Phrases Finite and Non-Finite

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FACULTAD DE HUMANIDADES Y LENGUAS

MODERNAS

English Grammar Course

GRAMMAR REVIEW: Phrases online

Professor: Mg. Flor Mellado Rosaales


Finite clause

A finite clause is a main clause or a subordinate clause that must have a verb to
show tense. The verb can be in the present tense or past tense. The tense can
be changed from the present tense to the past tense or past tense to the
present tense. Because the verb in the present tense or past tense is called a
finite verb, the clause that contains a finite verb is called a finite clause.

•The fishermen are mending their nets.


(Present tense is used in the finite/main clause.)

•We dined at a cheap restaurant last night.


(Past tense used in the finite/main clause.)

•We were not allowed in because we arrived late.  


(Past tense is used in the main clause [finite clause] we were not allowed
in and  in the subordinate clause [finite clause] because we arrived late.)
Non-finite clause
A non-finite clause is a subordinate clause that is based on a to-infinitive or a participle. It
contains a verb that does not show tense, which means it does not show the time at which
something happened. There are three types of nonfinite clauses.
a) To-infinitive clause
In this clause, the verb comes after the word to.
 
Examples:
•He gave up his job to travel the world.
•We wanted to ask her to come along.
•The person to make the report to at the police station was the Sergeant.  
b) Present participle clause (or –ing clause)
In this clause, the verb ending in – ing is used.
 
Examples:
•He is a thoroughly spoilt child being the only one in the family.
•You are the only one capable of solving the problem.
•Before becoming a bank robber, he was a police officer. 
•Seeing no employment prospect, he became self-employed. 
c) Past participle clause 
In this clause, the past participle form of the verb is used.
  
Examples:

•Trained as an acrobat since young, she has amazed audiences with her superb skills. 
•All the children, gathered in that group, were ready to perform a traditional dance.
•A woman recognized as one of the hostages was found unharmed in the building.
•The child intends to be a bank robber when asked what he would like to be

A subordinate conjunction is often used to begin a non-finite clause. The subordinate


conjunctions used here are if, unless, though. They are called: verbless clauses

Examples:
•Her appointment, if approved, will make her the company’s first female General Manager.
•The police, unless notified, will not carry out an investigation.
•The rescuers found the boy, though injured, fully conscious.
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Exercise on English Grammar Phrases

https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/sentence/phrases-quiz.htm

Information about phrases and finite and non-finite clauses

https://www.really-learn-english.com/english-grammar-phrases.html

Exercise about phrases and finite – nonfinite clauses

http://www.grammaruntied.com/blog/?p=1875

Types of phrases exercise

https://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/en/quiz/jeu-quiz-types-of-phrases-eng
https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/sentence/phrases-quiz.htm

1. Phrases are grammatical units that consist of: one or more words / more than one word
2. A noun phrase with more than one word can consist of a noun and words that REPLACE THE NOUN /
QUALIFY THE NOUN
3. "The tour includes three Asian countries." Which is a noun phrase? THE TOUR INCLUDES / THREE
ASIAN COUNTRIES
4. A verb phrase consists of a main verb and its AUXILIARY VERBS / PHRASAL VERBS.
5. "She has been studying all day." Which is a verb phrase? STUDYING ALL DAY / HAS BEEN STUDYING
6. An adjective phrase can be a single adjective or a group of words built around AN ADJECTIVE / A
SINGLE NOUN
7. "Cats are playful pets, but dogs are very loyal as well." This sentence has ONE ADJECTIVE
PHRASE / TWO ADJECTIVE PHRASES
8. Which sentence has an adverb phrase? SHE SINGS VERY NICELY / SHE SINGS VERY NICE SONGS
9. A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition and its OBJECT / SUBJECT
10. "We always play football after work." Which is a prepositional phrase? ALWAYS PLAY FOOTBALL /
AFTER WORK
https://www.really-learn-english.com/english-grammar-phrases.html

FINITE AND NON-FINITE CLAUSES

A finite verb is a verb that has a particular tense, person and number.

Example:
In the sentence "She has a dog," the verb has shows a tense (simple present), a
person (third person) and a number (singular).

So has is a finite verb. "She has a birthday cake.“

In the sentence "You both were late," the verb were shows a tense (simple past),
a person (second person) and a number (plural).
A finite verb is a verb that has a particular tense, person and number.

Example:
In the sentence "She has a dog," the verb has shows a tense (simple present), a person (third person) and
a number (singular).

So has is a finite verb. "She has a birthday cake."


 In the sentence "You both were late," the verb were shows a tense (simple past), a person (second
person) and a number (plural).

So were is a finite verb. You two were at a formal event.

A non-finite verb is a verb that does not have a particular tense, person and number. Example:

In the sentence "I like to sing," the verb to sing doesn't show a tense, person or number.

So to sing is a non-finite verb. "He always wanted to sing."


 In the sentence "They started singing," the verb singing doesn't show a tense, person or
number.

So singing is a non-finite verb. "One of them dislikes singing."

Here are some more examples of finite verbs and non-finite verbs:

Non-finite verbs Finite verbs


to be, being, been am, is, are, was, were
to go, going, gone go, goes, went
to give, giving, given give, gives, gave
to take, taking, taken take, takes, took
In grammar, a phrase is a group of words without a finite verb.
 
For example, "the big hat," "before noon," "very fast" or "to take a
break."

These are all groups of words without a finite verb. Therefore, they
are all phrases.

On the other hand, "She runs very fast," is not a phrase. It is a


complete sentence, because it has a finite verb.

Examples of English grammar phrases: A big room. The blue jacket,


finding a job, having fun, to help others, behind the curtain, next week.
Being excited.
English grammar phrases act like parts of speech. In other words, they can act as 
nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and so forth.

For example, you could say, "I met Joan."

In this sentence the word Joan is a noun.

You could replace Joan with a group of words (a phrase) and say, "I met your sister."

Your sister is a phrase (a group of words without a finite verb) and it functions as a
noun in the sentence.

So we call it a noun phrase.


 
English grammar phrases act like parts of a sentence as well. In other words, they
can act as the subject, predicate, direct or indirect object, and so forth.
For example, you could say, "She saw Ralph."

In this sentence the word Ralph is the direct object.

You could replace Ralph with a group of words (a phrase) and say, "She saw the
poor little cat."

The poor little cat is a phrase (a group of words without a finite verb) and it
functions as the direct object in the sentence.

"She saw the poor little cat."

Types of phrases in English grammar


Noun Phrases, Verb phrases, adjective phrases, adverb phrases, prepositional phrases,
appositives.
Phrase Practice Exercise
http://www.grammaruntied.com/blog/?p=1875

1. Steven’s book, which made Oprah’s Book Club this month, is not in any stores.
a. prepositional phrase    b. participial phrase    c. gerund phrase    d. infinitive phrase
2. While preparing for the speech, Joe couldn’t help but worry about his entrance.
a. prepositional phrase    b. participial phrase    c. gerund phrase    d. infinitive phrase
3. Ahmad wants to visit Quebec, but he will need to wait for his next vacation.
a. prepositional phrase    b. participial phrase    c. gerund phrase    d. infinitive phrase
4. Hoping for a miracle, the doctors continued the surgery.
a. prepositional phrase    b. participial phrase    c. gerund phrase    d. infinitive phrase
5. Our boss supports donating time to charity.
a. prepositional phrase    b. participial phrase    c. gerund phrase    d. infinitive phrase
6. Melanie hoped to find a cure for the disease, but she tried to be realistic.

a. prepositional phrase    b. participial phrase    c. gerund phrase    d. infinitive phrase

7. After the banquet, the cooks will take a well-deserved break.

a. prepositional phrase    b. participial phrase    c. gerund phrase    d. infinitive phrase

8. Joey is hoping for a change to play pool with his uncle.

a. prepositional phrase    b. participial phrase    c. gerund phrase    d. infinitive phrase

9. The dog that Sam chose from the litter seems to be healthy.

a. prepositional phrase    b. participial phrase    c. gerund phrase    d. infinitive phrase

10. Sam Smith, who recently spoke to the youth group, excels at motivating young people.

a. prepositional phrase    b. participial phrase    c. gerund phrase    d. infinitive phrase
11. Pushed beyond endurance, the runner dropped the baton.

a. prepositional phrase    b. participial phrase    c. gerund phrase    d. infinitive phrase

12. The shoes he saw in the catalogue are available down the street.

a. prepositional phrase    b. participial phrase    c. gerund phrase    d. infinitive phrase

13. The reporter crouched behind that tree got the best picture of the arrest.

a. prepositional phrase    b. participial phrase    c. gerund phrase    d. infinitive phrase

14. Keith tried supporting both teams, but his heart was with Oregon.

a. prepositional phrase    b. participial phrase    c. gerund phrase    d. infinitive phrase

15. Katrina, who resented being left at home, drew on the walls with her crayons.

a. prepositional phrase    b. participial phrase    c. gerund phrase    d. infinitive phrase
16. Arnold hoped to find an answer to the funding shortfall.

a. prepositional phrase    b. participial phrase    c. gerund phrase    d. infinitive phrase

17. Pressed for time, the agent ran the red light.

a. prepositional phrase    b. participial phrase    c. gerund phrase    d. infinitive phrase

18. His uncle thinks that working for the government is the key to stability.

a. prepositional phrase    b. participial phrase    c. gerund phrase    d. infinitive phrase

19. Richard’s chance to make his point slipped away.

a. prepositional phrase    b. participial phrase    c. gerund phrase    d. infinitive phrase

20. Is it possible that Joshua will compete against that man?

a. prepositional phrase    b. participial phrase    c. gerund phrase    d. infinitive phrase
Types of phrases 1 https://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/en/quiz/jeu-quiz-types-of-phrases-eng
A phrase is a group of words that forms a unit simpler than a sentence. Unlike a sentence, a phrase does not
contain a subject and a verb.
Many different phrases can be used to build sentences. See if you can name the type of phrase in square brackets
in each sentence below. N.ph V.ph. P.ph. Infinitive phrase, Participle phrase. Gerund phrase Absolute phrase
1. We all sighed in relief, [James having found his passport].
2. The day ended with [feasting on Spanish tapas and local wine].
3. [To celebrate their arrival at the villa], they all enjoyed a glass of Mallorcan wine on the terrace overlooking
the sea.
4. As a souvenir, Mary bought herself [a beautiful, oval-shaped, soft pink pearl].
5. [Fascinated by the stalactites and stalagmites in the cave], the tourists took many pictures.
6. Once [at the beach], they all settled down on lounge chairs.
Patricia [would have gone] for a walk to explore the surroundings had others been interested.

Example of absolute phrase: Marshall held onto the ball, his fingers squeezing it tightly.

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