Verbal Nouns

How do they work? Why does it matter?

A while back, when I was asking the Itch’s supporters about topics they’d like me to tackle here, Rachel Davidson said that she can’t get her head round verbal nouns. So here goes.

Depending on what you read, the term ‘verbal noun’ may simply refer to any noun which evolved from a verb: to arrive > the arrival; to decide > a decision; to build > a building. These can all be handled like normal nouns because they are normal nouns and have normal noun-y habits. You can’t do any of the following to a verb, but you can do them to verbal nouns:

• add adjectives: Concorde’s noisy arrival caught everyone’s attention.

• make plurals: In those days tall buildings were rare.

• add prepositional phrases: Her decision on the safety question was unexpected. Tall buildings in those days were rare.

Bu I think what Rachel means is the verbal nouns which look like what is now called the ‘-ing form’ of verbs*, whose principal job is to make verb phrases with a progressive/continuous aspect: They are still deciding about their holiday. I was building a sandcastle. We will be arriving tomorrow.