English for Today
FINITE AND NON-FINITE VERBS
A verb is considered to be in the finite form when it can function alone as verb in structure and is capable of indicating tense, mood and voice whereas it is in the non-finite form if it cannot occur independently in clause structure or indicate tense distinctions. There are six forms of verbs; three are finite and three are non-finite:
Finite forms: x+ o= sing, x+s= sings, x+d= sang
Non-finite forms= x+g= singing, x+n= sung, to+x= to sing
An attempt to generate examples for them will show that the finite forms can occur alone and reflect changes in number, person and tense while the non-finite forms will need an auxiliary verb or another main verb which will serve as the finite element, e.g., Gani teaches(x+s=finite) English. Gani is(x+s finite auxiliary) teaching(x+g non-finite main verb) English.