Finite Verb

Definition of finite verb:

•          Also called a main verb

•          A verb that has a subject

•          A verb that shows tense, person, and number

•          Can be the main verb in a sentence

Moods in Finite Verb 

a.       Indicative Mood (expressing a state of affairs)

      Example: The coffee is hot. 

b.      Imperative Mood (giving a command)

      Example: Make the coffee hot. 

c.    Subjunctive Mood (expressing something that might or might not be the state of affairs, depending on some other part of the sentence)

     Example: If the coffee was hot, I would drink it.

How to identify the finite verbs in a sentence: 

a.       Most finite verbs take an –ed or a –d at the end of the word to indicate time in the past.

      Example:

      (Cough) coughed.

      (Celebrate) celebrated. 

b.     Nearly all finite verbs take an –s at the end of the word to indicate the present when the subject of the       verb is third person singular.

      Example:

     He coughs (cough).

     She celebrates (celebrate). 

     The exceptions are auxiliary verbs like can and must. Remember that nouns can also end in –s. Thus the   dog races can refer to a spectator sport or to a fast-moving third-person singular dog. 

c.       Finite verbs surround their subjects when some forms of a question are asked.

      Example:

      Is he coughing?

      Did they celebrate? 

d.      Finite verbs are often groups of words that include auxiliary verbs.

      Example: 

      Can be suffering, must eat, will have gone. 

e.      Finite verbs usually follow their subjects.

      Example:

      He coughs.

      The documents had compromised.

Kind of Finite Verb 

1.       Transitive

       Is a verb that requires both a direct subject and one or more objects.

       Example:

       You pushed the cart (“cart” is the direct object of “pushed”).

       I ate the pie (“pie” is an object of “ate”). 

2.       Intransitive

      It is an action verb and has no direct object.

      Example: James went to the campus café for a steaming bowl of squid eyeball stew. 

3.       Linking

     Is a verb that is used to connect a subject with an adjective or noun that describes or identifies the subject. The most common linking verb is be.

     Example: The party was fantastic.

Definition of Non-Finite Verb

A non-finite verb (or a verbal) is a verb form that is not limited by a subject and more generally, is not fully inflected by categories that are marked inflectionally in language, such as tense, aspect, mood, number, gender, and person.

Kind of Non Finite Verb 

a.       Participles

Participle is a verbal adjective that describes a noun as being a participant in the action of the verb.

Example:

-The talking children angered the teacher. (Here talking modifiers children)

-Annoyed, Rita ate dinner by herself in the bedroom. (Here annoyed modifiers Rita) 

b.      Gerunds

Gerund is a verbal noun that refers to the action of the verb.

Example:

-Fencing is good exercise. (Here fencing is the subject of is)

-Leroy betrayed his team by charging. (Here charging is the object of by) 

c.       Infinitives

Infinitive verb form is often introduced by the particle to, as in to eat or to run. The resulting phrase can then function as a subject or object, or as a modifier.

Example:

-To succeed takes courage, foresight, and luck. (Here to succeed is the subject of takes)

-Carol was asked to speak. (Here to speak is the object of asked, comparable to Carol was asked a question)