Questions and Answers on Verbals
Question 1 : What can verbs do that verbals cannot?
Answer : Verbals can express action or condition. Verbals have lost this ability.
Question 2 : Which type of participle implies action that is now complete but that may have been going at the time of the main verb?
Answer : The past participle implies this sort of action.
Question 3 : Would a grammarian ever order a glass of ice tea?
Answer : No, a grammarian would order a glass of iced tea.
Question 4 : What type of word or sentence element can modify a participle?
Answer : An adverb or an adverbial can modify a participle.
Question 5 : Which type of verbal can be modified by adjectives?
Answer : Gerunds can be modified by adjectives.
Question 6 : What role do gerunds play in sentences?
Answer : Gerunds play the roles of nouns in sentences. Contemporary grammarians call gerunds nominals.
Question 7 : Nouns that modify gerunds must be in what case?
Answer : They must be in the possessive case. Also, only possessive pronouns can modify gerunds.
Question 8 : Why is the infinitive the most powerful verbal?
Answer : The infinitive is the most powerful verbal because it can function as a nominal, an adjective , or an adverbial.
Question 9 : When can be omit the infinitive marker?
Answer : We can omit the infinitive marker when the infinitive is used after certain verbs, such as bid, feel, or make.
Question 10 : What is a split infinitive?
Answer : A split infinitive is a grammatical construction that separates the marker from the base form of the verb with some intervening word.