What are participles in grammar?

Participles are verb forms that primarily function as adjectives, which is why the correct response is that they are verbals that function as adjectives. This means they can modify nouns by providing more information about the state or action associated with the noun. For example, in the phrase "the running water," the participle "running" describes the noun "water," giving us a clearer image of what kind of water it is.

Participles can usually be recognized in two forms: present participles, which often end in "-ing," and past participles, which may have different endings (such as "-ed," "-en," "-t," etc.). This role of participles is central to constructing descriptive language in writing, enhancing the clarity and detail of sentences.

The other options do not accurately describe participles. While some verbals may function as nouns, that describes gerunds rather than participles. Participles do not exclusively denote actions—they provide descriptive qualities to nouns instead. Additionally, sentences with a passive voice involve a different grammatical structure where the subject receives the action rather than performs it, which is distinct from the role of participles.