LoginVerbal Nouns
Dive deep into verbal nouns with detailed explanations. Examples include 'running' and 'dancing', plus a quiz to test your knowledge.
Verbal Nouns: Form
Verbal nouns are formed by adding the suffix "-ing" to the end of verbs. For example:
Meeting = Meet + -ing
Building = Build + -ing
Feeling = Feel + -ing
Verbal Nouns: Properties
Verbal nouns have all the properties of a normal noun. They can be modified by articles and adjectives, and can be pluralized. Since they have lost all their verbal properties, they cannot take objects, instead prepositional phrases modify them. Here are some examples:
.
The tall building stood in the middle of a garden.
Verbal nouns can take articles and adjectives.
He tried to find a way to deal with his feelings of betrayal and disappointment.
Verbal nouns can be pluralized.
Her reading of the text included some insightful observations.
Verbal nouns can be modified by prepositional phrases.
Verbal Nouns: Uses
Verbal nouns can be used to represent the process and result of an action, as well as events and states. For example:
The shooting continued.
process
A rare recording was found in the historic library.
result
The wedding was so fun.
event
They had reached a mutual understanding of the situation.
state
Verbal Nouns vs. Gerunds
Verbal nouns and gerunds, although similar in form, have different properties. While gerunds keep some of their verbal properties, verbal nouns are independent of their verb forms; in other words, they have become pure nouns and have separate entries in dictionaries. We can say verbal nouns are a more limited group of gerunds with special properties. Compare the examples:
The painting is beautiful.
a verbal noun has an independent meaning
Painting is my favorite hobby.
a gerund is semantically connected with the root verb from which it is derived
Review
Verbal nouns are derived from verbs but have purely nominal characteristics, including:
Common ways of making verbal nouns | |
|---|---|
taking articles | the painting |
taking adjectives | beautiful painting |
becoming plural | paintings |
modified by prepositional phrases | painting of a woman with pearl earrings |
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