Syntax and semantics of verbals in English

She stopped to exchange a few words with a neighbour. (Dickens)

Она остановилась, чтобы поболтать с соседкой.

2.2.7 Control exercises on verbals using

Test 1

a) Write down the ing-form (Gerund) of the following verbs.

1. spell - ____________________________________

2. discover - _________________________________

3. copy - ____________________________________

4. chase - ___________________________________

5. hug - _____________________________________

b) Complete the sentences using infinitive constructions.

1. My father taught me (dance / how)

2. We haven't decided yet (put / the bed / where)

3. She was explaining (use / the gadget / how)

4. I forgot to ask (pick him up / where)

5. I wondered (address / him / whether) or not.

c) Fill in the gerund as the subject of the sentence.

1. (fly) to London has become rather cheap.

2. (smoke) is prohibited at petrol stations.

3. (swim) is good for your health.

4. (travel) is one of my hobbies.

5. (cycle) is impossible on this sandy ground.

d) Decide whether to use Infinitive (with/without to) or Gerund.

1. I enjoy go/to go/going on holiday.

2. He used to live/living in the country.

3. She is used to live/living in the country.

4. I am tired of wait/to wait/waiting.

5. Ellen made me laugh/to laugh/laughing.

Keys.

a)

1. spell - spelling

2. discover - discovering

3. copy - copying

4. chase - chasing

5. hug - hugging

b)

1. My father taught me how to dance.

2. We haven't decided yet where to put the bed.

3. She was explaining how to use the gadget.

4. I forgot to ask where to pick him up.

5. I wondered whether to address him or not.

c)

1. Flying to London has become rather cheap.

2. Smoking is prohibited at petrol stations.

3. Swimming is good for your health.

4. Travelling is one of my hobbies.

5. Cycling is impossible on this sandy ground.

d)

1. I enjoy going on holiday.

2. He used to live in the country.

3. She is used to living in the country.

4. I am tired of waiting.

5. Ellen made me laugh.

Test 2

Gerund or Infinitive?

1. I remember _____ Simon at the Max Planck Institute.

a. meet

b. to meet

c. meeting

d. to meeting

2. Did you remember _____ the letter?

a. post

b. to post

c. posting

d. to posting

3. I'm not used _____ up this early.

a. get

b. to get

c. getting

d. to getting

4. I used _____ to the pub a lot.

a. go

b. to go

c. going

d. to going

5. I regret _____ Magda about my new girlfriend.

a. tell

b. to tell

c. telling

d. to telling

6. Mrs Jarmoіowicz, I regret _____ you that your credit limit has been exceeded.

a. inform

b. to inform

c. informing

d. to informing

7. Stop _____ this dreadful noise at once!

a. make

b. to make

c. making

d. to making

8. I wanted to stop _____ some pirate CDs, but we didn't have enough time.

a. to

b. to buy

c. buying

d. to buying

9. Look, it's starting _____ .

a. rain

b. to rain

c. raining

d. to raining

10. I started _____ English when I was twenty-one.

a. learn

b. to learn

c. learning

d. to learning

Keys.

1. c

2. b

3. d

4. b

5. c

6. b

7. c

8. b

9. b

10. b/c

Test 3

1. Is there anything in that new magazine worth _____.

a) to read

b) reading

2. Although I was in a hurry, I stopped _____ to him.

a) to talk

b) talking

3. I really must stop ______.

a) to smoke

b) smoking

4. Would you mind ______ the front door?

a) to close

b) closing

5. You should remember ______ him. He'll be at home.

a) to phone

b) phoning

6. Do you enjoy ______?

a) to teach

b) teaching

7. All parts of London seem ______ to different towns and epochs.

a) to belong

b) belonging

8. Why have you stopped? Go on ______.

a) to read

b) reading

9. The teacher asked us some questions and went on ______ us about the climate of England.

a) to tell

b) telling

10. When we had finished ______ the waiter brought the bill.

a) to eat

b) eating

11. My elder brother went to college, and I hope ______ there too.

a) to go

b) going

12. My car needs a service badly, and Tom offered ______ me with it.

a) to help

b) helping

13. Avoid ______ and you'll feel better soon.

a) to overeat

b) overeating

14. I can't help ______ about that awful accident.

a) to think

b) thinking

15. The Brains want ______ Boston this week.

a) to leave for

b) leaving for

16. I'll always remember ______ you for the first time.

a) to meet

b) meeting

17. I decided ______ my holiday in France.

a) to spend

b) spending

18. I enjoy ______ very much.

a) to travel

b) travelling

19. We might manage ______ a lot of interesting places there.

a) to visit

b) visiting

20. I dislike ______ around in the car.

a) to tour

b) touring

Keys:

1 b 6 b 11 a 16 b

2 a 7 a 12 a 17 b

3 b 8 b 13 b 18 b

4 b 9 a 14 b 19 a

5 a 10 b 15 a 20 b

Gerund and Preposition Exercise

Complete the sentences by using a preposition and the words in brackets. Remember that verbs should be put into the gerund form as they follow a preposition.

1. Stephen decided on chicken instead -- (order/steak).

2. I'm interested -- (watch/film) by Ken Loach.

3. He apologised -- (be/late).

4. I certainly can't blame you -- (not/want) to come.

5. Magda's thinking -- (study/England).

6. We are really very excited -- (hike/Andes) this coming summer.

7. Simon isn't really used -- (walk/work).

8. We thanked them -- (drive/us/home) after the football game.

9. Could you please tell me who is responsible -- (accept/applications)?

10. I'm sure she has a good reason -- (not/be/here).

Keys.

1. of ordering steak

2. in watching a film

3. for being late

4. for not wanting

5. about/of studying in England

6. about hiking in the Andes

7. to walking to work

8. for driving us home

9. for accepting applications

10. for not being here

III. CONCLUSION

In the present qualification work we attempted to investigate the verbals, such part of speech formed from a verb that does not function as a verb. We chose the verbals as the theme of our qualification work because we interested in it. We used different kind of references to investigate the adjective. In other words, we mentioned that we studied the main aspects of English verbals: grammatical characteristics, their syntactical role, their semantics, and rule of correct use of English verbals.

A verbal is a part of speech formed from a verb that does not function as a verb. Verbals are sometimes referred to as non-finite verbs, meaning they do not, as finite verbs do, agree in person, number, and tense with a subject. Verbals do not take a subject; however, they can take a direct object or indirect object, and can be modified like verbs. There are three types of verbals: gerunds, participles, and infinitives.

An infinitive is a verbal consisting of the word to plus a verb (in its simplest "stem" form) and functioning as a noun, adjective, or adverb. The term verbal indicates that an infinitive, like the other two kinds of verbals, is based on a verb and therefore expresses action or a state of being. However, the infinitive may function as a subject, direct object, subject complement, adjective, or adverb in a sentence. Although an infinitive is easy to locate because of the to + verb form, deciding what function it has in a sentence can sometimes be confusing. An Infinitive Phrase is a group of words consisting of an infinitive and the modifier(s) and/or (pro)noun(s) or noun phrase(s) that function as the actor(s), direct object(s), indirect object(s), or complement(s) of the action or state expressed in the infinitive.

A participle is a verbal that is used as an adjective and most often ends in -ing or -ed. The term verbal indicates that a participle, like the other two kinds of verbals, is based on a verb and therefore expresses action or a state of being. However, since they function as adjectives, participles modify nouns or pronouns. There are two types of participles: present participles and past participles. Present participles end in -ing. Past participles end in -ed, -en, -d, -t, or -n, as in the words asked, eaten, saved, dealt, and seen. A participial phrase is a group of words consisting of a participle and the modifier(s) and/or (pro)noun(s) or noun phrase(s) that function as the direct object(s), indirect object(s), or complement(s) of the action or state expressed in the participle.

A gerund is a verbal that ends in -ing and functions as a noun. The term verbal indicates that a gerund, like the other two kinds of verbals, is based on a verb and therefore expresses action or a state of being. However, since a gerund functions as a noun, it occupies some positions in a sentence that a noun ordinarily would, for example: subject, direct object, subject complement, and object of preposition. A Gerund Phrase is a group of words consisting of a gerund and the modifier(s) and/or (pro)noun(s) or noun phrase(s) that function as the direct object(s), indirect object(s), or complement(s) of the action or state expressed in the gerund.

The present material can be used at the lessons of grammar, practical course of English language, lexicology, and speech practice in both: universities and English classes at schools. This paper can help to create the teaching aids, textbooks, etc. Teachers and students might use the results of the present work for the further investigations.

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21. Internet:http://www.nvcc.edu/home/rorkwis/verbals/verbals