Verbals: Gerunds, Infinitives, and Participles

The three verbals— gerunds, infinitives, and participles—are formed from

verbs, but are never used alone as action words in sentences. Instead, verbals
function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. These verbals are important in
phrases.

The gerund ends in -ingand functions as a noun.

Jumping is fun.

He liked skiing.

He had a unique way of whistling.

The infinitive is the base form of a verb with to. Usually it functions as a
noun, although it can also function as an adjective or adverb.

To jump is fun. (noun; subject of the verb is)

I like to ski. (noun; direct object of the verb like)

She had a suggestion to offer. (adjective modifying suggestion)

He called to warn her. (adverb modifying the verb called)

A participle is a verb that ends in -ing (present participle) or -ed, -d, -t, -en, -
n (past participle). Participles may function as adjectives, describing or
modifying nouns.

The dancing parrots entertained the crowd.

The wrecked sailboat washed up on shore.

What is a clause?
A clause is a closely related group of words that includes both a subject and a verb.
The work was difficult, but the results were worth it.

Clauses contrast with phrases, which do not have subjects and verbs.

An independent clauseexpresses a complete thought and can stand on its own

as a sentence.

Jack painted the fence.

Jack painted the fence, but with the wrong paint.

A dependent clause contains a subject and verb but does not express a
complete thought and cannot stand on its own. A dependent clause relies on
an independent clause to complete its meaning. In these examples, the
independent clause is in boldface and the dependent clause is italicized.

The movers ruined the china cabinet that belonged to my great-grandmother.

My best friend, who paints oil and watercolors, has a show at the art gallery.

Dependent clauses are often introduced by either a subordinating conjunction

or a relative pronoun. Dependent clauses introduced by a subordinating
conjunction are called subordinate clauses, and those introduced by relative
pronouns are called relative clauses.

Clauses serve a variety of functions in a sentence. They can act as nouns

(subjects or objects), adjectives, or adverbs.