English & Language Usage · Conventions of standard English
Phrases and Verbals
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Distinguish phrases, clauses, and verbals by their grammatical roles.
Read the explanations, try the quick checks, then take the lesson quiz to see what to review next.
Identify the job, not just the form
A phrase acts as a unit but does not contain both a subject and a finite verb. A verbal comes from a verb but performs another job:
- An infinitive usually uses to + base verb and can act as a noun, adjective, or adverb: “She plans to revise.”
- A gerund is an -ing form acting as a noun: “Revising the draft takes time.”
- A participle acts as an adjective: “The revised draft is clearer.”
An -ing word is not automatically a gerund. In “They are revising,” are revising is the finite verb. Identify what the whole phrase does.
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