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Eng 430 Finiteness and Non-finiteness All English verbs except the modal auxiliaries (can/could, will/would, shall/should, may/might, must/ought to) have finite and nonfinite forms. Finite forms show time; nonfinite forms do not show time. When we conjugate a verb, we are usually working with the finite forms of the verb. It is important to know about the nonfinite forms also, because nonfinite forms have important roles in English verb phrases. Telling the difference between finite and nonfinite forms can be difficult, because some finite forms look very much like nonfinite forms, at least in regular verbs. Let’s look at a conjugated regular verb. To Walk 1st Person I 2nd Person You 3rd Person He, she, it Finite Forms Singular Present Past walk walked walk walked walks walked Nonfinite Forms 1st Person We 2nd Person 3rd Person they Plural Present Past Infinitive Walk walk walked Present (-ing) Participle Walking Past (-ed) Participle Walked walk walked You might notice that the simple past, walked, looks just like the past participle, walked. But they are not the same. The simple past shows time and can be the main verb of a sentence: I walked to school. The verb tells us that this happened in the past. When the past participle is part of the main verb of the sentence, it has to be used with an auxiliary verb.: We had walked five miles. In this sentence, it is the word ‘had’ that tells that this occurred in the past. ‘Walked’ is nonfinite. If I put this sentence in the present, it becomes ‘We have walked five miles. It is ‘have’ that changes to show tense, not ‘walked.’ Sometimes this is easier to see if we look at an irregular verb. It is frequently the case with English irregular verbs that the simple past and the past participle are not the same. To See 1st Person I 2nd Person You 3rd Person He, she, it Finite Forms Singular Present Past see saw see saw sees saw Nonfinite Forms 1st Person We 2nd Person * 3rd Person they Plural Present Past Infinitive See see saw Present (-ing) Participle Seeing Past (-ed) Participle Seen see saw In this case, the simple past, ‘saw,’ does not look like the past participle, ‘seen.’ They are used differently as well. I saw a cat. I had seen it before. Here are some important things to remember about finiteness and nonfiniteness. 1. As a rule, every English sentence and most English clauses will have a finite verb phrase in them. 2. 3. 4. 5. The finite verb in a verb phrase will be the first or only verb. The main verb in a verb phrase (the verb which carries the meaning) will be the last or only verb. This means that the finite verb in a verb phrase will often be a helping verb. When verbs function outside of finite verb phrases, such as adjective participles or gerunds (verbs functioning as nouns), they are always nonfinite. Examples: 1. I walked to the store. Walked is finite and in the past tense. It is the only verb in the verb phrase. 2. I have walked five miles every day of my life. The verb phrase is ‘have walked.’ “Have” is finite. ‘Walked’ is nonfinite, and it is the main verb. Note that it is the last verb in the verb phrase. 3. The burned toast was awful. ‘Burned’ is a participle functioning as an adjective. It is nonfinite. 4. Walking is good for you. ‘Walking’ is what is called a gerund, a noun formed from a present participle. It is nonfinite.