How can an infinitive be an adverb?

An adverb answers why, how, or to what degree. In Lena leaned closer to read the label, to read the label says why she leaned closer, so it works like an adverb. After an adjective the same thing happens: ready to help, too cold to swim.

Why do eighth graders name the job instead of the verbal?

That is where the standard goes in grade 8. Knowing that a phrase acts like a noun or a modifier is what lets a student move it, punctuate it, and catch it when it dangles. The label gerund only gets them part of the way.

Is an -ing phrase at the start of a sentence always a participle?

No. If the phrase is the subject, it is a gerund doing a noun's job: missing the bus cost us an hour. If a comma follows and the phrase describes the subject that comes next, it is a participle doing an adjective's job: missing the bus, we walked.

8th grade verbals

8th grade verbals worksheets

In eighth grade the question moves from what a verbal is to what its phrase does. Gerund phrases act as nouns and participial phrases act as adjectives. Infinitive phrases can act as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs, so they get the closest reading. Eighth graders write the part of speech each phrase is standing in for.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core L.8.1.a.

Each print is a different sheet with its own answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of sentences you'll fix

Write the part of speech each quoted verbal phrase works as. Choose from the words in parentheses.

The bread dough was sticky enough to cling to the counter. The verbal phrase “to cling to the counter” works as which part of speech: (adjective / adverb / noun)?
Fixed: The bread dough was sticky enough to cling to the counter. The verbal phrase “to cling to the counter” works as which part of speech: adverb?
The rangers hope to reopen the canyon trail by late May. The verbal phrase “to reopen the canyon trail” works as which part of speech: (adjective / adverb / noun)?
Volunteers wearing orange vests directed traffic around the parade route. The verbal phrase “wearing orange vests” works as which part of speech: (adjective / adverb / noun)?

Every print pulls a new set of sentences at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different mix.

What's on an 8th grade sheet

8th grade sheets draw from 54 sentences, 7 to a page. None of these sentences are on 7th grade sheets. 7th grade sheets print 8 to a page.

A few of the sentences:

cramming the night before a test
Trailing by six points at the half
to fix the robot’s broken arm

Fix it. Write the part of speech each quoted verbal phrase works as. Choose from the words in parentheses. 7 sentences to fix per page.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

Have your student find the whole phrase first, then ask which question it answers. A phrase that names a thing, or that you could swap for it, is a noun. One that tells which one or what kind is an adjective. One that tells why, or finishes a word like ready or too cold, is an adverb. Gerunds and participles sort quickly once the grade 7 test is automatic. The time goes into infinitives, which can do all three jobs. Pair sentences help: she decided to leave, a reason to leave, she stood up to leave. The same three words do three different jobs, and most students remember that pair of sentences better than the rule.

Watch for: An -ing phrase at the start of a sentence can be either verbal. Training for the race took months opens with a gerund phrase, because it is the subject. Training for the race, Omar ran every day opens with a participial phrase that describes Omar. An infinitive after a verb is not always a noun. She wants to leave uses it as the object, a noun's job. She left early to catch the bus uses it to say why, an adverb's job. An infinitive right after a noun usually describes that noun: a place to sit, nothing to eat. Ask whether it answers which one or what kind before you call it a noun.

Common questions about 8th grade verbals

How can an infinitive be an adverb?: An adverb answers why, how, or to what degree. In Lena leaned closer to read the label, to read the label says why she leaned closer, so it works like an adverb. After an adjective the same thing happens: ready to help, too cold to swim.
Why do eighth graders name the job instead of the verbal?: That is where the standard goes in grade 8. Knowing that a phrase acts like a noun or a modifier is what lets a student move it, punctuate it, and catch it when it dangles. The label gerund only gets them part of the way.
Is an -ing phrase at the start of a sentence always a participle?: No. If the phrase is the subject, it is a gerund doing a noun's job: missing the bus cost us an hour. If a comma follows and the phrase describes the subject that comes next, it is a participle doing an adjective's job: missing the bus, we walked.

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Aligned to Common Core L.8.1.a. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated September 2026.

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