Verbals: Gerunds, Participles, Infinitives

Active learning helps students grasp verbals because their roles shift depending on context, making abstract concepts concrete. Hands-on sorting, rewriting, and building sentences let students test gerunds, participles, and infinitives in real sentences, building confidence before formal analysis.

• Grade 10
• Language Arts
• 4 activities
• 20 min–35 min

Learning Objectives

1. Identify the function of gerunds, participles, and infinitives as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs within complex sentences.
2. Differentiate between the grammatical roles of gerunds, participles, and infinitives in various sentence structures.
3. Construct original sentences that accurately employ gerunds, participles, and infinitives to enhance clarity and style.
4. Analyze sample academic texts to explain how the strategic use of verbals contributes to precision and sophistication.
5. Critique sentences written by peers, identifying and correcting misuses of gerunds, participles, and infinitives.

Chalk Talk

⏱ 30 min·Small Groups

Card Sort: Verbal Categories

Prepare cards with 20 phrases exemplifying gerunds, participles, and infinitives. Students in small groups sort them into labeled piles, then create original sentences for each. Regroup to share and verify with class criteria.

Prepare & details

Analyze how verbals function as different parts of speech within a sentence.

Facilitation Tip: For Card Sort: Verbal Categories, circulate and ask students to justify why they placed a phrase in a certain category rather than simply confirming correct answers.

Setup: Large papers on tables or walls, space to circulate

Materials: Large paper with central prompt, Markers (one per student), Quiet music (optional)

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management

Chalk Talk

⏱ 25 min·Small Groups

Sentence Rewrite Relay

Provide simple sentences on strips. Teams of four pass a strip, each member rewriting it by inserting one verbal type. Display results for whole-class voting on best revisions.

Prepare & details

Differentiate between the various forms and functions of verbals.

Facilitation Tip: During Sentence Rewrite Relay, model one rewrite yourself first to set expectations for precision and clarity.

Setup: Large papers on tables or walls, space to circulate

Materials: Large paper with central prompt, Markers (one per student), Quiet music (optional)

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management

Chalk Talk

⏱ 35 min·Pairs

Verbal Hunt and Edit

Students highlight verbals in a model paragraph individually, then pair up to edit partner's draft by adding two verbals each. Discuss changes and impacts on readability.

Prepare & details

Construct sentences that correctly employ gerunds, participles, and infinitives.

Facilitation Tip: In Verbal Hunt and Edit, provide a checklist of verbal types so students know exactly what to look for before they begin.

Setup: Large papers on tables or walls, space to circulate

Materials: Large paper with central prompt, Markers (one per student), Quiet music (optional)

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management

Chalk Talk

⏱ 20 min·Pairs

Build-a-Sentence Chain

Start with a base clause whole class. Pairs add a verbal phrase sequentially via document share, projecting the evolving sentence. Analyze final structure together.

Prepare & details

Analyze how verbals function as different parts of speech within a sentence.

Setup: Large papers on tables or walls, space to circulate

Materials: Large paper with central prompt, Markers (one per student), Quiet music (optional)

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management

Teaching This Topic

Teaching verbals works best when students manipulate language actively rather than memorize definitions. Pair direct instruction with immediate application in low-stakes activities to reinforce recognition of patterns. Avoid overloading with jargon; focus instead on how verbals transform sentence meaning and flow.

What to Expect

Students will confidently label gerunds, participles, and infinitives in sentences and explain their functions. They will also revise sentences to include specific verbals, showing mastery of syntactic flexibility and purpose.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During Card Sort: Verbal Categories, watch for students who assume all -ing words are verbs. Ask them to test each phrase in a subject slot to see if it functions as a noun (gerund) or describes a noun (participle).

What to Teach Instead

During Card Sort: Verbal Categories, have students place each -ing phrase into two possible slots in a sentence frame to verify whether it names an activity or describes one.

Common Misconception

During Card Sort: Verbal Categories, watch for students who say participles only describe past actions. Point to present participles like 'running water' and ask them to describe ongoing action versus completed state.

What to Teach Instead

During Card Sort: Verbal Categories, group participants should compare present participles ('singing bird') with past participles ('broken vase') to clarify ongoing versus completed action.

Common Misconception

During Build-a-Sentence Chain, listen for students who claim infinitives never start sentences. Ask them to test 'To win requires practice' and revise sentences accordingly to see subject roles.

What to Teach Instead

During Build-a-Sentence Chain, challenge students to start two sentences with infinitives and explain how these function as subjects in their chains.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

After Card Sort: Verbal Categories, present a short paragraph with mixed verbals. Ask students to underline each verbal phrase and label its function, using their sorted cards as a reference.

Peer Assessment

During Verbal Hunt and Edit, have students swap paragraphs and highlight verbals they find. They should write one feedback comment per verbal on whether it is used correctly and effectively.

Exit Ticket

During Sentence Rewrite Relay, provide a starter like 'Swimming is...' and ask students to complete it using a gerund, participle, or infinitive. They must label the verbal's function in their sentence.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge early finishers to craft a short paragraph using all three verbal types correctly in varied roles.
• Scaffolding for struggling students: Provide a word bank of gerunds, participles, and infinitives to use in sentence building activities.
• Deeper exploration: Have students research and present how verbals function differently in academic writing versus creative writing.

Key Vocabulary

gerund	A verb form ending in -ing that functions as a noun. For example, 'Swimming is good exercise.'
participle	A verb form that can function as an adjective. Present participles end in -ing (e.g., 'a barking dog'), and past participles often end in -ed or -en (e.g., 'a broken window').
infinitive	The base form of a verb, usually preceded by 'to'. Infinitives can function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs, such as in 'She wants to learn.'
verbal phrase	A group of words consisting of a verbal and its related modifiers or complements. Examples include 'running a marathon' (gerund phrase) or 'to finish the race' (infinitive phrase).