READ: Gerunds, Participles and Infinitives

GERUNDS, PARTICIPLES & INFINITIVES

I see your eyes starting to glaze over as you read the complicated terms that title this assignment. Trust me, grammar is never as complicated as it appears to be at first. Use this lesson to help you with your grammar assignment for the week; pay close attention to the examples to help clarify the meaning of each term. If you need to (and you probably will) read each example more than once, or until it makes sense!

Gerunds, participles, and infinitives are all forms of verbs that function differently within a sentence. Lets take a look at each individually.

Gerund

Gerund

A gerund is the form of a verb, but it actually acts as a noun.

A gerund ends in "ing"

In the following example, the gerund is bold and the verb is underlined.

Example 1: Many local governments and school districts forbid releasing student information to any outside group, including the military, colleges or corporations.

Example 2: The burning oil and the smashing atoms are good for the environment.

Participle

A participle is a form of a verb, but it actually acts as an adjective.

A participle ends in "ing," "ed," or "en."

In the following examples, the participle is bold and the verb is underlined.

Example 1: As the colonies became a new nation dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, public schools had another purpose.

Example 2: Transformed by the national economy, urban factories developed a need for disciplined, obedient workers.

Infinitive

An infinitive acts as a noun, an adjective or an adverb.

An infinitive always has the word "to" in front of it.

In the following examples, the infinitive is bold and the verb is underlined.

Example 1: Supporters of the Internet fail to mention that it contains a lot of trash packaged to look like reliable information. (in this sentence, the infinitive acts as a noun)

Example 2: Students need to learn the parts of speech. (in this sentence, the infinitive acts as a noun)

http://www.grammaruntied.com/verbals/infinitive.html