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A nonfinite verb (sometimes called a verbal) is any of several verb forms that are not finite verbs; that is, they cannot serve as the root of an independent clause. The nonfinite verb forms found in English are infinitives, participles and gerunds; additional such forms found in some other languages include converbs, gerundives and supines. Nonfinite verbs are typically not inflected by grammatical tense, and compared with finite verbs usually display less inflection for other grammatical categories as well.[1]They also typically lack asubject dependent. A typical finite clause is based on a single finite verb, but it may in addition contain one or more nonfinite verbs, building a verb catena with the finite verb.

Since English lacks inflectional morphology to a large extent, the finite and nonfinite forms of a given verb are often identical. In such cases, one has to examine the environment in which the verb appears to be finite or nonfinite.

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1w ago

Non-finite verbs are typically infinitives (to + base form of verb), gerunds (verb form ending in -ing used as a noun), or participles (verb form used as an adjective). They do not show tense or subject agreement. To identify them, look for verbs that do not indicate a specific time or subject in the sentence.

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Q: How do you identify non-finite verbs in a sentence?
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