Just as any verb could have, it has an adverb ( badly) and a direct object ( a dog).)įor many grammarians, the term verbal noun has a much broader definition, which covers all verb-derived words that can function as nouns, such as gerunds and infinitives (both of which retain verb-like qualities). It is functioning as a noun, but it has two notable verb-like properties.

Badly drawing a dog is not acceptable for your project.

Just as any noun could have, it has a determiner ( This) and an adjective ( bad), and it is followed by a prepositional phrase ( of a dog).)

This bad drawing of a dog is not acceptable for your project.

The first contains a verbal noun the second, a gerund. For example, a gerund can be modified by an adverb and can take a direct object.Ĭompare these two examples. Verbal nouns are not the same as gerunds (another type of noun formed from a verb).Ī gerund is a noun that, having derived from a verb, retains a few verb-like properties. The Difference between Verbal Nouns and Gerunds

Malicious attacks on the Soviet Union produce a natural feeling of indignation.

I need to die for the killing of those people.

We're seeing the arrival of conversational robots that can walk in our world.

No man saw the building of the New Jerusalem it descended out of heaven from God (Historian John Robert Seeley).

Real-Life Examples of Verbal Nounsīeing normal nouns, verbal nouns can be modified by adjectives, be pluralized (if the sense allows), and be followed by prepositional phrases (e.g., … of men, … by me).

Pashto grammar verba