Finite verb
- Finite verb
A finite verb is a
verb that is inflected for person and for tense according to the rules and categories of the languages in which it occurs. Finite verbs can formindependent clause s, which can stand by their own as complete sentences.The finite forms of a verb are the forms where the verb shows tense, person or singular plural. Non-finite verb forms have no person, tense or number.
I go, she goes, he went - These verb forms are finite.
To go, going, gone - These verb forms are non-finite.
In most
Indo-European language s, every grammatically complete sentence orclause must contain a finite verb; sentence fragments not containing finite verbs are described asphrase s or minor sentences. In Latin and someRomance languages , however, there are a few words that can be used to form sentences without verbs, such as Latin "ecce", Portuguese "eis", French "voici" and "voilà", and Italian "ecco", all of these translatable as "here ... is" or "here ... are". Someinterjection s can play the same role. Even in English, a sentence like "Thanks for your help!" has an interjection where it could have a subject and 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:
*theindicative mood (expressing a state of affairs); e.g., "The bulldozer demolished the restaurant," "The leaves were yellow and stiff."
*theimperative mood (giving a command).
*thesubjunctive mood (expressing something that might or might not be the state of affairs, depending on some other part of the sentence).Verb forms that are not finite include:
*theinfinitive
*participle s (e.g., "The broken window...", "The wheezing gentleman...")
*gerund s andgerundive sSee also
*
Non-finite verb
* Conjugation
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