Nonfinite verb: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Verbs that can't complete a clause (such as "going" or "to live")}} |
{{Short description|Verbs that can't complete a clause (such as "going" or "to live")}} |
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{{Cleanup rewrite|misuse of bold and italics per [[MOS:BOLD]], [[MOS:ITALIC]]|article|date=May 2023}} |
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A '''nonfinite verb''' is a [[verb]] that is not [[Finite verb|finite]]. Nonfinite verbs cannot perform action as the root of an [[independent clause]]. Most nonfinite verbs found in [[English language|English]] are [[infinitive]]s, [[participle]]s and [[gerund]]s. (They are sometimes called "verbals", but that term has traditionally applied only to participles and gerunds.) Additional nonfinite forms found in some other languages include [[converb]]s, [[gerundive]]s and [[supine]]s. |
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<noinclude>'''Non-finite verbs''', are verb forms that do not show [[Grammatical tense|tense]], [[grammatical person|person]], or [[grammatical number|number]]. They include: |
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# [[Infinitives]] (e.g., to go, to see) - They often function as nouns or the base form of a verb |
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#[[Gerunds]] (e.g., going, seeing) - These act as nouns but are derived from verbs |
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#[[Participles]] (e.g., going, seen) - These can function as adjectives or part of verb tenses (like has gone) |
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Nonfinite verbs are used in constructions where there's no need to express tense directly. They help in creating sentences like "I want to go," where "to go" is nonfinite. |
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In the [[English language]], a non-finite verb cannot perform action as the main verb of an [[independent clause]].<ref>On their lack of inflection, see, for instance, Radford (1997:508f.), Tallerman (1998:68), Finch (2000:92f.), and Ylikoski (2003:186)</ref> Non-finite verb forms in some other languages include [[converb]]s, [[gerundive]]s and [[supine]]s. The categories of [[mood (grammar)|mood]], [[Tense (grammar)|tense]], and or [[voice (grammar)|voice]] may be absent from non-finite verb forms in some languages.<ref name="voicenf">{{cite Q|Q119529495}}</ref> |
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Because English lacks most inflectional morphology, the finite and the |
Because English lacks most inflectional morphology, the finite and the non-finite forms of a verb may appear the same in a given context. |
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==Examples== |
==Examples== |
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In the following sentences, the <strong>non-finite</strong> verbs are emphasized, while the <u>finite</u> verbs are underlined. |
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:: Verbs <u>appear</u> in almost all sentences. |
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:: This sentence <u>is</u> <strong>illustrating</strong> finite and non-finite verbs. |
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:: The dog <u>will</u> <strong>have</strong> to <strong>be</strong> <strong>trained</strong> well. |
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:: Tom <u>promised</u> to <strong>try</strong> to <strong>do</strong> the work. |
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In the above sentences, ''been'', ''examined'' and ''done'' are past participles, ''want'', ''have'', ''refuse'', ''accept'' and ''get'' are infinitives, and ''coming'', ''running'' and ''trying'' are present participles (for alternative terminology, see the sections below). |
In the above sentences, ''been'', ''examined'' and ''done'' are past participles, ''want'', ''have'', ''refuse'', ''accept'' and ''get'' are infinitives, and ''coming'', ''running'' and ''trying'' are present participles (for alternative terminology, see the sections below). |
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In languages like English that have little inflectional morphology, certain finite and |
In languages like English that have little inflectional morphology, certain finite and non-finite forms of a given verb are often identical, e.g. |
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::a. They '''laugh''' a lot. <small>- Finite verb (present tense) in bold</small> |
::a. They '''laugh''' a lot. <small>- Finite verb (present tense) in bold</small> |
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::b. They will '''laugh''' a lot. <small>- |
::b. They will '''laugh''' a lot. <small>- Non-finite infinitive in bold</small> |
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::a. Tom '''tried''' to help. <small>- Finite verb (past tense) in bold</small> |
::a. Tom '''tried''' to help. <small>- Finite verb (past tense) in bold</small> |
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::b. Tom has '''tried''' to help. <small>- |
::b. Tom has '''tried''' to help. <small>- Non-finite participle in bold</small> |
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Despite the fact that the verbs in bold have the same outward appearance, the first in each pair is finite and the second is |
Despite the fact that the verbs in bold have the same outward appearance, the first in each pair is finite and the second is non-finite. To distinguish the finite and non-finite uses, one has to consider the environments in which they appear. Finite verbs in English usually appear as the leftmost verb in a verb [[catena (linguistics)|catena]].<ref>Concerning the fact that the left-most verb is the finite verb, see Tallerman (1998:65).</ref> For details of verb inflection in English, see [[English verbs]]. |
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==Categories== |
==Categories== |
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===English=== |
===English=== |
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English |
In English, a non-finite verb form may constitute: |
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* an [[infinitive]] verb, including the [[auxiliary verb]] ''have'' {{mdash}} |
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:# within a verb phrase that is predicated by a [[modal verb]] (e.g., "I could ''have'' cried"). |
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:# within a to-infinitive phrase (e.g., "They seem to ''have'' moved"). |
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Each of the |
Each of the non-finite forms appears in a variety of environments. |
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==== |
====Infinitive==== |
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{{main|Infinitive}} |
{{main|Infinitive}} |
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The infinitive of a verb is considered the |
The infinitive form of a verb is considered the [[canonical]] form listed in dictionaries. English infinitives appear in verb catenae if they are introduced by an auxiliary verb or by a certain limited class of main verbs. They are also often introduced by a main verb followed by the particle ''to'' (as illustrated in the examples below). Further, infinitives introduced by ''to'' can function as noun phrases or even as modifiers of nouns. The following table illustrates such environments: |
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:::{| class="wikitable" |
:::{| class="wikitable" |
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|- |
|- |
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! Infinitive !! Introduced |
! Infinitive !! Introduced via auxiliary verb !! Introduced via causative verb !! Introduced via finite verb plus ''to'' !! Functioning as noun phrase !! Functioning as an adjective |
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|- |
|- |
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| laugh || Do not '''laugh'''! || That made me '''laugh'''. || I tried not to '''laugh'''. || '''To laugh''' would have been unwise. || the reason '''to laugh''' |
| laugh || Do not '''laugh'''! || That made me '''laugh'''. || I tried not to '''laugh'''. || '''To laugh''' would have been unwise. || the reason '''to laugh''' |
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| leave || They may '''leave'''. || We let them '''leave'''. || They refused to '''leave'''. || '''To leave''' was not an option. || the thing '''to leave''' behind |
| leave || They may '''leave'''. || We let them '''leave'''. || They refused to '''leave'''. || '''To leave''' was not an option. || the thing '''to leave''' behind |
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|- |
|- |
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| expand || You should '''expand''' the explanation. || We had them '''expand''' the explanation. || We hope to '''expand''' the explanation. || ''' |
| expand || You should '''expand''' the explanation. || We had them '''expand''' the explanation. || We hope to '''expand''' the explanation. || Our goal is '''to expand'''. || the effort '''to expand''' |
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====Participle==== |
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{{main|Participle}} |
{{main|Participle}} |
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:::{| class="wikitable" |
:::{| class="wikitable" |
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! Participle !! Progressive active participle !! Perfect active participle !! |
! Participle !! Progressive active participle !! Progressive passive participle !! Perfect active participle !! Perfect passive participle |
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| fix || The guy is '''fixing''' my bike. || He has '''fixed''' my bike || My bike was '''fixed'''. |
| fix || The guy is '''fixing''' my bike. || I saw the guy '''fixing''' my bike. || He has '''fixed''' my bike. || My bike was '''fixed'''. |
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| open || I saw the flower '''opening''' up || The flower has '''opened''' up. || The flower has been '''opened''' up. |
| open || The flower was '''opening''' up. || I saw the flower '''opening''' up. || The flower has '''opened''' up. || The flower has been '''opened''' up. |
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| support || She watched the news '''supporting''' the point || The news has '''supported''' the point. || I understood the point '''supported''' by the news |
| support || The news is '''supporting''' the point. || She watched the news '''supporting''' the point. || The news has '''supported''' the point. || I understood the point '''supported''' by the news |
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| drive || She is '''driving''' our car. || She has '''driven''' our car. || Our car should be '''driven''' often. |
| drive || She is '''driving''' our car. || I watched her '''driving''' our car. || She has '''driven''' our car. || Our car should be '''driven''' often. |
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Participles appear in a variety of environments. They can appear in [[periphrastic]] verb catenae, when they help form the main predicate of a clause, as is illustrated with the trees below. Also, they can appear essentially as an adjective modifying a noun. The form of a given perfect or passive participle is strongly influenced by the status of the verb at hand. The perfect and the passive participles of [[Germanic strong verb|strong verb]]s in [[Germanic languages]] are irregular (e.g. ''driven'') and must be learned for each verb. The perfect and passive participles of [[Germanic weak verb|weak verb]]s, in contrast, are regular and are formed with the suffix ''-ed'' (e.g. ''fixed'', ''supported'', ''opened''). |
Participles appear in a variety of environments. They can appear in [[periphrastic]] verb catenae, when they help form the main predicate of a clause, as is illustrated with the trees below. Also, they can appear essentially as an adjective modifying a noun. The form of a given perfect or passive participle is strongly influenced by the status of the verb at hand. The perfect and the passive participles of [[Germanic strong verb|strong verb]]s in [[Germanic languages]] are irregular (e.g. ''driven'') and must be learned for each verb. The perfect and passive participles of [[Germanic weak verb|weak verb]]s, in contrast, are regular and are formed with the suffix ''-ed'' (e.g. ''fixed'', ''supported'', ''opened''). |
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====Gerund==== |
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{{main|Gerund}} |
{{main|Gerund}} |
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Often, distinguishing between a gerund and a progressive active participle is not easy in English, and there is no clear boundary between the two |
Often, distinguishing between a gerund and a progressive active participle is not easy in English, and there is no clear boundary between the two non-finite verb forms. |
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====Auxiliary verb==== |
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{{main|Auxiliary verb}} |
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Auxiliary verbs typically occur as finite verbs, but they also can occur as a participle (e.g. ''been'', ''being'', ''got'', ''gotten'', or ''getting'') or, in the case of ''have'', in a non-finite context as the complement to a modal verb relating to a [[perfect (grammar)|perfect]] tense, e.g.: |
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! Modal verb + ''have''!! stative participle !! Perfect active participle !! Perfect passive participle |
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| could ''have'' || The guest could ''have'' '''been''' a bore. || The guest could ''have'' been '''boring''' us . || The guest could ''have'' been '''bored'''. |
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| might ''have'' || The dog might ''have'' '''been''' a surprise. || The dog might ''have'' been '''surprising''' everyone . || The dog might ''have'' been '''surprised'''. |
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| should ''have'' || Our bid should ''have'' '''been''' a win. || Our bid should ''have'' been '''winning''' support. || Our bid should ''have'' been '''won''' . |
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| would ''have'' || Their troops would ''have'' '''been''' a loss. || Their troops would ''have'' been '''losing''' ground. || Their troops would ''have'' been '''lost'''. |
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===Native American languages=== |
===Native American languages=== |
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Some languages, including many [[Native American languages]], form |
Some languages, including many [[Native American languages]], form non-finite constructions by using [[nominalization|nominalized]] verbs.<ref>Mithun, Marianne. 1999. The languages of Native America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.</ref> Others do not have any non-finite verbs. Where most European and Asian languages use non-finite verbs, Native American languages tend to use [[balancing and deranking|ordinary verb forms]]. |
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===Modern Greek=== |
===Modern Greek=== |
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The |
The non-finite verb forms in [[Modern Greek]] are identical to the third person of the ''dependent'' (or aorist subjunctive) and it is also called the ''aorist infinitive''. It is used with the auxiliary verb έχω (to have) to form the perfect, the pluperfect and the future perfect tenses. |
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==Theories of syntax== |
==Theories of syntax== |
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::[[File:Non-finite tree 1+'.png|Nonfinite tree 1+']] |
::[[File:Non-finite tree 1+'.png|Nonfinite tree 1+']] |
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The three verbs together form a chain, or verb catena (in purple), which functions as the predicate of the sentence. The finite verb ''has'' is inflected for person and number, tense, and mood: third person singular, present tense, indicative. The |
The three verbs together form a chain, or verb catena (in purple), which functions as the predicate of the sentence. The finite verb ''has'' is inflected for person and number, tense, and mood: third person singular, present tense, indicative. The non-finite verbs ''been'' and ''examined'' are, except for tense, neutral across such categories and are not inflected otherwise. The subject, ''proposal'', is a dependent of the finite verb ''has'', which is the root (highest word) in the verb catena. The non-finite verbs lack a subject dependent. |
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The second sentence shows the following dependency structure: |
The second sentence shows the following dependency structure: |
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::[[File:Non-finite tree 2+.png|Nonfinite tree 2+]] |
::[[File:Non-finite tree 2+.png|Nonfinite tree 2+]] |
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The verb catena (in purple) contains four verbs (three of which are |
The verb catena (in purple) contains four verbs (three of which are non-finite) and the particle ''to'', which introduces the infinitive ''have''. Again, the one finite verb, ''did'', is the root of the entire verb catena and the subject, ''they'', is a dependent of the finite verb. |
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The third sentence has the following dependency structure: |
The third sentence has the following dependency structure: |
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Here the verb catena contains three main verbs so there are three separate predicates in the verb catena. |
Here the verb catena contains three main verbs so there are three separate predicates in the verb catena. |
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The three examples show distinctions between finite and |
The three examples show distinctions between finite and non-finite verbs and the roles of these distinctions in sentence structure. For example, non-finite verbs can be auxiliary verbs or main verbs and they appear as infinitives, participles, gerunds etc. |
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== See also == |
== See also == |
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*Dodds, J. 2006. The ready reference handbook, 4th Edition. Pearson Education, Inc.. {{ISBN|0-321-33069-2}} |
*Dodds, J. 2006. The ready reference handbook, 4th Edition. Pearson Education, Inc.. {{ISBN|0-321-33069-2}} |
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*Finch, G. 2000. Linguistic terms and concepts. New York: St. Martin's Press. |
*Finch, G. 2000. Linguistic terms and concepts. New York: St. Martin's Press. |
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*Radford, A. 1997. [https://books.google.com/books?id=eaiLBNuFDHMC |
*Radford, A. 1997. [https://books.google.com/books?id=eaiLBNuFDHMC Syntactic theory and the structure of English: A minimalist approach]. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. |
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*Rozakis, L. 2003. The complete idiot's guide to grammar and style, 2nd Edition''. Alpha. ISBN |
*Rozakis, L. 2003. The complete idiot's guide to grammar and style, 2nd Edition''. Alpha. ISBN |
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*Tallerman, M. 1998. Understanding syntax. London: Arnold. |
*Tallerman, M. 1998. Understanding syntax. London: Arnold. |
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*Ylikoski, J. 2003. [ |
*Ylikoski, J. 2003. [https://users.utu.fi/jumyli/wp-content/uploads/sites/1378/2022/09/defining.pdf "Defining non-finites: action nominals, converbs and infinitives."] ''SKY Journal of Linguistics'' 16: 185–237. |
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{{refend}} |
{{refend}} |
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Latest revision as of 01:32, 24 November 2024
This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards, as misuse of bold and italics per MOS:BOLD, MOS:ITALIC. (May 2023) |
Non-finite verbs, are verb forms that do not show tense, person, or number. They include:
- Infinitives (e.g., to go, to see) - They often function as nouns or the base form of a verb
- Gerunds (e.g., going, seeing) - These act as nouns but are derived from verbs
- Participles (e.g., going, seen) - These can function as adjectives or part of verb tenses (like has gone)
Nonfinite verbs are used in constructions where there's no need to express tense directly. They help in creating sentences like "I want to go," where "to go" is nonfinite.
In the English language, a non-finite verb cannot perform action as the main verb of an independent clause.[1] Non-finite verb forms in some other languages include converbs, gerundives and supines. The categories of mood, tense, and or voice may be absent from non-finite verb forms in some languages.[2]
Because English lacks most inflectional morphology, the finite and the non-finite forms of a verb may appear the same in a given context.
Examples
[edit]In the following sentences, the non-finite verbs are emphasized, while the finite verbs are underlined.
- Verbs appear in almost all sentences.
- This sentence is illustrating finite and non-finite verbs.
- The dog will have to be trained well.
- Tom promised to try to do the work.
- The case has been intensively examined today.
- What did they want to have done about that?
- Someone tried to refuse to accept the offer.
- Coming downstairs, she saw the man running away.
- I am trying to get the tickets.
In the above sentences, been, examined and done are past participles, want, have, refuse, accept and get are infinitives, and coming, running and trying are present participles (for alternative terminology, see the sections below).
In languages like English that have little inflectional morphology, certain finite and non-finite forms of a given verb are often identical, e.g.
- a. They laugh a lot. - Finite verb (present tense) in bold
- b. They will laugh a lot. - Non-finite infinitive in bold
- a. Tom tried to help. - Finite verb (past tense) in bold
- b. Tom has tried to help. - Non-finite participle in bold
Despite the fact that the verbs in bold have the same outward appearance, the first in each pair is finite and the second is non-finite. To distinguish the finite and non-finite uses, one has to consider the environments in which they appear. Finite verbs in English usually appear as the leftmost verb in a verb catena.[3] For details of verb inflection in English, see English verbs.
Categories
[edit]English
[edit]In English, a non-finite verb form may constitute:
- an infinitive verb, including the auxiliary verb have —
- within a verb phrase that is predicated by a modal verb (e.g., "I could have cried").
- within a to-infinitive phrase (e.g., "They seem to have moved").
- a participle.
- a gerund.
Each of the non-finite forms appears in a variety of environments.
Infinitive
[edit]The infinitive form of a verb is considered the canonical form listed in dictionaries. English infinitives appear in verb catenae if they are introduced by an auxiliary verb or by a certain limited class of main verbs. They are also often introduced by a main verb followed by the particle to (as illustrated in the examples below). Further, infinitives introduced by to can function as noun phrases or even as modifiers of nouns. The following table illustrates such environments:
Infinitive Introduced via auxiliary verb Introduced via causative verb Introduced via finite verb plus to Functioning as noun phrase Functioning as an adjective laugh Do not laugh! That made me laugh. I tried not to laugh. To laugh would have been unwise. the reason to laugh leave They may leave. We let them leave. They refused to leave. To leave was not an option. the thing to leave behind expand You should expand the explanation. We had them expand the explanation. We hope to expand the explanation. Our goal is to expand. the effort to expand
Participle
[edit]English participles can be divided along two lines: according to aspect (progressive vs. perfect/perfective) and voice (active vs. passive). The following table illustrates the distinctions:
Participle Progressive active participle Progressive passive participle Perfect active participle Perfect passive participle fix The guy is fixing my bike. I saw the guy fixing my bike. He has fixed my bike. My bike was fixed. open The flower was opening up. I saw the flower opening up. The flower has opened up. The flower has been opened up. support The news is supporting the point. She watched the news supporting the point. The news has supported the point. I understood the point supported by the news drive She is driving our car. I watched her driving our car. She has driven our car. Our car should be driven often.
Participles appear in a variety of environments. They can appear in periphrastic verb catenae, when they help form the main predicate of a clause, as is illustrated with the trees below. Also, they can appear essentially as an adjective modifying a noun. The form of a given perfect or passive participle is strongly influenced by the status of the verb at hand. The perfect and the passive participles of strong verbs in Germanic languages are irregular (e.g. driven) and must be learned for each verb. The perfect and passive participles of weak verbs, in contrast, are regular and are formed with the suffix -ed (e.g. fixed, supported, opened).
Gerund
[edit]A gerund is a verb form that appears in positions that are usually reserved for nouns. In English, a gerund has the same form as a progressive active participle and so ends in -ing. Gerunds typically appear as subject or object noun phrases or even as the object of a preposition:
Gerund Gerund as subject Gerund as object Gerund as object of a preposition solve Solving problems is satisfying. I like solving problems. No one is better at solving problems. jog Jogging is boring. He has started jogging. Before jogging, she stretches. eat Eating too much made me sick. She avoids eating too much. That prevents you from eating too much. investigate Investigating the facts won't hurt. We tried investigating the facts. After investigating the facts, we made a decision.
Often, distinguishing between a gerund and a progressive active participle is not easy in English, and there is no clear boundary between the two non-finite verb forms.
Auxiliary verb
[edit]Auxiliary verbs typically occur as finite verbs, but they also can occur as a participle (e.g. been, being, got, gotten, or getting) or, in the case of have, in a non-finite context as the complement to a modal verb relating to a perfect tense, e.g.:
Modal verb + have stative participle Perfect active participle Perfect passive participle could have The guest could have been a bore. The guest could have been boring us . The guest could have been bored. might have The dog might have been a surprise. The dog might have been surprising everyone . The dog might have been surprised. should have Our bid should have been a win. Our bid should have been winning support. Our bid should have been won . would have Their troops would have been a loss. Their troops would have been losing ground. Their troops would have been lost.
Native American languages
[edit]Some languages, including many Native American languages, form non-finite constructions by using nominalized verbs.[4] Others do not have any non-finite verbs. Where most European and Asian languages use non-finite verbs, Native American languages tend to use ordinary verb forms.
Modern Greek
[edit]The non-finite verb forms in Modern Greek are identical to the third person of the dependent (or aorist subjunctive) and it is also called the aorist infinitive. It is used with the auxiliary verb έχω (to have) to form the perfect, the pluperfect and the future perfect tenses.
Theories of syntax
[edit]For an overview of dependency grammar structure in modern linguistic analysis, three example sentences are shown. The first sentence, The proposal has been intensively examined, is described as follows.
The three verbs together form a chain, or verb catena (in purple), which functions as the predicate of the sentence. The finite verb has is inflected for person and number, tense, and mood: third person singular, present tense, indicative. The non-finite verbs been and examined are, except for tense, neutral across such categories and are not inflected otherwise. The subject, proposal, is a dependent of the finite verb has, which is the root (highest word) in the verb catena. The non-finite verbs lack a subject dependent.
The second sentence shows the following dependency structure:
The verb catena (in purple) contains four verbs (three of which are non-finite) and the particle to, which introduces the infinitive have. Again, the one finite verb, did, is the root of the entire verb catena and the subject, they, is a dependent of the finite verb.
The third sentence has the following dependency structure:
Here the verb catena contains three main verbs so there are three separate predicates in the verb catena.
The three examples show distinctions between finite and non-finite verbs and the roles of these distinctions in sentence structure. For example, non-finite verbs can be auxiliary verbs or main verbs and they appear as infinitives, participles, gerunds etc.
See also
[edit]- Balancing and deranking
- Converb
- Gerundive
- Grammatical conjugation
- Infinitive
- Lexical categories, commonly known as parts of speech
- Participle
- Supine
- Verb phrase
- Verbal noun
References
[edit]- ^ On their lack of inflection, see, for instance, Radford (1997:508f.), Tallerman (1998:68), Finch (2000:92f.), and Ylikoski (2003:186)
- ^ E. Adelaide Hahn (1943). "Voice of Non-Finite Verb Forms in Latin and English". Transactions and proceedings of the American Philological Association. American Philological Association. 74: 269. doi:10.2307/283602. ISSN 0065-9711. Wikidata Q119529495.
- ^ Concerning the fact that the left-most verb is the finite verb, see Tallerman (1998:65).
- ^ Mithun, Marianne. 1999. The languages of Native America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sources
[edit]- Dodds, J. 2006. The ready reference handbook, 4th Edition. Pearson Education, Inc.. ISBN 0-321-33069-2
- Finch, G. 2000. Linguistic terms and concepts. New York: St. Martin's Press.
- Radford, A. 1997. Syntactic theory and the structure of English: A minimalist approach. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Rozakis, L. 2003. The complete idiot's guide to grammar and style, 2nd Edition. Alpha. ISBN
- Tallerman, M. 1998. Understanding syntax. London: Arnold.
- Ylikoski, J. 2003. "Defining non-finites: action nominals, converbs and infinitives." SKY Journal of Linguistics 16: 185–237.
External links
[edit]- Owl Online Writing Lab Archive: Verbals: Gerunds, Participles, and Infinitives