INTRODUCTION
The finite forms of the verb exist in the simple present tense form and the past form. They indicate the subject of verb agreement e.g.
•They enjoy themselves daily.
•They enjoyed themselves yesterday.
•He enjoys himself daily.
The non-finite verb does not have the subject concord notion because it neither indicates number nor person. Three types of the non-finite verb can be isolated. They are the infinitive which primarily begins with ‘to’ e.g. to sing, to laugh, to work; the participle (present and past) and the gerund. Examples of non- finite forms in sentences are:
1. He likes to sing.
2. They like singing
3. This is a deserted house
3.1 Finite and Non- Finite Forms
The verb phrase occurs in finite and non- finite phrases which are distinguished as follows:
Finite forms of verbs are the forms that show tense distinction. This means that they occur in one tense or the other.
4. She studies Home economics
5. She studied Chemistry in her first year
They are also the forms that occur as verb elements in sentences, take subjects, and agree with the subjects in person and number. The non- finite forms on the other hand do not show tense distinction neither do they take subjects nor show agreement. Examine the verb forms in the following pair of sentences
She hopes to travel next week
(finite verb, has a subject which is she and occurs in the present tense) Hoping to travel next week
(Verb in the present participle, non- finite form which cannot take a subject.)
Note that any attempt to introduce a subject in the second sentence will produce a sentence like:
She hoping to travel next week*
This is an unacceptable sentence.
Agreement is particularly shown with the verb be as in:
Iam, You/We/They/ are, He/ She/ It is.
With most lexical verbs, agreement is restricted to the third person singular present as in
6. They walk to the office every morning.
7. He walks to the office every morning.
There is,however no concord with the modal auxiliaries:
8. I, you, we/ he/ they may use the library whenever you want.
Finite verbs have mood. In contrast to the indicative mood which is unmarked, the imperative and subjunctive moods are marked (See Module 2, Unit 2, section 4)
The non- finite forms are the infinitive (to dance); the present -ing participle (dancing) and the past –ed participle (danced). Non- finite forms have other uses. In the examples 1-3 above, they function as other parts of speech. In Example 1, to sing is a noun phrase acting as the direct object of the verb “likes”. In Example 2, singing is a gerund also functioning as a direct object of the verb” likes” while the past participle form deserted functions as an adjective modifying the noun “ house” in Example 3.
3.2 Uses of Non-finite Forms
The essential facts about the three types of non- finite verbs and their uses are summarized below:
(a) The Infinitive
The infinitive is usually the base form of the verb preceded by to: to dance, to sing, to go. It does not change its form to reflect tense hence a non- finite form. It cannot occur as a verb element in a sentence or clause. The infinitive as indicated above can perform other functions;
1. Subject of a sentence
9. To err is human.
10. To get to the top is not a one day’sbusiness.
2. Direct object
11. My sister likes to cook.
12. On Saturdays I like to clean my surroundings.
3. Adjective
13. The thing to do is rest
14. On Christmas Day, the place to go is Calabar.
4. An adverbial of purpose
15. Okon travelled to Ghana to watch the football match.
16. He went to see his mother.
5. Predicate noun
17. It is healthy to quarrel
18. To dance is to exercise.
(b) Present Participle/Gerund
This verb form is formed by the addition of -ing to the base form. When it performs the function of a noun it is called a gerund of verbal noun
e.g. running, dancing, reading, writing. The functions of the present participle include.
6. Gerund/Noun
19. Swimming is a good exercise (gerund used as subject)
20. I like cooking (gerund used as object)
21. In driving be careful (gerund used as object of a preposition)
7. Adjective
22. The returning students registered last week.
23. The crying baby was given milk to drink
(c) Past Participle
The past participle of regular verbs are formed with dor ed added to the base form e.g. the base form, dance/danced; paint/painted; clean/ cleaned. The past participle of irregular verbs are formed by the addition of t, d, or ed added to an altered base form; sometimes n or en is added to the base e.g. jumped, wanted, kicked, written, hidden. Some past participle forms are identical to the base form e.g. cost, cut, put. The past participle forms of be, go, and do are special forms. They are: been, gone and done.
Past Participle forms perform the following functions:
8. Adjective
24. He is a wanted man.
25. The wall, painted white looked new.
26. Abused and deserted, the woman ranmad.
9. As part of verb phrases
27. The chairman has written his address.
28. The car has been repaired.
29. The child has gone home to its mother.
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1
Identify and state the functions of the non- finite verbs in the following sentences:
1. Repairing radios is Femi’swork.
2. To forgive is divine.
3. Mercy enjoys cooking African dishes
4. The deserted house became a shelter for madmen
5. Finishing his assignment early, Jumai decided to travel
6. She packed out of the haunted house
7. The relations came to take away the corpse.
8. Washing dishes and keeping things neat can be tedious.
9. Visiting is an interesting pastime
10. The forbidden fruit was the most appetizing.
3.3 Emphatic Forms
The emphatic forms of a verb are used to give emphasis to the idea expressed by the verb. The auxiliaries do, does, and did are seen to give this additional emphasis. The emphatic forms occur in only two tenses:
the present tense and the past tense.
I do agree with you (present tense)
He did send the message (past tense)
EMPHATIC FORMS PRESENT TENSE
SINGULAR SUBJECT
PLURAL SUBJECT
First person
I do eat
We do eat
Second Person
You do eat
You do eat
Third Person
He/she/it does eat
They do eat
EMPHATIC FORMS PAST TENSE
First Person
I did eat
We did eat
Second Person
You did eat
You did eat
Third Person
He/she/it did eat
They did eat
Note that when do, does and did are used in questions, the form is not used for emphasis. The use of do, does and did in questions is an idiomatic way of asking questions in English. In the following sentences note that do, does and did are not the emphatic forms of the verb.
Also when do, does and did are used to mean carry out or accomplish the form is not used for emphasis. Examine the following:
We did our shopping in the city. (did not emphatic form)
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2
Identify the emphatic forms in the following sentences:
1. She did commit the crime.
2. Did you goto the party?
3. You do like rice, don’tyou?
4. They do their assignment promptly.
5. My mother does attend the prayer meeting every Friday.
6. They did win the match.
7. Did they attend the party?
8. She did attend but he didn’t.
9. I do love African food.
10. Does she visit her mother very often?
4.0 CONCLUSION
The English verb has several forms that perform different functions and the finite/non-finite and emphatic forms illustrate this fact further. Learning to recognise these forms and to use them appropriately will ensure the production of structurally correct sentences.
5.0 SUMMARY
The following main points have been discussed in this unit:
•The verb phrase occurs in finite and non- finite phrases.
•Finite forms of verbs are the forms that show tense distinction. This means that they occur in one tense or the other.
•They are also the forms that occur as verb elements in sentences, take subjects and agree with the subjects in person and number.
•The non- finite forms on the other hand do not show tense distinction neither do they take subjects nor show agreement.
•The non- finite forms are: the infinitive, the present participle and the past participle.
•The infinitive can function as the subject, direct object, adjective, predicate noun and as an adverbial.
•The present participle can function as an adjective.
•When the present participle performs the function of a noun it is called a gerund.
•The past participle also functions as adjectives and as part of verb phrases.
•The emphatic forms of a verb are used to give emphasis to the idea
expressed by the verb; they occur in only two tenses: present and past.
ANSWERS TO SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1
Functions of the non- finite verbs in the following sentences:
1. Repairing radios is Femi’s work- subject
2. To forgive is divine.- subject
3. Mercy enjoys cooking African dishes. Object
4. The deserted house became a shelter for madmen - (adjective)
5. Finishing her assignment early, Jumai decided to travel (adjective, modifies Jumai)
6. She packed out of the haunted house (adjective)
7. The relations came to take away the corpse.(adverbial)
8. Washing dishes and keeping things neat can be tedious. (subject of the verb can)
9. Visiting is an interesting pastime. (subject)
10. The forbidden fruit was the most appetizing. (adjective)
ANSWERS TO SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2
Emphatic forms are underlined in the following sentences:
1. She did commit the crime.
2. Did you goto the party?
3. You do like rice, don’tyou?
4. They do their assignment promptly.
5. My mother does attend the prayer meeting every Friday.
6. The did win the match.
7. Did they attend the party?
8. She did attend but he didn’t.
9. I do love African food.
10. Does she visit her mother very often?
6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT
With appropriate illustrations discuss the non-finite forms of verbs and state their functions.
7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS
Eka, D. (1994). Elements of Grammar and Mechanics of the English Language. Uyo: Samuf Educational.
Quirk, R. and Greenbaum, S. (1975). A University Grammar of English. London: Longman.
Semmelmeyer, M. and Bolander, D. (1984). Instant English Handbook. Illinois: Career Publishing Inc.
Udofot, I. and Ekpenyong, B. (2004). A Comprehensive English Course for Schools and Colleges. Lagos: Quantum Co. Ltd.
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