7) Finite, Non-finite verbs

The Finite and Non-finite Forms of the English Verbs be found in finite forms and non-finite forms or verbals of which there are three - the Infinitive, the Gerund, and the Participle. The finite and non-finite forms of the English verb have a number of features in common, but at the same time they have a number of differences.

Let us compare their lexical meaning, syntactical functions and morphological characteristics. The finite forms express actions in themselves while the non-finite forms denote an action which is presented as a thing or as a characteristic of a thing. So the Infinitive and the Gerund denote an action as a thing while the Participle denotes an action as a characteristic of a thing.

Their syntactical characteristics have some differences. The main syntactical function of the finite form is that of a predicate while the non-finite forms never perform such a function. They may be used in such functions as a subject, an object, an attribute, an adverbial modifier or as parts of compound predicates, e.g. Your answer is promising. (Participle I in the function of a predicative) What I hate is promising things. (Gerund in the function of a predicative) What I mean you to do is to read the text. (Infinitive in the function of a predicative) He is to go. (Part of a modal compound verbal predicate) We started working. (Gerund, part of an aspective compound verbal predicate)

The differences are also found in their morphological characteristics. The finite forms possess such morphological categories as the category of person, number, tense, relativity or correlation, aspect, voice, and mood. Incidentally for this reason that these verbs are called finite, i.e. limited by person, number, etc. Non-finite forms possess only such categories as relativity, aspect, and voice. Still these categories of non-finite forms are nowhere to be found but in the verb. As a result of this, different opinions exist about the place of the Infinitive, the Gerund, and the Participle in the system of parts of speech. Many authors consider the function of a predicate to be the main property of a verb and therefore they insist that the non-finite forms of the verb cannot belong to the verb as a part of speech because they never perform such a function. Thus, Henry Sweet in his classification mentions the Infinitive and the Gerund as belonging to the noun and the Participle to the adjective. However we should regard the non-finite forms as belonging to the verb because the morphological categories which are found in their forms do not exist in any part of speech but the verb.

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;. 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

The gerund is another verbid that serves as the verbal name of a process and combines verbal features with those of a noun; the gerund, like the infinitive, can be characterized as a phenomenon of hybrid processual-substantive nature, intermediary between the verb and the noun. It is even closer to the noun, because besides performing the substantive functions in a sentence like the infinitive, it can also be modified by an attribute and can be used with a preposition, which the infinitive can not do, e.g.: Thank you for listening to me; Your careful listening to me is very much appreciated

Participle I (present participle) is fully homonymous with the gerund: it is also an ‘ing-form’ (or, rather, four ‘ing-forms’, cf.: writing, being written, having written, having been written). But its semantics is different: it denotes processual quality, combining verbal features with features of the adjective and the adverb; participle I can be characterized as a phenomenon of hybrid processual-qualifying nature, intermediary between the verb and the adjective/adverb

Participle II, like participle I, denotes processual quality and can be characterized as a phenomenon of hybrid processual-qualifying nature. It has only one form, traditionally treated in practical grammar as the verbal “third form”, used to build the analytical forms of the passive and the perfect of finites, e.g.: is taken; has taken.