9.
Non-finite forms of the Verb.
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The infinitive.
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The gerund.
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The present participle.
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The past participle.
Verb forms make up two distinct classes: finites and non-finites, also called verbals, verbids. The term “finite” is derived from the Latin term “verbum finitum”, which shows that these words denote actions developing in time.
Non-finite forms of the verb, the infinitive, the gerund, participle I (present participle) and participle II (past participle), are otherwise called “verbals”, or “verbids”. The term, introduced by O. Jespersen, implies that they are not verbs in the proper sense of the word, because they combine features of the verb with features of other notional parts of speech. Their mixed, hybrid nature is revealed in all the spheres of the parts-of-speech characterization: meaning, formal features, and functions. The non-verbal features of verbids are as follows: they do not denote pure processes, but present them as specific kinds of substances and properties; they are not conjugated according to the categories of person and number, have no tense or mood forms; in some contexts they are combined with the verbs like non-verbal parts of speech; they never function as independent predicates; their functions are those characteristic for other notional parts of speech. The verbal features of verbids are as follows: their grammatical meaning is basically processual; like finites, they do have (at least, most of them have) aspect and voice forms and verbal combinability with direct objects and adverbial modifiers; they can express predication in specific semi-predicative constructions. Thus, verbids can be characterized as intermediary phenomena between verbs and other non-verbal parts of speech.
It is interesting to note that historically verbids in English were at first separate non-verbal nominative forms, but later they were drawn into the class of verbs by acquiring aspect and voice forms, verbal combinability, etc.
The Infinitive
The Infinitive is the most generalized, the most abstract form of the verb, serving as the verbal name of a process; it is used as the derivation base for all the other verbal forms. That is why the infinitive is traditionally used as the head word for the lexicographic entry of the verb in dictionaries.
The infinitive combines verbal features with features of the noun; it is a phenomenon of hybrid processual-substantive nature, intermediary between the verb and the noun. It has voice and aspect forms, e.g.: to write, to be writing, to have written, to be written, to have been written; it can be combined with nouns and pronouns denoting the subject or the object of the action, and with the adverbial modifiers, e.g.: for him to write a letter; to write a letter to someone; to write a letter very carefully. The non-verbal properties of the infinitive are displayed in its syntactic functions and its combinability. The infinitive performs all the functions characteristic of the noun – that of a subject, e.g.: To write a letter was the main thing he had planned for the day; of a predicative, e.g.: The main thing he had planned for the day was to write a letter; of an object, e.g.: He wanted to write a letter to her; of an attribute, e.g.: It was the main thing to do; of an adverbial modifier, e.g.: He stood on a chair in order to reach for the top shelf. In these functions the infinitive displays substantive combinability with finite verbs.
In most cases the infinitive is used with the particle “to”, which is its formal mark; it is called a “marked infinitive” and can be treated as an analytical form of the verb. In certain contexts, enumerated in detail in practical grammar text-books, the infinitive is used without the particle “to” and is called a “bare infinitive”, or “unmarked infinitive”; the “bare infinitive” is used when it is combined with functional and semi-functional predicator-verbs to build the analytical forms of the finite verbs (the “bound” use of the infinitive) in some fixed constructions, etc., e.g.: Will you go there? Why not go there? I’d rather stay at home; etc. The particle, just like any other auxiliary component of analytical forms, can be separated from the infinitive by an adverbial modifier, e.g.: to thoroughly think something over. These cases are usually stylistically marked and are known as the “split infinitive”.
Constructions with the Infinitive.
Traditionally, grammarians distinguish the following constructions with the infinitive:
1. The objective infinitive construction;
2. The subjective infinitive construction;
3. The for - to infinitive construction.
1. The first construction consists of a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the objective form and the infinitive. In the sentence this construction has the function of a complex object, e.g. I saw John cross the street. This construction is used after verbs of mental processes (e.g. hear, watch, feel, observe, notice; know, think, consider, believe, suppose, expect, imagine, find; like, want, wish, desire, mean, intend, choose), verbal processes (e.g. pronounce, report, declare), and verbs of causative processes (e.g. make, cause, get, have, order, allow).
2. The second construction consists of a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the nominative form and the infinitive. In the sentence, the construction functions as a complex subject, e.g. John was seen to cross the street. The construction is used with verbs in the passive voice denoting mental (e.g. see, hear, etc), verbal (e.g. say, report, etc.), modal (epistemic) processes (e.g. appear, be likely, etc.), and verbs of causative processes (e.g. make, order, allow). This construction is in fact a passive version of the former.
3. The third construction consists of the preposition for (or of), a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the objective form and the infinitive, e.g. He is a good man for you to know. Syntactically, the construction is polyfunctional: it may function as a complex subject (e.g. For you to do such a thing will only cause trouble), a complex object (e.g. The store arranged for us to pay the money in three installments), a complex predicative (e.g. The regulation is for boys and girls to live in separate dormitories), and a complex adverbial (a complex adjunct) (e.g. In order for me to buy a car, I’ll have to take a loan from the bank).