A finite clause is a clause that has a verb with tense. Nonfinite subordinate clauses city university of hong kong. A subordinate clause is grammatically dependent on some element. Pdf nonfinite clauses in english properties and function. Nonfinite clause a nonfinite clause is a subordinate clause that is based on a toinfinitive or a participle. Within it, there is a nonfinite subordinate clause to play the piano its main verb play has the toinfinitive form. It can be a main clause or a subordinate clause, e. Nominative subjects of nonfinite clauses in hibernoenglish. A finite verb is a verb that has a finite or limited agreement with the subject. Textual values 333 if from a syntactic point of view the structure of a complex sentence does not undergo changes depending on the place of the subordinate clause, in terms of.
The state of mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. In this article, i will provide a contrastive analysis of the relevant aspects of the grammars of irish, standard english, and hibernoenglish, focussing first on the morphological system of casemarking, and then on the syntactic structures encountered in non finite clauses. Nonfinite verb phrases practice sentences 1 nonfinite verb phrases guidelines for practice sentences you may want to mark the functions with your keyboard and mouse, but of course you can print the whole file and use colored markers or devise your own marking system. Sentences and clauses that contain a finite verb element v are called finite clauses.
The opposite of this would be a clause that has an infinitive non finite clause. Key words academic english, syntactic functions of finitenonfinite clauses. A description of the differences between finite and non finite clauses in english syntax. Nonfinite verbs do not need a visible subject in english. Nonfinite clauses contain a verb which does not show tense. A nonfinite clause is a subordinate clause that is based on a toinfinitive or a participle. There are three defined parameters on which this limitation is fixed. Clauses that contain a nonfinite verb element v are called nonfinite clauses. We usually use nonfinite verbs only in subordinate clauses. At the same time it provides an introduction into basic syntactic tools.
Aims the aim of this book is to provide a detailed description of the structure and use of non finite clauses in english. General remarks on nonfinite and verbless clauses 25 2. Pdf finite subordinate clauses revisited alina preda. Pdf nonfinite clauses in english nadira aljovic academia. We often use a nonfinite clause when the subject is the same as the subject in the main clause. Formal properties and function of nonfinite clauses in english, with some contrastive bosniancroatianmontenegrinserbian comments.
A finite clause typically contains a verb in the present tense or past tense form. Pdf syntactic functions of finite and nonfinite clauses in. It contains a verb that does not show tense, which means it does not. We usually understand the time referred to from the context of the main clause. We also studied the forms and functions of some finite subordinate clauses. It contains a verb that does not show tense, which means it does not show the time at which something happened. Nonfinite constituents are often traditionally treated as.