FINITE AND NON FINITE VERBS

FINITE VERBS

#Finite verb is a form of a verb that shows agreement with a subject and is marked for tense.

#Always remember that if there is just one verb in a sentence, it is finite.

 Finite verbs are sometimes called tensed verbs.

  

These verbs are usually the main verb of a clause or sentence and can be changed according to the noun. They are used only in present and past tense. They can be indicative of passive or active voice and also of number (singular or plural).

Examples of finite verb
1)She walks home.  - Here we see that the finite verb is walks and the pronoun is 'she'. 
2)She walked home. - Here we can see how the verb changed/modified to change the tense of the sentence.
3)John said that he enjoyed reading.
4)Something you make yourself seems better than something you buy.


NON FINITE VERBS

#These verbs cannot be the main verb of a clause or sentence as they do not talk about the action that is being performed by the subject or noun.  

They do not indicate any tense, mood or gender. 

They are used as nouns, adverbs and adjectives. 

They are also used to form non-finite clauses which are simply dependent clauses that use non-finite verbs.

Example of non finite verbs 

1)He loves camping in the woods. - Here the non-finite verb is camping and it is used as a noun. These kind of non-finite verbs are called Gerunds.

2)I need to go to sleep. - Here the non- finite verb phrase is to sleep, it is acting as a noun. Non-finite verbs that use ‘to’ before them are called Infinitives.

3)The sleeping dog caused a delay. - The nonfinite verbs that have ‘-ing’ or ‘-ed’ as suffixes and cause the verb to come an adjective are called Participles.

 Lets try some exercises

Identify wheather it is finite or non finite verbs.

	Tense	Finite or Nonfinite?
David plays the piano	Present	Finite
My sister spoke French on holiday	Past	Finite
It took courage to continue after the accident	NONE -- the verb has the infinitive form	Nonfinite
Leaving home can be very traumatic	NONE -- the verb has the -ing form	Nonfinite
Leave immediately when you are asked to do so	NONE -- the verb has the -ed form	Nonfinite