Verbals: Gerunds and Gerund Phrases. A gerund phrase will begin with a gerund, an -ing form of a verb, and will include other modifiers and/or objects. Gerund phrases always function as nouns, so they will be subjects, subject complements, direct objects or the object of a preposition in the sentence.

What can verbals act as?

The three verbals— gerunds, infinitives, and participles—are formed from verbs, but are never used alone as action words in sentences. Instead, verbals function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. These verbals are important in phrases. The gerund ends in -ing and functions as a noun.

Can verbals function as direct objects?

A verbal is a verb that acts like a different part of speech. Sometimes verbs will act as the subject of a sentence, an adjective, or as a direct object, so we call these verbs 'verbals.