Finite Verb

Finite Verb

A verb that is inflected for person & for tense according to the rules & categories of the languages in which it occurs .

Every grammatically correct sentence / clause must contain a finite verb ; sentence fragments not containing finite verbs are described as phrases .

Some interjections can play the same role . Even in English , a sentence like Thanks for your help ! has an interjection where it could have a . & a finite verb form ( compare I appreciate your help ! ) .

In English , as in most related languages , only verbs in certain moods are finite . These include :

          The indicative mood ( expressing a state of affairs ) ; e . g . , " The bulldozer demolished the restaurant , " " The leaves were yellow &  stiff . "  

     The imperative mood ( giving a command ) .

          The subjunctive mood ( expressing something that might / might not be the state of affairs , depending on some other part of the sentence ) ; nearly extinct in English .

A verb is a word that expresses an occurrence , act , / mode of being . Finite verbs , sometimes called main verbs , are limited by time ( see tense ) , person , & number .

The finite verbs are highlighted in the following sentences :

The bear caught a salmon in the stream .

Who ate the pie ?

Stop !

A nonfinite verb form - such as a participle , infinitive , / gerund - is not limited by by time ( see tense ) , person , & number .

Verb forms that are not finite include :

     The infinitive

     participles ( e . g . , " The broken window . . . " , " The wheezing gentleman . . . " )

     gerundsHYPERLINK  \l "" & gerundives

In linguistics , a non - finite verb ( / a verbal ) is a verb form that is not limited by a subject ; & more generally , it is not fully inflected by categories that are marked inflectionally in language , such as tense , aspect , mood , number , gender , & person . As a result , a non - finite verb cannot generally serve as the main verb in an independent clause ;  rather , it heads a non - finite clause .

By some accounts , a non - finite verb acts simultaneously as a verb & as another part of speech ; it can take adverbs & certain kinds of verb arguments , producing a verbal phrase ( I . e . , non - finite clause ) , & this phrase then plays a different role — usually noun , adjective , / adverb — in a greater clause . This is the reason for the term verbal ; non - finite verbs have traditionally been classified as verbal nouns , verbal adjectives , / verbal adverbs .

English has 3 kinds of verbals :

Participles

Which function as adjectives

Gerunds

Which function as nouns

Infinitives

Which have noun – like , adjective – like , & adverb - like functions .  

Each of these is also used in various common constructs ; for example , the past participle is used in forming the perfect aspect ( to have done ) .

Other kinds of verbals , such as supines & gerundives , exist in other languages .

Example :

The finite verbs are the underlined words .

The Crow & the Fox

1 day a crow finds a tasty piece of cheese . She picks it up , flaps her wings , & flies to a high branch of a tree to eat it .

… … … … … .

Source : International story