A Student's Introduction to English Grammar

36 Chapter 3 Verbs, tense, aspect, and mood

2 Finite and non-finite clauses

There is an important distinction between two kinds of clause, related to
the distinction between main and subordinate clauses. Clauses may be either finite
or non-finite. Finite clauses may be either main or subordinate; non-finite clauses
are always subordinate.
Traditional grammars classify VERBS as finite or non-finite, and then classify
CLAUSES according to whether or not they contain a finite verb. But historical change
has reduced the number of inflectionally distinct verb-forms in such a way that the
distinction between finite and non-finite clauses can no longer be satisfactorily
defined purely in terms of verb inflection. There is one verb-form, the plain form,
that occurs in both finite and non-finite clauses, while the other forms are restricted
to just one or other of the two classes of clause. In Present-day English the relation
between clause finiteness and verb inflection can be stated as follows:

[12] If the verb is a primary form, the clause is finite.

ii If the verb is a gerund-participle or a past participle, the clause is

non-finite.

III If the verb is a plain form, the clause may be finite or non-finite;

specifically:

a. Imperative and subjunctive clauses are finite.

b. Infinitival clauses are non-finite.

That gives us a partial fit between finiteness and verb inflection that looks like this:

[13]

VERB-FORM CONSTRUCTION

PRIMARY FORMS

{

IMPERATIVE:

SUBJUNCTIVE:

ii

iii PLAIN FORM

iv

EXAMPLE FINITENESS

She brings her own food.

)

_B_ri_n_g_yo_u_r_o_w_n_fi_o_od_.______ FINITE

We insist [that she bring her own food].

INFINITIVAL: It's rare [for her to bring her own food].

)

• =

V�G:.::E:R�U:N�D -�P.:A:.RT�I�CI::P.::.LE::.... ________ S�h:e:..:r,:.:eg� r,.:.e:ts�[=br=in=g=i=ng�he:..:r�o�w:::.n�fi�o�od::::.]. _ NON-FINITE

VI PAST PARTICIPLE This is the fo od [brought by my sister].

The structure of non-finite subordinate clauses differs more radically from that of
main clauses than does that of finite subordinate clauses. That is why we draw the
line between finite and non-finite after [iii] in [13] rather than after [i].

Imperatives belong in the finite category because they occur as main clauses: the

non-finite constructions in [iv-vi] are always subordinate.

Subjunctives occur predominantly as subordinate clauses (in main clauses they

are restricted to more or less fixed expressions like God bless you, etc.,