Verbals, active and passive voice, and verb mood
Recognizing a gerund, participle, or infinitive doing a noun-like, adjective-like, or adverb-like job, choosing active or passive voice on purpose, and forming and using the indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive verb moods
About four lessons of 40 to 50 minutes
A verb wearing a disguise, and a sentence choosing who gets the spotlight
A verb usually shows action, but sometimes a verb form puts on a disguise and does a completely different job: naming a thing ('Swimming is great exercise'), describing a thing ('The barking dog woke us up'), or explaining a purpose ('She left early to catch the bus'). These disguised verbs, called verbals, are everywhere in strong writing.
This unit also teaches two more precise controls over your verbs: choosing active voice ('The dog chased the ball') or passive voice ('The ball was chased by the dog') on purpose, not by accident, and choosing the right mood, whether you are stating a fact, giving a command, asking a question, describing something conditional, or expressing a wish contrary to fact.
- 'Swimming is great exercise' (a gerund)swimming looks like a verb but is doing the job of a noun, the subject of the sentence
- Active: 'The team won the game.'the subject performs the action, direct and usually clearer
- Passive: 'The game was won by the team.'the subject receives the action, useful when the doer is unknown or less important
- 'If I were you, I would ask.'the subjunctive mood ('were', not 'was'), used for a wish or a condition contrary to fact
What students will be able to do
Students will identify a verbal (gerund, participle, or infinitive) in a sentence and explain the noun-like, adjective-like, or adverb-like job it is doing; will identify whether a sentence is in active or passive voice and rewrite it in the other voice; and will form and use verbs in the indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive moods.
- I can identify a gerund, participle, or infinitive in a sentence and explain what job it is doing.
- I can tell active voice apart from passive voice, and rewrite a sentence to change it.
- I can explain when passive voice is a useful, deliberate choice rather than a weakness.
- I can form and use the indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive verb moods correctly.
Standards this unit teaches
- L.8.1Common Core (US)Grammar and usage
Explain the function of verbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives) in general and their function in particular sentences, and form and use verbs in the active and passive voice and in the indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive mood.
- L.8.2Common Core (US)Punctuation for pauses and breaks
Use punctuation (commas, ellipses, dashes) to indicate a pause or break, and spell grade level words correctly.
Prior knowledge
This unit builds on skills students should already have met. Revisit any that are shaky first.
- Phrases, clauses, and sentence variety (Grade 7)verbal phrases are a specific kind of phrase this unit builds on directly
- Pronoun case, vague references, and shifts (Grade 6)the same close, sentence-level editing habit applies here to verbs instead of pronouns
- All grammar worksheetsmore sentence-editing practice across the grades
Words to teach and display
- Gerund
- a verb form ending in -ing that does the job of a noun, such as the subject or object of a sentence
- Participle
- a verb form (often ending in -ing or -ed) that does the job of an adjective, describing a noun
- Infinitive
- the 'to' form of a verb (to run, to ask) used as a noun, adjective, or adverb
- Active voice
- a sentence structure where the subject performs the action of the verb
- Passive voice
- a sentence structure where the subject receives the action of the verb, often with 'by' naming who performed it
- Verb mood
- the form a verb takes to show whether a sentence is a statement, command, question, condition, or a wish contrary to fact
Teach it: model, guided practice, independent
The lesson moves from a teacher model spotting verbals and voice in real sentences, to guided practice rewriting sentences to change voice or mood on purpose, to students revising their own writing for more precise verb choices. Every example is a real, plausible sentence, so the grammar is practiced on usable writing, not isolated rules.
1. Verbals: gerunds, participles, and infinitives
Model spotting a verb-shaped word that is not actually functioning as the sentence's main verb, and identifying which job (noun, adjective, or adverb) it is doing instead.
Teach the three types with one sentence each: a gerund is a noun job ('Reading relaxes me'), a participle is an adjective job ('The broken window let in cold air'), and an infinitive can be a noun, adjective, or adverb job ('To win took months of practice').
The test: find the sentence's actual main verb first, then check whether any other verb-shaped word is instead naming, describing, or explaining purpose.
Identify the verbal in this sentence and explain its job: 'Determined to finish the race, Alicia ignored the pain in her ankle.'
- Find the sentence's main verb: 'ignored'.
- Find the verb-shaped words that are not the main verb: 'Determined' and 'to finish'.
- Explain their jobs: 'Determined' is a participle describing Alicia (adjective job); 'to finish the race' is an infinitive phrase explaining why she was determined (adverb job).
Answer: 'Determined' is a participle acting as an adjective describing Alicia; 'to finish the race' is an infinitive phrase acting as an adverb explaining why. The sentence's actual verb is 'ignored'.
- How do you find a sentence's actual main verb before hunting for verbals?
- What are the three jobs a verbal can do, and which type of verbal typically does each?
2. Active and passive voice, chosen on purpose
Model rewriting a sentence from active to passive and back, then discussing when each choice actually serves the writing.
The test: in active voice, the subject performs the action. In passive voice, the subject receives the action, and the doer is often introduced with 'by' or left out entirely.
Passive voice is not automatically wrong. It is the right choice when the doer is unknown, unimportant, or when the writer wants to emphasize the receiver of the action, for example in many science writeups: 'The solution was heated to 80 degrees' focuses on the solution, not on who heated it.
Rewrite this passive sentence in active voice, and explain which version fits a news headline better: 'The award was presented to the scientist by the committee.'
- Identify the doer (the committee) and the receiver (the scientist) of the action.
- Rewrite with the doer as the subject: 'The committee presented the award to the scientist.'
- Decide which fits a headline: active voice is usually more direct and energetic for a headline, unless the scientist is the more newsworthy focus.
Answer: Active voice: 'The committee presented the award to the scientist.' Active voice usually reads more directly, but if the scientist (not the committee) is the focus of the story, keeping the passive version ('The scientist was presented the award...') can be the better, deliberate choice.
- What is the difference between the subject in an active sentence and the subject in a passive sentence?
- Give one real reason a writer might deliberately choose passive voice.
3. The five verb moods
Introduce the five moods with one example sentence each, then focus extra attention on the subjunctive, the mood students find least familiar.
Indicative states a fact or opinion ('The store closes at nine'). Imperative gives a command ('Close the door'). Interrogative asks a question ('Does the store close at nine?'). Conditional describes something dependent on a condition ('If it rains, we will stay inside'). Subjunctive expresses a wish, a suggestion, or a condition contrary to fact, often using 'were' instead of 'was' ('If I were taller, I could reach the shelf').
Focus the subjunctive test on 'contrary to fact': if the sentence describes something that is not actually true right now (I am not taller), the subjunctive 'were' is used, not 'was'.
Identify the mood of each sentence: (1) 'Turn off the lights.' (2) 'If she were here, she would know what to do.'
- Sentence 1 gives a direct command with no stated subject: imperative mood.
- Sentence 2 describes a situation that is not actually true (she is not here) using 'were': subjunctive mood.
- Explain why 'was' would be incorrect in sentence 2.
Answer: Sentence 1 is imperative (a command). Sentence 2 is subjunctive, using 'were' rather than 'was' because it describes a wish or condition contrary to fact, she is not actually here.
- What clue tells you a sentence needs the subjunctive mood rather than the indicative?
- Which two moods are easiest to confuse, and how can you tell them apart?
Common misconceptions and how to address them
MisconceptionAny word ending in -ing is automatically the sentence's main verb.
Why it happens: Students recognize the -ing ending as verb-like and stop checking whether it is actually functioning as a noun (gerund) or adjective (participle) instead.
How to address it: Always find the sentence's true main verb first (the one that changes with tense: is, was, will be), then check whether other -ing words are doing a different job.
MisconceptionPassive voice is always weak writing and should never be used.
Why it happens: Students are taught to avoid passive voice as a blanket rule and never learn when it is the better, deliberate choice.
How to address it: Practice sorting real examples into 'passive works better here' and 'active works better here', so the choice becomes purposeful instead of a rule to avoid.
Misconception'If I was taller' and 'If I were taller' mean exactly the same thing and either is fine.
Why it happens: Students have not learned that the subjunctive specifically signals something is not actually true.
How to address it: Apply the contrary-to-fact test every time: is this describing something that is not currently true? If so, 'were' is required, regardless of subject number.
Guided practice (with answers)
1. Identify the verbal and its job: 'Winning the championship felt incredible.'
Answer: 'Winning the championship' is a gerund phrase acting as the subject of the sentence, a noun job.
2. Rewrite in passive voice: 'The storm destroyed the old barn.'
Answer: The old barn was destroyed by the storm.
3. Identify the mood: 'Please hand me the scissors.'
Answer: Imperative mood, a command (with 'please' softening it, but still a command with the subject 'you' understood).
4. Fix the mood error: 'If I was you, I would apologize.'
Answer: If I were you, I would apologize. (Subjunctive 'were', since the sentence describes something contrary to fact, the speaker is not actually 'you'.)
Independent practice worksheets
Set the matching ChalkBee Grade 8 grammar and writing worksheets for independent practice, having students find verbals in a passage, rewrite two sentences in the opposite voice, and correct mood errors in a short editing task.
Differentiation
- Provide the three verbal types on a reference card with one example sentence each for students to match against.
- Give the active sentence and ask students only to identify the doer and receiver before attempting a full passive rewrite.
- Focus mood practice on just indicative versus imperative versus subjunctive at first, adding interrogative and conditional once those are secure.
- Underline the verb in each practice sentence so students only have to classify its mood, not first locate it.
- Find one real example of a deliberately passive sentence in a news article and explain why the writer likely chose it.
- Write one sentence using each of the five verb moods on the same topic.
- Rewrite a paragraph of their own writing, changing at least two sentences from passive to active voice or the reverse, and explain the effect.
- Explain why 'wish' and 'if only' sentences almost always require the subjunctive mood.
Assessment: exit ticket
A four-question exit ticket sampling verbal identification, active-passive rewriting, and mood.
1. Identify the verbal and its job: 'To succeed requires patience.'
Answer: 'To succeed' is an infinitive acting as the subject of the sentence, a noun job.
2. Rewrite in active voice: 'The cake was baked by my grandmother.'
Answer: My grandmother baked the cake.
3. Identify the mood: 'Would you please close the window?'
Answer: Interrogative mood, a question (phrased politely, but still a question).
4. Fix the mood error: 'I wish I was able to attend the concert.'
Answer: I wish I were able to attend the concert. (Subjunctive 'were', since the wish describes something not actually true.)
Teacher notes and timings
- Rough timing across four lessons: Lesson 1 verbals (section 1), Lesson 2 active and passive voice (section 2), Lesson 3 the five verb moods (section 3), Lesson 4 independent practice plus the exit ticket.
- Language to keep saying: find the real main verb first, who is doing the action versus who is receiving it, is this contrary to fact. These phrases target the unit's three main misconceptions.
- Curriculum note: L.8.1 bundles two distinct skills, verbals and voice-and-mood, under one standard; this unit teaches them as three clearly separated sections rather than blending them, since they are conceptually different even though CCSS groups them together.
- The subjunctive mood is genuinely the hardest part of this unit for most students; budget extra guided practice time here rather than rushing to independent practice.
- Present mode and print both work: use the Print button for a clean editing worksheet, or project the example sentences to rewrite live as a class.