Verbal Nouns for intermediate learners

gerunds infinitives participles

Sometimes we can change a verb and make it into a noun. One of the most common ways of doing this is adding the suffix -ing. Let's see what verbal nouns are!

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What Are Verbal Nouns?

A verbal noun is a noun that is formed from a verb but is not considered a verb. It is a noun derived from a verb.

Verbal nouns can have plural forms. They can also come after determiners and adjectives.

Structure

Usually, we can form verbal nouns by adding a suffix (most commonly -ing) to the base form of the verb.

verb	verbal nouns
Cook	cooking
Repeat	repetition
Refuse	refusal
Decide	decision
Sail	sailing

Tip!

A verbal noun that is formed by adding a '-ing' suffix is also called a gerund.

How to Use Verbal Nouns

Like any noun, the verbal noun can have many functions. Here are a few common functions of verbal nouns:

Cooking is fun. (Subject)

I love cooking. (Object)

Please accept my compliments on cooking. (Object of preposition)

One of my hobbies is cooking. (Subject complement)

Possessive Nouns

Possessive structures have many functions like showing ownership or belonging. With the help of apostrophe 's', we can make a possessive noun. Let's start!

Abstract and Concrete Nouns

Based on what we can or cannot perceive with our five senses, we can categorize nouns into two groups: abstract and common nouns. Start learning!

Noun Modifiers

As you might guess, noun modifiers can modify nouns. What if there is a noun phrase after noun modifiers? If these questions are stuck in your mind, read more!

Gerund Phrases

Grund phrases are phrases that have 'gerunds,' 'its object,' and any 'modifiers' or 'complements.' In this lesson, we will learn all about them.

Gender-Specific Nouns

Legends say that the famous Dracula was not a Count, but actually was a Countess! Shocking? Here we will look at gender-specific nouns like Count/Countess!

Plural-Only Nouns

Here, we will discuss some nouns in the English language that are always used as a plural noun, i.e. they don't have a singular form. Let's get to it!

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