You could be a great writer without knowing the terms finite verb and non-finite verb. Yet, books sit on shelves, waiting to explain these obscure terms. Clearly they’re important to somebody.<\/p>\n
Fundamentally, an academic believes that knowledge sitting quiescently in a book will serve useful if learned. In that spirit, let’s take a few minutes to find out about finite and non-finite verbs.<\/p>\n
A finite verb<\/strong> is an action word being used as the action in a sentence:<\/p>\n They run<\/em> each day before lunch.<\/span><\/p>\n In the sentence above, run<\/em> is the finite verb.<\/p>\n A non-finite verb <\/strong>is an action word being used not as an action, but perhaps as a noun, adverb, or adjective:<\/p>\n She hired a coach to get feedback on her running<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n Although running<\/em> comes from the verb run<\/em>, the word running<\/em> functions as a noun in the sentence above.<\/p>\n Another name for non-finite verb <\/em>is verbal<\/em>. (See my post on verbals here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Perhaps, being mindful of the names of the various word constructions can help open the writer’s mind to possible ways to construct a given sentence.<\/p>\n HTH:)<\/p>\n Source:<\/p>\n Hodges, Horner et al. Harbrace Handbook for Canadians<\/em>. Scarborough: Nelson Education Ltd, 2003.<\/p>\n