Talk:verbal noun

Is "description" a verbal noun? I thought verbal nouns always ended in "-ing", such as "describing". -- Paul G 14:49, 26 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Do all verbal nouns end in -ing? Surely -ation words are verbal nouns? As I'm sure that when the verb does have a -ation form, that's usually used instead of the -ing in the context described. --78.143.203.69 21:47, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

No, English verbal nouns do not always end in -ing. Usually a verbal noun is the -ing form, but sometimes it can be the to form (e.g., in to breathe is not to live, both to breathe and to live are verbal nouns). Verbal nouns are a type of infinitive (something that becomes much clearer in some other languages such as Arabic and Finnish), and this excludes noun forms such as those ending in -tion and -al. "Description", while not a verbal noun, may be called a deverbative. —Stephen 22:17, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

How about nouns like cleaner, teacher, and runner? Are they verbal nouns as well? 99.121.52.70 16:26, 22 July 2017 (UTC)