HOW FINITE VERBS DIFFER FROM NON-FINITE VERBS

When finite verbs take the form of verbals

    IMAGE CREDIT: PINTEREST.COM

Let’s start by reacquainting ourselves with the verbals—the infinitives, the gerunds, and the participles. All three are once-upon verbs transformed by grammatical alchemy into noun forms (in the case of infinitives and gerunds) and adjectives (in the case of participles).

This time, let’s just focus on how verbs are classified in form and function into “finite verbs” and “non-finite verbs.” Precisely what are these two forms and how do they differ?

A verb in its finite form

A verb, as we all know, is a word that serves as the grammatical center of the predicate of a sentence and expresses an act, occurrence, or state of being. It is “finite” if it actually shows tense (past, present, or future), person (first person, second person, or third person), and number (singular or plural).

Here are sentences that use finite verb forms expressing an act or occurrence: “I run.” “He runs.” “We ran.” And here are sentences that use different forms of the linking verb “be” to express a state of being: “I am hungry.” “She was hungry.” “They were hungry.” All of these verbs have duration, meaning that they happen at some point in time, and they change in form—inflect—depending on tense, person, and number. In sum, finite verbs are functioning as “true” verbs.

When a verb assumes non-finite forms

 

     IMAGE CREDIT: PEDIAA.COM

In contrast to finite verbs, a verb becomes non-finite when it assumes a form that has no duration and cannot take tense, person, and number. We can liken non-finite verbs to actions that congealed as they were taking place, as in a freeze-framed scene from a movie. They become what are known in grammar as the verbals. The verb “take,” for instance, can assume the non-finite forms “to take” (infinitive), “taking” (gerund), and “taken” (participle). These three forms no longer function as verbs but serve as nouns or adjectives instead.

Let’s look closer at how these non-finite verbs work.

As an infinitive phrase (noun): “To take her hand would not be advisable.” “I have never wanted to take her place.”

Gerund phrase (noun): “Taking her hand would not be advisable.” “I have never considered taking her place.”

Past or present participle (adjective): “The taken seat was the cause of their quarrel.” “Taking seats without permission is impolite.”
-----------

The above discussions have been excerpted from my weekly column “English Plain and Simple” in The Manila Times, July 5, 2004, © 2004 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

COMPANION READING IN JOSE CARILLO'S ENGLISH FORUM:
"The perfect infinitive and perfect gerund forms and their usage"
https://josecarilloforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=6577.0