This verbal phrase acts just like a noun subject. Participial phrases used as nouns are called gerunds. If you discover their qualities, so much the better. Walking two miles every day reduced my heart rate. Combining exercise and diet control will produce a healthier you.
Verbal phrases are word groups that appear inside sentences.
Although they consist of several words, they function exactly as a single word. You are already acquainted with nouns used as subjects and with prepositional phrases used as adjectives. In the three sentences above verbal phrases act just like nouns. The verbal phrases are the subjects of the verbs. The phrase, Walking two miles every day , is the subject of the predicate reduced my heart rate .