Gerunds, Participles, and Infinitives Explained

Gerunds, Participles, and Infinitives Explained A verbal  is a word derived from a  verb  that functions in a sentence as a  noun  or  modifier  rather than as a verb. In other words, a verbal  is a verb that acts like a different part of speech. Verbals include  infinitives,  gerunds  (also known as  -ing  forms), and  participles  (also known as  -ing  forms  and  -en  forms). A word group based on a verbal is called a  verbal phrase. Each of these verbals is often part of a phrase, which includes related modifiers, objects, and  complements. What Are Participles? A participle is a verb form that can be used as an adjective to modify nouns and pronouns, as in this example: The children, crying and exhausted, were guided out of the collapsed house. Crying is a present participle, formed by adding -ing to the present form of the verb (cry). Exhausted is a past participle, formed by adding -ed to the present form of the verb (exhaust). Both participles modify the subject, children. All present participles end in -ing. The past participles of all regular verbs end in -ed. Irregular verbs, however, have various past participle endings- for instance, thrown,  ridden, built, and gone. A participial phrase is made up of a participle and its modifiers. A participle may be followed by an object, an adverb, a prepositional phrase, an adverb clause, or any combination of these. For example, in the following sentence the participial phrase consists of a present participle (holding), an object (the torch), and an adverb (steadily): Holding the torch steadily, Jenny approached the monster. In the next sentence, the participial phrase consists of a present participle (making), an object (a great ring), and a prepositional phrase (of white light): Jenny waved the torch over her head, making a great ring of white light. What Are Gerunds? A gerund is a verb form ending in -ing that functions in a sentence as a noun. Although both the present participle and the gerund are formed by adding -ing to a verb, the participle does the job of an adjective while the gerund does the job of a noun. Compare the verbals in these two sentences: The children, crying and exhausted, were guided out of the collapsed house.Crying will not get you anywhere. Whereas the participle crying modifies the subject in the first sentence, the gerund crying is the subject of the second sentence. What Are Infinitives? An infinitive is a verb form- often preceded by the  particle  to- that can function as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. Compare the verbals in these two sentences: I dont like crying in public unless Im getting paid for it.I dont like to cry in public unless Im getting paid for it. In the first sentence, the gerund crying serves as the direct object. In the second sentence, the infinitive to cry performs the same function. Exercise: Identifying Verbals For each of the following sentences, decide if the word or phrase in italics is a participle, a gerund, or an infinitive. The childrens singing and laughing woke me up.Jenny likes to dance in the rain.There are many ways of breaking a heart.A broken heart will mend over time.Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city. - George BurnsI believe that laughing is the best calorie burner.I dont want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying. - Woody AllenI dont want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying. - Woody AllenIt is not enough to succeed. Others must fail. - Gore VidalSucceeding is not enough. Others must fail. Answer Key Gerund: In this sentence, the words  singing  and  laughing function as nouns, making them gerunds.Infinitive: You can tell that  to dance  is an infinitive because to precedes the word dance.  Gerund: The verbal  breaking  serves as a noun. It is also the object of the preposition  of.(Past) participle: Implied in this sentence is the verbal phrase, that  has been  preceding the verbal,  broken, making it a past participle, which indicates something that happened and was completed in the past.(Present) participles:  Loving and caring  are actions that are occurring in the present, making these verbals present participles.Gerund:  Laughing  is a noun making it a gerund.Infinitives: The verbal to achieve, in both cases, is an infinitive because its a verb preceded by  to.Gerund:  Dying  is used as a noun in the sentence.Infinitive:  To succeed  is an infinitive- a verb preceded by  to.Gerund:  Succeeding  is a noun here; indeed, it is th e subject of the first sentence, making it a gerund.

History of WD-40

History of WD-40 If youve ever used WD-40 to oil up something squeaky in your home, you may have wondered, just what does WD-40 stand for? Well, according to the company that makes WD-40, WD-40 literally stands forWater Displacement 40th   attempt. Thats the name straight out of the lab book used by the chemist who helped develop WD-40 back in 1953. Norman  Larsen  was attempting to concoct a formula to prevent corrosion, a task which is done by displacing water. Norms persistence paid off when he perfected the formula for WD-40 on his 40th try. Rocket Chemical Company WD-40 was invented by the three founders of the Rocket Chemical Company of San Diego, California. The team of inventors was working on a line of industrial rust-prevention solvents and degreasers for use in the aerospace industry. Today, it  is manufactured by the San Diego, California-based WD-40 Company. WD-40 was first used to protect the outer skin of the Atlas Missile from rust and corrosion. When it was discovered to have many household uses, Larsen repackaged WD-40 into aerosol cans for consumer use and the product was sold to the general public in 1958. In 1969, the Rocket Chemical Company was renamed after its only product WD-40. Interesting Uses for WD-40 Two of the craziest purposes for WD-40 include a bus driver in Asia who used WD-40 to remove a python snake which had coiled itself around the undercarriage of his bus and police officers who used WD-40 to remove a naked burglar trapped in an air conditioning vent. Ingredients WD-40s main ingredients as supplied in aerosol cans, according to the U.S.  Material Safety Data Sheet  information, are: 50% aliphatic hydrocarbons. The manufacturers website claims this ratio in the current formulation cannot accurately be described as  Stoddard solvent, a similar mixture of hydrocarbons.25%  petroleum  base oil. Presumably, mineral oil  or light lubricating oil.12–18% low  vapor pressure  aliphatic hydrocarbon. Reduces the liquids viscosity so that it can be used in aerosols. The hydrocarbon evaporates during application.2–3% carbon dioxide. A propellant which is now used instead of the original  liquefied petroleum gas  to reduce WD-40s flammability.10% inert ingredients.​ The long-term active ingredient is a non-volatile viscous oil which remains on the surface to which it is applied, giving lubrication and protection from moisture.​ The oil is diluted with a volatile hydrocarbon to make a low viscosity fluid which can be aerosolized to penetrate crevices. The volatile hydrocarbon then evaporates, leaving behind the oil. A propellant (originally a low-molecular-weight hydrocarbon, now carbon dioxide) creates pressure in the can to force the liquid through the cans nozzle before evaporating. Its properties make it useful in both domestic and commercial settings. Typical uses for WD-40 include removing dirt and removing stubborn screws and bolts. It can also be used to loosen stuck zippers and displace moisture. Due to its lightness (i.e. low viscosity), WD-40 is not always the preferred oil for certain tasks. Applications that require higher viscosity oils may use  motor oils. Those requiring a mid-range oil could use  honing oil.