Verbal Nouns and Verbal Adjectives

CHAPTER XXIII

VERBAL NOUNS AND VERBAL ADJECTIVES

I. VERBAL NOUNS.

594. Verbal nouns are in their nature partly nouns. First, being names (of actions, etc.), they are nouns, and they have the uses of nouns. Secondly, though they cannot assert, they are like verbs in meaning and they take the same modifiers or complements. Thus in —

I wish to drive my car slowly,

to drive, like a noun, is the object of “wish,” and, like a verb, it expresses action, has an object, “car,” and is modified by an adverb, “slowly.”

A. KINDS OR FORMS.

595. Nearly every verb has two simple verb noun forms; as, —

(to) drive, driving; (to) run, running

named from their forms the infinitive and the gerund.

596. As verb phrases are used instead of inflected forms, so too infinitive phrases and gerund phrases are used instead of the simple forms to express certain changes of meaning.

597. Here is a full list of verbal noun phrases.

PHRASE	INFINITIVE	GERUND
Simple	(to) drive	driving
Perfect	(to) have driven	having driven
Simple Progressive	(to) be driving	—
Perfect Progressive	(to) have been driving	having been driving
Simple Passive	(to) be driven	being driven
Perfect Passive	(to) have been driven	having been driven

Study the list and give appropriate names to the following: —
To sing; to be lost; to have given; having found; printing; to have been writing; to be giving; to be given; being obeyed.

B. USES OR CONSTRUCTIONS.

598. Either verbal noun may be used as 1. Subject, 2. Subjective complement, or 3. Object of a verb. Thus —

	Making ( promises ) is [ not ] keeping < them >.
	To have given ( freely ) is to be asked < for more >.
	She prefers sitting < quietly >. She prefers to sit < quietly >.

( a ) An infinitive may be used as the logical subject of a verb to explain the anticipative subject it (§ 363); as, —

It is dangerous ( to triffle ( with temptation ) ).

( b ) In this construction the gerund may generally be substuted for the infinitive and vice versa. However, the infinitive tends toward being in construction with the adjective as a complement, whereas the gerund is never perceived as such. This makes the following construction possible:

Temptation is dangerous ( to triffle ( with ) ).

599. 4. The gerund may be the Object of a preposition. Thus: —

We are weary < with watching < those > men >.

( Of making < many > books ) there is ( no ) end.

( a ) The infinitive is now used only after the prepositions about and but; as in —

I am about to go. They could do nothing < but fight >.

EXERCISE 329.

600. 5. The infinitive with to may be used Adjectivally like a prepositional phrase. Thus: —

Wood to burn (for burning) … Rooms to let (for letting) …

( The ) question ( to be decided ) is < very > difficult.

( a ) It is also often used as a predicate adjective; as in, —

Such conduct is to be despised (is despicable).

He appears to have lost his mind (appears insane).

601. 6. The infinitive with to, like a prepositional phrase, may be used Adverbially to modify the meaning of a verb, an adjective, or an adverb, by showing the purpose, cause, respect in which, etc. Thus: —

	We need money to pay (for paying) the help.
	They are slow to depart (in departing).
	It is ripe enough to eat (for eating).

NOTE. When used adjectivally or adverbially the infinitive may generally be replaced by for (in, at, of, etc.) and the gerund. As in, —

	good to drink (for drinking);	forced to go (into going);
	regret to hear (at hearing);	failed to come (in coming).

[These last two examples of gerunds for infinitives now seem a bit strained; they were probably even at the time considered quite formal. This was especially true of fail, where I’ve had to change the choice of preposition from of to in. After regret it might also be better nowadays to use on rather than at.]

602. 7. The infinitive is often used along with the object of a verb as the Indirect Predicate of it, the object and the infinitive being nearly equivalent to an objective noun clause. Thus: —

	We believed it to be true.	= We believed that it was true.
	I expected him to come.	= I expected that he would come.

NOTE. This construction is most common after verbs meaning think, perceive, declare, command, permit, and the like, taking the place of an indirect quotation. But the infinitive after these verbs may sometimes be explained in other ways.
In “I believed him to be a liar,” “him,” though made objective because it follows “believed,” is not meant to be separated from the following phrase. [This is all to say that the object of “believe” is also the subject of the infinitive “to be.”]

603. After bid, let, make, see, hear, feel, and have an infinitive is used as indirect predicate without to. As in, —

We felt

the house shake.
that the house shook.

Hear the bells ring.
See her play tennis.

( a ) Need and dare take an object infinitive without to, when they are either negative or interrogative.

He need not go. I dare not jump. Need they return at once?

604.

SUMMARY: FORMS FOR PARSING

Forms or Kinds.

is a

Simple
Simple Progressive
Simple Passive
Perfect
Perfect Progressive
Perfect Passive

Infinitive

Gerund

of the

Complete
Transitive
Copulative

Verb

Constructions.

	1.	Subject of the verb (a) Explanatory of the anticipative subject it.
	2.	Subjective complement of the verb .
	3.	Object of the verb .
	4.	Object of the preposition .

Used adjectivally

to modify the noun
as subjective complement of the verb .

Used adverbially to modify the

verb            .
adjective            .
adverb            .

Used as indirect predicate of the object .

EXERCISE 330.

C. ANOMALIES IN THE USE OF VERBAL NOUNS.

605. The use of a modifier between to and the rest of the infinitive is often considered careless.
Say “They determined boldly to go there,” not “They determined to boldly go there.”
[This suggestion is historically without merit. In fact sometimes there is no other place to put the adverb without danger of being misunderstood. Notice that in my first example the determination could have been what was bold. Splitting the infinitive leaves no doubt. Admittedly the practical difference is slight.]

     606. Avoid the informal use of to alone in place of an infinitive.
     Say “He has broken his word and is likely to break it again,” not “…and is likely to again.”
     “Do as I told you,” not “Do as I told you to.”
[This suggestion is also without merit. Sometimes the repetition of the verb is now considered pedanticism. In fact the to seems to have become a useful pro-form for the infinitive.]

607. Avoid the use of “and” for to.
Say “Come to see me,” not “Come and see me”; “Try to do your best,” not “Try and do your best.”
[This suggestion is also without merit. The use of and with come reduces its meaning to that of a modal (=relent and). The and after try clearly suggests the speaker’s belief that the behavior will truly come about.]

     608. Avoid the redundant use of a perfect infinitive after a past tense form if the simple form would express the meaning intended.
     Say “I intended to go,” not “I intended to have gone.”
        “We hoped to be present,” not “We hoped to have been present.”
[The perfectly normal practice of backshifting tenses in a subordinate clause is probably the explanation for this phenomenon with the infinitive.]

EXERCISE 331.

II. VERBAL ADJECTIVES.

609. Verbal Adjectives are the participle forms of verbs. They are in part adjectives, for they modify nouns and pronouns; and they are in part verbs, for they take the same modifiers or complements. They do not assert that a thing does or is so and so, but they describe it so as to imply as much. Thus, in the sentence —

I met a man driving his sheep to market.

driving, like an adjective, modifies “man,” and, like the corresponding verb, takes an object, “sheep.” It describes the man as acting without asserting anything of him.

A. KINDS OR FORMS.

610. Nearly every verb has two simple participles named from their meaning —
(1) The Present, Imperfect, or Active participle; as —

driving, spinning, seeing, walking, sleeping; and —

(1) The Past, Perfect, or Passive participle; as —

driven, spun, seen, walked, slept.

611. In place of the inflected forms of Latin we have four participle phrases, — one formed with the present participle, and three with the past. Here is a full list of verbal adjective phrases.

	PHRASE	PARTICIPLE
	Present, Imperfect, or Active	driving.
	Past, Perfect, or Passive	having driven.
	Perfect active	having driven.
	Perfect passive	having been driven.
	Progressive active	having been driving.
	Progressive passive	being driven.

612. The Present participle always end in -ing. It commonly refers to an action or a condition as continuing or imperfect, and it is almost always active; that is, its logical subject is the actor. Thus: —

Planes carrying tanks are constantly arriving.

613. The Past participle commonly ends in -en, -ed, -d, or -t (§ 461), and is generally perfect, referring to an action or a condition as completed. When used alone it is almost always passive;; that is, its logical subject is not the actor by what is acted upon. Thus: —

The army beaten but not vanquished, slowly fell back.

B. USES, OR CONSTRUCTIONS.

     614. I. The simple participles may be used as Subjective Complements. Thus: —
     The flowers are gone. It seems bewildering. Night came stealing on. The place lay deserted for years.
     (a) Used in this way, the participle often has some adverbial meaning, as in the last two examples.
     (b) A participle may be used as an objective complement. Thus: —

Send the ball rolling. We shall keep you occupied.

615. II. Any participle may be added to a noun or a pronoun appositively. In such cases the idea would be more fully expressed, —
(1) By an adjective clause; (2) By an adverb clause; (3) By an independent clause; as, —

The books

bought for the library
that were bought for the library

are burned.

The dog went home

having lost his master
because he had lost his master.

Reaching for the bell rope
I reached for the bell rope, and

I pulled it vigorously.

616. III. Any participle may be used with a noun or a pronoun in the Absolute construction (§ 312), the two together having the force of an adverb clause. Thus: —

[ Quiet having been restored ], ( the ) speaker continued.

617. Punctuation. RULE. — Participle phrases must generally be set off by commas unless used restrictively.

618.

SUMMARY: FORMS FOR PARSING

Kinds or Forms.

is a

Present
Perfect
Progressive
Past
Perfect
Progressive

(Active)

(Passive)

Participle;

of the

Complete
Transitive
Copulative

Verb

Constructions.

	1.	Modifies the noun .
	2.	Complement of the verb with logical subject .
	3.	Used absolutely with the noun (or pronoun) .

EXERCISE 332.

EXERCISE 333.

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