verbal noun

[vur-buhl noun]

noun

Grammar.

1. a noun derived from a verb, especially by a process applicable to most or all verbs. In English, a verbal noun uses the -ing form, as in , or the infinitive form, as in In Latin, examples of verbal nouns include dictiō “act of speaking, utterance” (from dīcere “to say, tell, speak”) and cantus “singing, song” (from canere ”to sing“).

   Eating is fun

   To see is to believe.

verbal noun

noun

1. a noun derived from a verb, such as smoking in the sentence smoking is bad for you See also gerund

Word History and Origins

Origin of verbal noun¹

First recorded in 1700–10

Example Sentences

Before a verbal noun or an infinitive: On the point or verge of; going; in act of.

From Project Gutenberg

Possessive case, 64, 67; rules for forming, 67; separate possession, in the, 67; with verbal nouns, 67 ff.; of phrase substituted for, 67; use of the apostrophe in the, 159.

From Project Gutenberg

In the examples above, the subject of the action is a single, unmodified term, immediately preceding the verbal noun, and the construction is as good as any that could be used.

From Project Gutenberg

The so-called imperfect subjunctive turns out to be a verbal noun with a preposition.

From Project Gutenberg

Generally speaking, the first two persons are formed from the verbal noun in b, which is by origin a future passive participle, and the third person is formed from the present participle.

From Project Gutenberg