Finite / Nonfinite: clauses

Charlie

Finite / Nonfinite

Verbs and clauses

(advanced)

Primary vs. Secondary Verbs

PRIMARY VERBS (finite)	SECONDARY VERBS (nonfinite)
Primary (finite) verbs can be inflected for tense, person and number. That is to say, they are marked by tense (usually -ed in past) and number (usually -s for 3rd person) Note: In the 2002 revision of the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, fiinite and nonfinite verbs were renamed primary and secondary verbs. The words finite and nonfinite were reinterpreted as a syntactic category of the clause. See note.	Secondary or nonfinite verbs are not marked for tense, aspect, mood, number and person. For this reason, it cannot serve as a predicate, nor can it be used in an independent clause (unless combined with an auxiliary verb (e.g., can, may, will). Clauses whose verb is secondary are called nonfinite clauses, which are almost always subordinate. Below, the nonfinite clauses are illustrated with brackets [ ].
ARE MARKED FOR TENSE Charlie raises / raised his hand. (regular tensed verb) Charlie is silly . Charlie and Jill were silly. (irregular) Charlie does his math. Jill did her math. (irregular) Jill has homework. Charlie had homework. (irregular)	ARE NOT MARKED FOR TENSE To speak in class is difficult. (noun) Speaking in class is encouraged. (noun) Prepared, students are more likely to succeed. (ambiguous as a verb or adjective)
HAVE A SUBJECT Charlie hopes that he knows the answer. (The verb hopes has the subject Charlie, and knows has the subject he.) It is annoying that he answers all the questions.	RARELY HAVE A SUBJECT Charlie hopes to [ __ know the answer]. (The verb hopes has the subject Charlie, but knows has no subject.) It is unusual for [him to [answer questions]. The exception is the "It…for" structure in which subject is subordinated with for (him, her, them, etc.)
ARE MARKED FOR PERSON Charlie raises his hand. 3rd person	ARE NOT MARKED FOR PERSON Charlie wants to [raise his hand]. Charlie stands up to [speak in class]. Charlie helps us [answer the question]. It is hard for Charlie to [sit quietly.]
FORM NEGATIVES WITH DO + NOT (USES "DO" SUPPORT) Charlie does not want to sit in class all day. Charlie is not here today. (BE is an exception)	FORM NEGATIVES WITH NOT Charlie wants not to [sit in class all day]. Charlie prefers not [sitting in class all day] Charlie seems not to [be here today]. [Not wanting to sit all day] is understandable.

PRIMARY VERBS (finite)

SECONDARY VERBS (nonfinite)

Primary (finite) verbs can be inflected for tense, person and number. That is to say, they are marked by tense (usually -ed in past) and number (usually -s for 3rd person) Note: In the 2002 revision of the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, fiinite and nonfinite verbs were renamed primary and secondary verbs. The words finite and nonfinite were reinterpreted as a syntactic category of the clause. See note.

Secondary or nonfinite verbs are not marked for tense, aspect, mood, number and person. For this reason, it cannot serve as a predicate, nor can it be used in an independent clause (unless combined with an auxiliary verb (e.g., can, may, will). Clauses whose verb is secondary are called nonfinite clauses, which are almost always subordinate. Below, the nonfinite clauses are illustrated with brackets [ ].

ARE MARKED FOR TENSE

Charlie raises / raised his hand. (regular tensed verb)
Charlie is silly . Charlie and Jill were silly. (irregular)
Charlie does his math. Jill did her math. (irregular)
Jill has homework. Charlie had homework. (irregular)

ARE NOT MARKED FOR TENSE

To speak in class is difficult. (noun)
Speaking in class is encouraged. (noun)
Prepared, students are more likely to succeed. (ambiguous as a verb or adjective)

HAVE A SUBJECT

Charlie hopes that he knows the answer.

(The verb hopes has the subject Charlie, and knows has the subject he.)

It is annoying that he answers all the questions.

RARELY HAVE A SUBJECT

Charlie hopes to [ __ know the answer].
(The verb hopes has the subject Charlie, but knows has no subject.)

It is unusual for [him to [answer questions].
The exception is the "It…for" structure in which subject is subordinated with for (him, her, them, etc.)

ARE MARKED FOR PERSON

Charlie raises his hand. 3rd person

ARE NOT MARKED FOR PERSON

Charlie wants to [raise his hand].
Charlie stands up to [speak in class].
Charlie helps us [answer the question].
It is hard for Charlie to [sit quietly.]

FORM NEGATIVES WITH DO + NOT (USES "DO" SUPPORT)

Charlie does not want to sit in class all day.

Charlie is not here today. (BE is an exception)

FORM NEGATIVES WITH NOT

Charlie wants not to [sit in class all day].
Charlie prefers not [sitting in class all day]
Charlie seems not to [be here today].
[Not wanting to sit all day] is understandable.

(CaGEL — finite-nonfinite 1173; to and for as subordinators 1181; gerund-participle distinction 80, 1120; be 113)

Primary vs. Secondary Verb Forms

PRIMARY VERB TYPES	SECONDARY VERB FORMS IN NONFINITE CLAUSES
A primary (finite) verb can be marked by tense and number. In English, these include the past and the present tense verb forms. All other tenses are formed with one or more verb types: auxiliaries, modals and participles. Clauses whose verbs are primary are called finite clauses.	A secondary (nonfinite) verb is one of three verb form types: infinitival, gerund-participle (-ing) or past participle (-ed). Clauses whose verb are secondary are called nonfinite clauses. Below, nonfinite clauses are illustrated with brackets [ ].
PRIMARY FORM Charlie raised his hand. (has inflectional forms for tense and person) Charlie believes that he knows the answer.	SECONDARY FORM – – –
PLAIN FORM – IMPERATIVE Raise your hand. imperative (You) raise your hand. Don't you raise your hand. (use "do" support) Imperatives were added to the primary verb category despite the fact that they are always inflected with the same person (you) and tense (plain form). The reason is that they use "do" support and they are always found in a main clause, a characteristic of other finite verbs.	PLAIN FORM – TO + INFINITIVAL Charlie wants to [raise his hand]. subordinated with to marker It is difficult to [sit quietly.] subordinated with to It is difficult for [him to [sit quietly.]] subordinated with for & to
PLAIN FORM – SUBJUNCTIVE I suggest that you raise your hand. Subjunctives were added to the primary verb category despite the fact that they do not use "do" support and are usually subordinate (except: So be it?, Be that as it may, Long live!, Far be it for me to…) The reason they are included as primary verbs is that they are more like tensed verbs in that they always have a subject, they use that as their subordinator, and in most cases they can be restated as a tensed verb: It is important that he raise his hand before speaking. (suggestion, imposition of will) It is important that he raises his hand before speaking. (statement of observation)	PLAIN FORM – INFINITIVAL Charlie helped us [answer the question]. after dare, need, help, etc. Charlie should sit quietly. after modals All he did was talk out loud. after do
Charlie, who sits in class, finds it difficult. Charlie dislikes when he sits in class.	GERUND-PARTICIPLE* [Sitting in class] is hard. traditionally a gerund subject Charlie dislikes sitting in class. traditionally – a gerund object Charlie, [knowing the answer], annoyed the other students. traditionally – a reduced adjective clause or participial adjective
Charlie, [who is admired by his classmates], raised his hand.	PAST PARTICIPLE Charlie, [admired by his classmates], raised his hand. traditionally – a reduced adjective clause

PRIMARY VERB TYPES

SECONDARY VERB FORMS IN NONFINITE CLAUSES

A primary (finite) verb can be marked by tense and number. In English, these include the past and the present tense verb forms. All other tenses are formed with one or more verb types: auxiliaries, modals and participles. Clauses whose verbs are primary are called finite clauses.

A secondary (nonfinite) verb is one of three verb form types: infinitival, gerund-participle (-ing) or past participle (-ed). Clauses whose verb are secondary are called nonfinite clauses. Below, nonfinite clauses are illustrated with brackets [ ].

PRIMARY FORM

Charlie raised his hand. (has inflectional forms for tense and person)

Charlie believes that he knows the answer.

SECONDARY FORM

– – –

PLAIN FORM – IMPERATIVE

Raise your hand. imperative (You) raise your hand.

Don't you raise your hand. (use "do" support)

Imperatives were added to the primary verb category despite the fact that they are always inflected with the same person (you) and tense (plain form). The reason is that they use "do" support and they are always found in a main clause, a characteristic of other finite verbs.

PLAIN FORM – TO + INFINITIVAL

Charlie wants to [raise his hand]. subordinated with to marker

It is difficult to [sit quietly.] subordinated with to

It is difficult for [him to [sit quietly.]] subordinated with for & to

PLAIN FORM – SUBJUNCTIVE

I suggest that you raise your hand.

Subjunctives were added to the primary verb category despite the fact that they do not use "do" support and are usually subordinate (except: So be it?, Be that as it may, Long live!, Far be it for me to…) The reason they are included as primary verbs is that they are more like tensed verbs in that they always have a subject, they use that as their subordinator, and in most cases they can be restated as a tensed verb:

It is important that he raise his hand before speaking. (suggestion, imposition of will)
It is important that he raises his hand before speaking. (statement of observation)

PLAIN FORM – INFINITIVAL

Charlie helped us [answer the question]. after dare, need, help, etc.

Charlie should sit quietly. after modals

All he did was talk out loud. after do

Charlie, who sits in class, finds it difficult.
Charlie dislikes when he sits in class.

GERUND-PARTICIPLE*

[Sitting in class] is hard. traditionally a gerund subject

Charlie dislikes sitting in class. traditionally – a gerund object

Charlie, [knowing the answer], annoyed the other students.
traditionally – a reduced adjective clause or participial adjective

Charlie, [who is admired by his classmates], raised his hand.

PAST PARTICIPLE

Charlie, [admired by his classmates], raised his hand. traditionally – a reduced adjective clause

"Historically the gerund and present participle of traditional grammar have different sources, but in Modern English the forms are identical. (CaGEL 82, 1220)

In traditional grammar, gerunds were mostly nouns while participles were adjectives.

Auxiliary Verbs

Verb Form Types

Auxiliary Determines Form of Next Verb

AUXILIARY + NEXT FORM TYPE	Example 1	Example 2	Example 3
MODAL PLAIN FORM — will, would, may, might,can, could, shall, should, ought	will ⇒ raise his hand	His hand would ⇒ be raised	His hand would ⇒ have raised
PERFECT PAST PARTICIPLE — has, have, had	has ⇒ raised his hand	His hand had ⇒ been raised	His hand must have ⇒ raised
PROGRESSIVE GERUND-PARTICIPLE — is, are, was, were	is ⇒ raising his hand	His hand was ⇒ being raised	His hand has been ⇒ raising
PASSIVE PAST PARTICIPLE — is, are, was, were	was ⇒raised his hand	His hand was being ⇒raised	His hand has been ⇒raised

(CaGEL 104-6)
Also see Auxiliary Verbs

Secondary Verbs

In Nonfinite Clauses

PRIMARY VERBS	SECONDARY VERB: INFINITIVAL
	Infinitives are base (plain form) verbs that usually, but not always, occur with to. In modern linguistic analysis, to is not part of the verb form, but rather the subordinator to the infinitival verb phrase. See Sentence Structure below.
1a. Charlie raised his hand.	1b. Charlie wants to raise his hand. Verb + Infinitive
2a. Charlie believes that he knows the answer.	2b. Charlie stands up to speak in class. In order + Infinitive
	3b. Charlie helped us answer the question. Bare Infinitives
	4b. It is hard for Charlie to sit quietly. Verb + Pron + Infin

PRIMARY VERBS	SECONDARY VERB: GERUND-PARTICIPLE

1a. Charlie dislikes [He sits quietly.]	1b. Charlie dislikes sitting quietly. Gerund Objects
2a. Charlie believes that he knows the answer.	2b. Charlie isn't interested in sitting quietly. Verb Phrs + Gerunds
	3b. Charlie regretted shouting the wrong answer. 3c. Charlie regretted [his shouting the wrong answer]. Gerund Ind Obj
4a. Charlie who enjoys attention raises his had all the time.	4b. [Charlie enjoying attention] raises his hand all the time. Clause Reduc 2

PRIMARY VERBS	SECONDARY VERB: PAST PARTICIPLE

1a. The children [who were annoyed ] told Charlie to "zip his lips".	1b. Annoyed, the children told Charlie to zip his lips. Part Mod 2 -ed / -ing
2a. The children [who were annoyed by Charlie ] told him to zip his lips.	2b. The children [annoyed by Charlie] told him to zip his lips. Clause Reduc 1
3a. Charlie likes ice cream [that is dipped in chocolate].	3b. Charlie likes ice cream[dipped in chocolate]. Clause Reduc 1

Grammar Notes

Various Resources

BIBER ET. AL.	HUDDLESTON, PULLUM, ET. AL.
"Non finite clauses are regularly dependent. They are more compact and less explicit than finite clauses: they are not marked for tnse and modality, and they frequently lack an explicit subject and subordinator." (LGSWE 198) Roles of finite clauses: infinitive clause — subject, extraposed subject, subject predicative, direct object, object predicative, adverbial, part of noun phrase, part of adjective phrase ing -clause — subject, extraposed subject, subject predicative, direct object, prepositional object, adverbial, part of noun phrase, prt of adjective phrase, complement of preposition ed-clause — direct object, adverbial, part of noun phrase	"The general term 'finite' is related to its everday sense of "limited", a finite verb is characteristically limited with respect to person and number [marked for person and tense].…Non-finite clauses are characteristically subordinate and non-finiteness can be see as an instance of the phenomenon known as 'desententialisation', the loss of properties that are associated with a clause standing alone as a full sentence." [not marked for person and tense, dependent] (CaGEL 88-9) Finiteness is a syntactical rather than an inflectional category in English: "In the past linguistic analysis of English verb inflection, the first division is between the finite and non-finite forms, but the revision we have made means that the finite/non-finite distinction is no longer definable simply in terms of inflection. We will see that there are grounds for not discarding it altogether, however, and we therefore reinterpret it as a syntactic category of the clause, rather than as an inflectional category of the verb. Clauses whose verb is primary form are finite, those whose verb is a past participle or gerund-participle are non-finite, but those with a plain form verb can be either depending on the construction. … In the revision, imperative and subjunctive, which use plain form are included in the category of primary verbs." (CaGEL 88-9) Form Types: infinitival (to-infinitival, bare-infinitival) — subject (NP), verb complement (VP), subordinate (adjunct or supplement) gerund-participle (ing) — subject (NP), verb complement (VP), subordinate (adjunct or supplement) past participle (ed) — verb complement (VP), subordinate (adjunct or supplement) (CaGEL 1173)
INFINITIVAL CLAUSE — SUBJECT Click a diagram to enlarge it.	GERUND CLAUSE — SUBJECT
INFINITIVAL CLAUSE — OBJECT (VERB COMPLEMENT)	GERUND CLAUSE — OBJECT (VERB COMPLEMENT)
INFINITIVAL CLAUSE – WITH A SUBJECT (HIM)	GERUND CLAUSE — WITH A SUBJECT (YOUR)

BIBER ET. AL.

HUDDLESTON, PULLUM, ET. AL.

"Non finite clauses are regularly dependent. They are more compact and less explicit than finite clauses: they are not marked for tnse and modality, and they frequently lack an explicit subject and subordinator." (LGSWE 198)
Roles of finite clauses:

infinitive clause — subject, extraposed subject, subject predicative, direct object, object predicative, adverbial, part of noun phrase, part of adjective phrase

ing -clause — subject, extraposed subject, subject predicative, direct object, prepositional object, adverbial, part of noun phrase, prt of adjective phrase, complement of preposition

ed-clause — direct object, adverbial, part of noun phrase

"The general term 'finite' is related to its everday sense of "limited", a finite verb is characteristically limited with respect to person and number [marked for person and tense].…Non-finite clauses are characteristically subordinate and non-finiteness can be see as an instance of the phenomenon known as 'desententialisation', the loss of properties that are associated with a clause standing alone as a full sentence." [not marked for person and tense, dependent] (CaGEL 88-9)

Finiteness is a syntactical rather than an inflectional category in English:

"In the past linguistic analysis of English verb inflection, the first division is between the finite and non-finite forms, but the revision we have made means that the finite/non-finite distinction is no longer definable simply in terms of inflection. We will see that there are grounds for not discarding it altogether, however, and we therefore reinterpret it as a syntactic category of the clause, rather than as an inflectional category of the verb. Clauses whose verb is primary form are finite, those whose verb is a past participle or gerund-participle are non-finite, but those with a plain form verb can be either depending on the construction. … In the revision, imperative and subjunctive, which use plain form are included in the category of primary verbs." (CaGEL 88-9)

Form Types:
infinitival (to-infinitival, bare-infinitival) — subject (NP), verb complement (VP), subordinate (adjunct or supplement)
gerund-participle (ing) — subject (NP), verb complement (VP), subordinate (adjunct or supplement)
past participle (ed) — verb complement (VP), subordinate (adjunct or supplement) (CaGEL 1173)

INFINITIVAL CLAUSE — SUBJECT

Click a diagram to enlarge it.

GERUND CLAUSE — SUBJECT

INFINITIVAL CLAUSE — OBJECT (VERB COMPLEMENT)

GERUND CLAUSE — OBJECT (VERB COMPLEMENT)

INFINITIVAL CLAUSE – WITH A SUBJECT (HIM)

GERUND CLAUSE — WITH A SUBJECT (YOUR)

Clause; Subject / Predicate; Finite / Nonfinite; NP –noun phrase; N – noun; VP – verb phrase; V – verb; Comp – complement; Det – determiner; PP – prepositional phrase; P – preposition; Sub – Subordinator

Resources — Works Cited

Practice 1

Strange Weather

Identify the verb category in each sentence.

Select the word or words that make up the subject of the sentence (noun + modifiers)
Read the feedback box to check your answer.

#	SENTENCE & FEEDBACK	YOUR RESPONSE
1.	What is the verb form "is"? The weather is strange this year. Feedback 1	primary verb secondary verb auxiliary verb
2.	What is the verb form "had"? We have had higher than usual and lower than usual temperatures. Feedback 2	primary verb secondary verb auxiliary verb
3.	What is the verb form "have"? It is unusual for us to have so many days with precipitation. Feedback 3	primary verb secondary verb auxiliary verb
4.	What is the verb form "having"? Few people can recall having so much rain. Feedback 4	primary verb secondary verb auxiliary verb
5.	What is the verb form "parched" ? In Texas, the soil parched from lack of rain worries farmers. parched – dried out from hot weather Feedback 5	primary verb secondary verb auxiliary verb

Practice 2

Hurricane Irene Spoils Wedding Plans

Identify the nonfinite clause.

Select the word or words that are finite verb forms.
Read the feedback box to check your answer.

#	SENTENCE & FEEDBACK	SELECT THE NONFINITE VERBS
6.	Several couples hoped to marry this weekend. Feedback 6	Several couples hoped marry this weekend to marry this weekend
7.	Hurricane Irene, pounding the East Coast, changed their plans. Feedback 7	Hurricane Irene pounding the East Coast changed their plans
8.	It was impossible to hold a wedding as planned. Feedback 8	It was hold a wedding as planned to hold a wedding as planned planned
9.	Not wanting to delay, three couples decided to marry in Central Park. Feedback 9	Not wanting to delay delay decided marry
10.	They said their vows standing in the rain and undisturbed by barely anyone. Feedback 10	said vows standing in the rain undisturbed by barely anyone

Practice 3

Weather

Identify the verb form type

Select the verb form type that best describes the word marked in red.
Read the feedback box to check your answer.

#	SENTENCE & FEEDBACK	YOUR RESPONSE
11.	Which verb form type is "come"? Rain, rain go away. Come again another day. Feedback 11	plain form plain form (infinitival) gerund-participle past participle
12.	Which form form type is "seen"? Weather seen from inside a window is always worse. (seen) Feedback 12	plain form plain form (infinitival) gerund-participle past participle
13.	Which verb form type is "glistening"? The rain glistening on the street hid the potholes. Feedback 13	plain form plain form (infinitival) gerund-participle past participle
14.	Which verb form type is "talk"? Everyone wants to talk about the weather, but nobody is willing to do anything about it. Feedback 14	plain form plain form (infinitival) gerund-participle past participle
15.	Which verb form type is "do"? Weather is a great metaphor for life - sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, and there's nothing much you can do about it but carry an umbrella.. Feedback 15	plain form plain form (infinitival) gerund-participle past participle

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