When a verb isn’t a verb

I try to avoid grammar jargon in this column. And, as you might guess, one of three possible explanations applies.

Either 1. I’m too modest to flaunt my dazzling expertise; 2. I don’t want to turn off readers with a lot of mumbo jumbo; or, 3. I don’t know anywhere near as much about this stuff as I should and I’d rather not call attention to this fact.

Take your pick.

But sometimes knowing a little jargon is actually helpful. For example, consider the word “walking” in the sentence, “Walking is great exercise.” Now ask yourself, what part of speech is “walking?”

In the sentence, “Walking down the street, I saw a lot of trees,” what part of speech is it?

Let’s try a slightly different one: “I love to walk.” What part of speech is “to walk?”

If in either case you said “verb,” think again.

Sometimes a verb isn’t a verb. Sometimes it’s a different part of speech entirely.

Welcome to the wonderful world of the “verbal” ? a form of a verb used as a noun, adjective or adverb.

Don’t feel bad if you hadn’t heard of verbals, because chances are that you have heard of the three types of verbals: gerunds, participles and infinitives.

In the sentence, “Walking is great exercise,” the word “walking” is actually a noun.

And any time a form of a verb is acting as a noun and (this is a big and) ends in “ing,” well, you’ve got yourself a gerund.

This is a great example of how a word we think of as a verb can actually be the subject of a sentence. In our example sentence, the subject, which is a noun, is “walking.” The verb is “is.”

There. Now that wasn’t so bad, was it? Aren’t you glad you kept reading despite your natural impulse to turn the page the minute you saw the word “gerund?”

Good. Then we’re ready to move on to our second familiar-yet-nonethelessalienating term, “participle.”

Look at that second example. “Walking down the street, I saw a lot of trees.”

What’s the subject of that sentence? It’s “I.” And what’s the verb? It’s “saw.” So how are we to understand the role of “walking” in this whole mess? With the word “participle.”

Like gerunds, some participles end in “ing.” But participles can also end in “en” or “ed.”

“Driven by greed, Tom cooked the books.” Here, “driven” is a participle.

“Emboldened by Tom’s actions, Sue began embezzling.” Here, “emboldened” is a participle.

Note that both of these words can function as verbs when they’re accompanied by auxiliaries. “I have driven to the store.” “I have emboldened the enemy.”

But without “have” or some other auxiliary, they’re just part of a real verb. Hence the name participle.

But unlike gerunds, which function as nouns, the participle’s function is basically that of an adjective. That is, they describe a noun.

Now, with gerunds and participles under your belt, you’ve entered the final stretch, with just one more to go. “Infinitives,” as you probably know, are the base form of a verb plus “to.” “To walk,” “to be,” to laugh,” “to dance” ? these are all verbs in the infinitive form.

And usually, they’re not acting as verbs.

In the sentence, “I love to dance,” the infinitive “to dance” is actually the object of the action. It is the thing I love. And a thing, we know, is a noun.

In, “He really came to play,” the verb is “came.” The infinitive “to play” modifies the verb.

Therefore, the infinitive is actually functioning as an adverb.

In, “He has an urge to run,” the infinitive modifies a noun, and therefore its function is really that of an adjective.

See? I told you it wasn’t that painful.

Which means I can sleep soundly tonight knowing that I haven’t subjected you to verbal abuse.