Lesson 6

GLOBAL WRITERS BUREAU ENGLISH GRAMMAR & WRITING STYLE COURSE

 

LESSON 6

 

The non-finite verb (which cannot take a subject and cannot form a sentence) has two forms.

1. THE INFINITE:

This is the root from which all verbs are formed – TO DRIVE, TO BE DRIVEN, TO HAVE DRIVEN, etc. it can do the work of a subject word or object word – so it can do the work of a noun. It can also do the work of an adjective or adverb, since it always contains more than one word, it is usually referred to as a phrase.

 

1. TO ERR is human. (what is human)

Noun phrase

1. He likes TO SWIM. (likes what?)

Noun phrase

1. A roof TO SHELTER us. (what kind of roof?)

Adjective phrase

1. He works hard TO SUCCEED. (works hard why?)

Adverb phrase

 

1. THE PARTICIPLE

 

This helps finite verbs to form tenses: - DRIVING, BEING DRIVEN, HAVING DRIVEN, etc. by itself, it always does the work of an adjective:

 

SMILING, the man left the room. (what kind of man?)

A phrase introduced by a participle called a participle phrase. It does the work of an adjective phrase and it qualifies the nearest noun or pronoun.

 

SMILING QUIETLY TO HIMSELF, the man left the room. (what kind of man?)

A SMILING-QUIETLY-TO-HIMSELF MAN)

 

EXERCISE 6:

DECIDE WHETHER THE CAPITALIZED WORDS

 

ARE FINITE VERBS OR NOT:

1. She wants TO JOIN us (A. no) (B. yes)
2. She WANTS to join us (A. no) (B. yes)
3. SOBBING loudly, she sat down, (A. yes) (B. no)
4. She WAS SOBBING loudly. (A. no) (B. yes)