Vexing Verbals

Nobody loves verbal phrases so far, least of all me. If you're struggling to make it through the worksheets we've been working through together, try to think of the various verbals this way:

Gerunds are verbs that went nouning: Running is the most inane form of excercise.

Participles are verbs that have been repurposed as adjectives (not adverbs): The running frilled lizard is a sight to behold.

Infinitives are not stuck on any given time, and are always betrayed by the inclusion of a "to," but not every "to" is part of an infinitive. Most are prepositions, which we looked at two weeks ago: To run is to suffer to death to impress others with your foolishness.

p.s. My apologies to any runners who read this, both for the derision and, well, because you run.