There are two
kinds of verbs: finite verbs and nonfinite verbs.
Finite verb
The finite verb in a sentence must have a subject
as expressed (You sit here.) or implied (Sit here.). Every sentence must have a
finite verb to be complete. The finite verb can be a transitive verb,
intransitive verb, or linking verb. The finite verb agrees with the subject as
it changes with the person (first, second, and third person) and number
(singular or plural) of the subject. This makes it similar to a main verb. The
finite verb has the present or past form, which means finite verb has tenses.
This table shows
a finite verb that changes its form in number and person as well as the tense.
The changes in forms are based on the number and person of the subject of the
sentence.
Person
|
Present Tense
/ Past Tense
|
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
|
First Person
|
I eat/ate
|
We eat/ate
|
Second Person
|
You eat/ate
|
You eat/ate
|
Third Person
|
He eats/ate
|
They eat/ate
|
She eats/ate
|
They eat/ate
|
|
It eats/ate
|
They eat/ate
|
|
A finite verb
can stand alone as the verb of a sentence without an accompanying helping verb,
or it can be a verb phrase comprising of a helping verb/auxiliary verb and a
main verb. The following examples show the finite verbs in bold.
Examples:
o
He stared at me.
o
He was shooting arrows into the air.
Nonfinite verb
Nonfinite verbs do not change to reflect
person, singular or plural, or tense. This means, unlike a finite verb, it does
not have to agree with the subject in person or number. There are three
nonfinite forms of a verb: the infinitives (with to followed
by a main verb or without to); gerund (gerund is a
form of verb that ends in –ing and functions as a noun in a
sentence); and participle (present participle that ends in
–ing and past participle that ends in –ed. Both forms of
participles function as adjective).
Finite
verb
|
Nonfinite
verb
|
||
-s form
|
boils, eats, runs
|
-ing form (Gerund)
|
boiling, eating, running
|
Present tense
|
boil, eat, run
|
Infinitive
|
(to) boil, (to) eat, (to) run
|
Past tense
|
boiled, ate, ran
|
Past participle
|
boiled, eaten, run
|
As is seen on the table, the nonfinite verb does
not have tenses. It has the ending in –ing form, infinitive form with to and
past participle form (boiled, eaten, run).
In the table, the verb boiled appears
as a finite past tense verb and also a nonfinite past participle verb with both
ending in –ed. How do we know whether it is a finite verb or
nonfinite verb in a sentence such as: She boiled an egg?
If the word is an action verb; that is, expressing
the action of a subject, it is a finite verb. If the word is used as an
adjective, it is a nonfinite verb: She ate a boiled egg.
For the
verb boiled in the sentence to be a nonfinite verb, it has to
meet one of the three requirements of a nonfinite verb: it is an infinitive
following the word to; it is a gerund ending in –ing;
or it is an adjective ending in –ed. In the sentence She ate a boiled
egg, the word boiled is not an infinitive following the
word to. It is not a gerund ending in –ing. It ends
in –ed, so it is a participle. As a participle, it acts as an
adjective modifying the noun egg. It is therefore a nonfinite verb.
Further
examples:
Infinitive form:
o
To talk with your mouth full is not a nice thing to
do.
o
We are happy to have completed our
research.
o
We watched him perform some magic
tricks.
Gerund form:
o
I hate dining alone.
o
He saw her feeding rabbits.
o
Jogging is a good form of exercise.
Present
participle form:
o
My grandson bought me a walking stick.
o
Having left by taxi, he should arrive
there early.
o
She took a photo of them mending their fishing nets.
Past participle
form:
o
The artifact stolen from the
museum was never recovered.
o
These stamps bought at that post
office are commemorative stamps.
o
The streets were filled with drunken revelers
on New Year's Eve.
Sentences with finite and nonfinite verbs
Every sentence must have at least one finite verb.
But a sentence may have no nonfinite verb, one nonfinite verb or many nonfinite
verbs.
Examples:
o
Going overseas can be very exciting.
(This sentence has one nonfinite verb going.)
(This sentence has one nonfinite verb going.)
o
Following the route, we got lost in the middle of
nowhere.
(This sentence has one nonfinite verb following and one finite verb got.)
(This sentence has one nonfinite verb following and one finite verb got.)
o
They recruited volunteers to search for the missing
passengers.
(This sentence has one finite verb recruited, and two nonfinite verbs to search and missing.)
(This sentence has one finite verb recruited, and two nonfinite verbs to search and missing.)
o
We arrived at the crowded hall early to listen to
the visiting professor.
(This sentence has one finite verb arrived, and three nonfinite verbs crowded, to listen, and visiting.)
(This sentence has one finite verb arrived, and three nonfinite verbs crowded, to listen, and visiting.)
