VERBAL NOUNS

The building of the British Empire may be said to have begun with the ascent of Queen Elizabeth to the throne. 

give it a try / go / read

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A noun that is derived from a verb (usually by adding the suffix -ing) and that exhibits the ordinary properties of a noun.

For example, in the sentence "His firing of William was a mistake," the word firing functions as a verbal noun.

Nominal Qualities of Verbal Nouns

Though derived from a verb, a verbal noun is strictly a noun, and it exhibits nominal properties: it takes determiners like the and this, it permits adjectives (but not adverbs), it permits following prepositional phrases (but not objects), and it can even be pluralized if the sense permits. Example: In football, the deliberate tripping of an opponent is a foul. Here the verbal noun tripping takes the determiner the, the adjective deliberate and the prepositional phrase of an opponent, but it exhibits no verbal properties at all. In other words, tripping, in this case, is a perfectly ordinary noun, behaving just like any other noun, with no verbal properties in sight. Compare the last example with one involving the unremarkable noun attack: In football, a deliberate attack on an opponent is a foul. 

Possession and Verbal Nouns

"You are familiar with gerund clauses as in this sentence:

30a We watched Mark winning the race.

Compare this sentence:

30b We applauded Mark's winning of the race.

30b contains a verbal noun, formed like the gerund by adding -ing to the verb but differing from the gerund in the kind of construction it appears in: the subject of the verbal noun is typically possessive and the object of the verbal noun is preceded by of, as in the example. All verbs form a gerund by adding -ing. . . .