Non-finite Verb

A non-finite 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 non-finite verb forms found in English are infinitives, participles and gerunds; additional such forms found in some other languages include gerundives and supines. Non-finite verbs are typically not inflected for tense, and compared with finite verbs usually display less inflection for other grammatical categories as well. They also typically lack a subject dependent. A typical finite clause is based on a single finite verb, but it may in addition contain one or more non-finite verbs, building a verb catena with the finite verb.

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