak. ("to love" is the subject)

- I would like to read. ("to read" is the direct object)

Conclusion

Verbals are excellent language tools and can help aspiring writers reduce their word count, improve sentence structure, enhance reading flow, and replace wordy phrases. It's important to teach the concept of verbals to students early on in their academic lives.

We hope our article helped you understand the different types of them and how they're used in different sentences. Practice using them so you can teach them to others later!