Non-Finite Forms of the Verb

1. The infinitive and its properties. The categories of the infinitive.

2. The gerund and its properties. The categories of gerund. The notion of halfgerund.

3. The present participle, the past participle, and their properties.

Introductory

Verb forms make up two distinct classes: finites and non-finites, also called verbals, verbids. Finites serve to express a primary predication, i.e. they ‘tie’ the situation described by a proposition to the context. Non-finites serve to express a secondary predication.

The non-finite forms of the verb combine the characteristics of the verb with the characteristics of other parts of speech. Their mixed features are revealed in their semantics, morphemic structural marking, combinability, and syntactic functions.

The strict division of functions clearly shows that the opposition between the finite and non-finite forms of the verb creates a special grammatical category. The differential feature of the opposition is constituted by the expression of verbal time and mood: the non-finite forms have no immediate means of expressing time-mood categorial semantics and therefore present the weak member of the opposition. The category expressed by this opposition is called the category of finitude. The syntactic content of the category of finitude is the expression of predication (more precisely, the expression of verbal predication).

In other words, the opposition of the finite verbs and the verbids is based on the expression of the functions of full predication and semi-predication. While the finite verbs express predication in its genuine and complete form, the function of the verbids is to express semi-predication, building up semi-predicative complexes within different sentence constructions.

The English verbids include four forms: the infinitive, the gerund, the present participle and the past participle.

The Infinitive

Historically, the infinitive is a verbal noun. Hence its double nature: it combines the features of the verb with those of the noun. It is the form of the verb which expresses a process in general, i.e. a process that is not restricted (i.e. concretized) by person, number, tense, and mood. Because of its general process meaning, the infinitive is treated as the head-form of the whole paradigm of the verb.

The infinitive has two presentation forms: marked and unmarked. The marked infinitive is distinguished by the grammatical word-morpheme to, historically a preposition. Similar to other grammatical word morphemes, to can be used to represent the corresponding construction as a whole (e.g. You can read any of the books if you want to). It can also be separated from its notional part by a word or phrase, usually of adverbial nature, forming the so-called split infinitive (e.g. We need your participation, to thoroughly investigate the issue.) The marked

infinitive is an analytic grammatical form.

The other form of the infinitive is unmarked; it is traditionally called the bare infinitive. It is used in various analytic forms (non-modal and modal), with verbs of physical perception, with the verbs let, bid, make, help (optionally), with a few modal phrases (had better, would rather, would have, etc.), with the relative why.

The infinitive combines the properties of the verb with those of the noun, as a result it serves as the verbal name of a process. It has the grammatical categories of voice, aspect and temporal correlation.

Consequently, the categorial paradigm of the infinitive includes eight forms: the indefinite active, the continuous active, the perfect active, the perfect continuous active; the indefinite passive, the continuous passive, the perfect passive, the perfect continuous passive.

to take — to be taking

to have taken — to have been taking

to be taken —to be being taken

to have been taken — to have been being taken

The continuous and perfect continuous passive can only be used occasionally, with a strong stylistic colouring. It is the indefinite infinitive that constitutes the head-form of the verbal paradigm.

The verbal features of the infinitive. Like the finite form of verb, the infinitive distinguishes the categories of aspect, voice, and temporal correlation.

The paradigm of the infinitive is determined by the semantico-syntactic properties of the process. If the process is intransitive, we cannot derive voice forms

e.g. to walk – to be walking vs. *to be being walked

to have walked – to have been walking vs. *to have been being walked

The nounal features of the infinitive. Semantically and morphologically, the infinitive is much more similar to the verb than to the noun: its verbal features outweigh its nounal features. Similar to the noun, the infinitive can be used as the subject or part of the subject, the predicative, and the attribute.

The Gerund

The gerund is originally a verbal noun in –ing. Similar to the infinitive, the gerund is the name of a process, but its substantive meaning is more strongly pronounced than that of the infinitive: unlike the infinitive, the gerund can be modified by a noun in the genitive case or by the possessive pronoun and used with prepositions.

The general combinability of the gerund, like that of the infinitive, is dual, sharing some features with the verb, and some features with the noun.

The verbal features of the gerund. Like the verb, the gerund distinguishes the categories of voice and temporal correlation:

writing (non-passive, non-perfect) – being written (passive, non-perfect)

having written (non-passive, perfect) – having been written (passive, perfect)

It is obvious that gerunds derived from intransitive verbs have only two forms: non-perfect active and perfect active, e.g. walking vs. having walked.

The gerund has the following syntactic features of the verb: it can function as part of the verbal predicate (e.g. If he stops working, he will die); it can be followed by an object (e.g. I remember locking the door) and an adverbial modifier (e.g. He avoids driving fast).

The nounal features of the gerund. Similar to the noun, the gerund can be modified by a noun in the genitive case or in the common case, which, when pronominalized, turn into the possessive and objective forms, respectively:

She did nothing to encourage John’s going abroad.

She did nothing to encourage John going abroad. vs.

She did nothing to encourage his going abroad.

She did nothing to encourage him going abroad.

The standard form is the form with the noun in the genitive case or with the possessive pronoun. The other form is more common in spoken English. The gerund in the latter construction is traditionally called the half-gerund.

Unlike the noun, the gerund cannot be used in the plural; it cannot be preceded by the article (or its substitute); it cannot be determined by the adjective.

Like the noun, the gerund can be used as the subject, the object, the predicative, and the attribute.

Participle

The participle is a term applied to adjectival forms of verbs. There are two types of participle: the present participle and the past participle.

Participle I

The present participle is the non-finite form of the verb which combines the properties of the verb with those of the adjective and adverb, serving as the qualifying-processual name. In its outer form the present participle is wholly homonymous with the gerund, ending in the suffix -ing and distinguishing the same grammatical categories of temporal correlation and voice. Both forms denote a process – the present participle (or the past participle) denotes a qualifying

process while the gerund denotes a substantival process.

The term present participle may be misleading since the participle does not express tense distinctions. It is a traditional term, originally applied to adjectival forms of verbs in Ancient Greece which were inflected for tense, aspect, and case.

It was borrowed from Greek grammar through Latin grammar and uncritically applied to English verbal forms which had an adjective-like use. As to its temporal meaning, the present participle expresses a process simultaneous with or prior to the process of the finite verb: it may denote present, past, and future.

Verbal features. Both the present participle and the gerund distinguish the same grammatical categories of voice and temporal correlation:

writing (non-perfect, non-passive) – being written (non-perfect, passive)

having written (perfect, non-passive) – having been written (perfect, passive)

walking (non-perfect, non-passive) – having walked (perfect, non-passive)

Like the verb, it combines with the object, the adverbial modifier; like the verb, it participates in the formation of the verbal predicate.

The present participle, similar to the infinitive, can build up semi-predicative complexes of objective and subjective types. The two groups of complexes, i.e. infinitival and present participial, may exist in parallel (e.g. when used with some verbs of physical perceptions), the difference between them lying in the aspective presentation of the process. Cf.:

Nobody noticed the scouts approach the enemy trench. — Nobody noticed the scouts approaching the enemy trench with slow, cautious, expertly calculated movements.

Suddenly a telephone was heard to buzz, breaking the spell. — The telephone was heard vainly buzzing in the study.

A peculiar use of the present participle is seen in the absolute participial constructions of various types, forming complexes of detached semi-predication.

Cf.:

The message being written, I clicked “Send”.

Jane was watching TV, the kids sleeping in the adjoining room.

These complexes of descriptive and narrative stylistic nature seem to be gaining ground in present-day English.

Adjectival properties. Like the adjective, the present participle can be used as an attribute – generally as a postposed attribute, e.g. The man talking to John is my boss.

Participle II

The past participle is the non-finite form of the verb which combines the properties of the verb with those of the adjective, serving as the qualifying processual name. Unlike the present participle, it has no paradigm of its own.

Its verbal features are participation in the structure of the verbal predicate (e.g. The house was destroyed by a bomb) and the use as secondary predicate (e.g. Her spirit, though crushed, was not broken).

Its adjectival feature is its attributive function, e.g. She looked at the broken cup.

Similar to the present participle, the past participle can be used in postposition or in preposition to the noun: the broken cup vs. the cup broken. But as compared to the present participle, the past participle occurs in preposition to the noun more frequently.

Like the present participle, the past participle is capable of making up semipredicative constructions of complex object, complex subject, as well as of absolute complex.

The absolute past participial complex as a rule expresses priority in the correlation of two events. Cf.: The preliminary talks completed, it became possible to concentrate on the central point of the agenda.