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Verbals Worksheets: Gerunds, Participles and Infinitives

A verbal looks like a verb but is doing another job. The ending narrows it down but never settles it — what decides is the job the word does in the sentence, which is why the same -ing word can be two different things.

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8th Grade Verbals Practice

Verbals

Circle the correct answer.

  1. 1.

    In "Barking wakes the neighbors," Barking is a:

    gerundparticiple
  2. 2.

    She wants to leave early. The underlined words "to leave" are an:

    participlegerundinfinitive
  3. 3.

    In "We finished cleaning," the gerund is working as the:

    subjectobjectadjective
  4. 4.

    Reading before bed helps me sleep. "Reading" is a:

    gerundinfinitiveparticiple
  5. 5.

    To finish on time, we skipped lunch. "To finish" is an:

    infinitivegerundparticiple
  6. 6.

    In "She enjoys painting," painting is a:

    participlegerund
  7. 7.

    In "The smiling teacher waved," smiling is a:

    gerundparticiple

Write the correct word on each line.

  1. 8.

    She hoped blank (finish) before dark. (use an infinitive)

Follow the directions for each sentence.

  1. 9.

    Losing the map slowed us down. (underline the gerund phrase)

  2. 10.

    Her plan to run the whole race worked. (underline the infinitive phrase)

  3. 11.

    Waiting quietly, the students watched the door. (underline the participial phrase)

Rewrite each sentence following the directions in brackets.

  1. 12.

    The door was painted last week. It is bright red. (combine, using a participle to describe the door)

  2. 13.

    He left early. He wanted to catch the bus. (combine using an infinitive)

  3. 14.

    She collects stamps. It is her hobby. (combine, using a gerund as the subject)

Each sentence has at least one mistake. Write the sentence correctly.

  1. 15.

    She decided going home early.

grammarworksheet.comSheet 2A2KM6

Verbals: the rules these questions test

Gerund: -ing acting as a noun
"Swimming is her favorite sport." Swimming is the subject, which is a noun job.
Participle: acting as an adjective
"The running water was cold." Running describes water. Past participles do this too: "the broken window."
Infinitive: to + the base verb
"She wants to leave early." This to-infinitive can act as a noun, adjective or adverb. After verbs like let and make the to disappears: "let her go."
The same word can be either
In "The barking dog woke us," barking is a participle. In "Barking wakes the neighbors," it is a gerund. Ask what job it is doing, not how it ends.
Some verbs demand one or the other
enjoy takes a gerund (enjoy swimming); decide takes an infinitive (decide to go). "I enjoy to swim" is wrong.

Questions parents and teachers ask

How do I tell a gerund from a participle?
A gerund and a present participle both end in -ing, so that ending cannot separate them. Ask whether the word is naming something — a gerund, doing a noun job — or describing something, which makes it a participle.
What grade are verbals taught in?
Verbals — gerunds, participles and infinitives — are an eighth grade standard in the Common Core sequence, and they are usually revisited in ninth.
Do I need to know the names?
For a test, yes. For writing, what matters is the last rule: knowing which verbs take a gerund and which take an infinitive prevents the most common errors.

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