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Tense Person, Number: Is Spoke Did

A finite clause contains a verb that shows tense, such as "is", "was", or "were". It can be a main or subordinate clause. A non-finite clause contains a verb without tense markings and is usually a subordinate clause. Non-finite clauses use infinitives or participles. They are often used after verbs like "want" or prepositions like "before". Relative clauses can also be non-finite when the subject is the same in both clauses.

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73 views4 pages

Tense Person, Number: Is Spoke Did

A finite clause contains a verb that shows tense, such as "is", "was", or "were". It can be a main or subordinate clause. A non-finite clause contains a verb without tense markings and is usually a subordinate clause. Non-finite clauses use infinitives or participles. They are often used after verbs like "want" or prepositions like "before". Relative clauses can also be non-finite when the subject is the same in both clauses.

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Ayu Nabilla
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Week 5 GMD

A finite clause has a primary verb that can be marked for tense, person, and in some cases,
number (raise, raises, raised; is, was, were). 

Clauses: finite and non-finite


 Finite clauses
Finite clauses must contain a verb which shows tense. They can be main clauses or subordinate
clauses:
Is  it  raining? (main: present)
I  spoke to Joanne last night. (main: past)
We  didn’t  get any food because we didn’t have enough time. (main: past; subordinate: past)

Non-finite clauses

Non-finite clauses contain a verb which does not show tense. We usually use non-finite verbs
only in subordinate clauses. We usually understand the time referred to from the context of the
main clause. We often use a non-finite clause when the subject is the same as the subject in the
main clause:
I had something to eat before leaving. (I had something to eat before I left.)
After having spent six hours at the hospital, they eventually came home.
Helped by local volunteers, staff at the museum have spent many years sorting and cataloguing
more than 100,000 photographs.
He left the party and went home, not having anyone to talk to.
The person to ask  about going to New Zealand is Beck.
You have to look at the picture really carefully in order to see all the detail.

After, although, though, and if

We often use non-finite clauses after some subordinating conjunctions like after, although,


though and if:
By the end of the day, although exhausted, Mark did not feel quite as tired as he had in the
past. (although he was exhausted)
The proposal, if accepted by Parliament, will mean fundamental changes to the education
system.

After verbs + -ing or infinitive with to

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We use non-finite clauses as the complements to verbs which take -ing or to-infinitive after
them:
I don’t enjoy playing tennis in the rain.
I’d  hate to travel to London every day.

Relative clauses

A relative clause can be non-finite when the subject of the relative clause is the same as the
subject of the main clause:
The man sitting on the sofa over there  is Simon’s brother. (The man who is sitting …)
Don’t forget to fill in the form  attached to the letter. (… which is attached to the letter.

Finite clause
A finite clause is a main clause or a subordinate clause that must have a verb to show tense. The
verb can be in the present tense or past tense. The tense can be changed from the present tense
to the past tense or past tense to the present tense. Because the verb in the present tense or past
tense is called a finite verb, the clause that contains a finite verb is called a finite clause.
 
 
Examples:

o The fishermen are mending their nets.


(Present tense is used in the finite/main clause.)
o We dined at a cheap restaurant last night.
(Past tense used in the finite/main clause.)
o We were not allowed in because we arrived late.  
(Past tense is used in the main clause [finite clause] we were not allowed in and  in the
subordinate clause [finite clause] because we arrived late.)

Non-finite clause
A non-finite clause is a subordinate clause that is based on a to-infinitive or a participle. It
contains a verb that does not show tense, which means it does not show the time at which
something happened. There are three types of nonfinite clauses.
 a) To-infinitive clause
In this clause, the verb comes after the word to.
 Examples:

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o He gave up his job to travel the world.
o We wanted to ask her to come along.
o The person to make the report to at the police station was the Sergeant.  

 b) Present participle clause (or –ing clause)


In this clause, the verb ending in – ing is used.
 Examples:

o He is a thoroughly spoilt child being the only one in the family.


o You are the only one capable of solving the problem.
o Before becoming a bank robber, he was a police officer. 
o Seeing no employment prospect, he became self-employed. 

 c) Past participle clause 


In this clause, the past participle form of the verb is used.
Examples:

o Trained as an acrobat since young, she has amazed audiences with her superb skills. 
o All the children, gathered in that group, were ready to perform a traditional dance.
o A woman recognized as one of the hostages was found unharmed in the building.
o The child intends to be a bank robber when asked what he would like to be. 

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A subordinate conjunction is often used to begin a non-finite clause. The subordinate
conjunctions used here are if, unless, though.
Examples:

o Her appointment, if approved, will make her the company’s first female General
Manager.
o The police, unless notified, will not carry out an investigation.
o The rescuers found the boy, though injured, fully conscious.

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