Non-Finite Forms of the Verb

1) The infinitive and its properties.

a) Morphological Features. 3) The present participle.
b) The categories of the infinitive. j) Morphological Features.
c) Syntactic functions. k) The categories of Participle I.
l) Syntactic functions.
2) The gerund and its properties. m) The Gerund and Participle I
d) Morphological Features. Compared.
e) The categories of gerund.
f) Syntactic functions. 4) The Past participle.
g) The notion of half-gerund. n) Morphological Features.
h) The Infinitive and the Gerund o) Voice and Aspect Meaning of
Compared. Participle II.
i) The Gerund and the Verbal Noun p) Syntactic functions.
Compared.
 Introductory
The verbals (verbids) combine the
characteristics of the verb with the
characteristics of other parts of speech.
The opposition between the finite and non-finite
forms of the verb creates a special grammatical
category – the category of finitude.
The differential feature of the opposition is
constituted by the expression of verbal time
and mood.
The syntactic content of the category of finitude
is the expression of verbal predication.
 The Infinitive
The infinitive is historically a verbal noun.
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 infinitive combines the properties of the
verb with those of the noun.
 Verbal Features of the Infinitive
Morphological:
the infinitive has the verb categories of voice, perfect
and aspect;
Syntactical:
the infinitive possesses the verb combinability:

a) it takes an object in the same way as the

corresponding finite verbs do;
b)it takes a predicative if it happens to be a link verb;
c) it is modified by adverbials in the same way as
finite verbs.
Nominal Features of the Infinitive
Are revealed only in its function:

To understand is to forgive. (subject,

predicative)
That’s what I wanted to know. (object)
I saw the chance to escape into the garden.
(attribute)
I merely came back to water the roses.
(adverbial modifier of purpose)
Perfect Aspect Active Passive

Non- Common to go -
Perfect

to take to be taken

Continuous to be going -

to be taking (to be being taken)

Perfect Common to have gone -

to have taken to have been taken

Continuous to have been going -

to have been taking -

Syntactic Functions of the Infinitive:
To meet the head of the administration and not to
speak to him about your predicament was unwise,
to say the least of it.
The chief arranged to receive the foreign
delegation in the afternoon.
The parents' wish had always been to see their
eldest son the continuator of their joint scientific
work.
Here again we are faced with a plot to overthrow
the legitimately elected government of the republic.
Helen was far too worried to listen to the
remonstrances.
 The Gerund
The gerund is originally a verbal noun in –ing.
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.
Verbal Features of the Gerund
Morphological
Voice Active Passive

Perfect

Non-Perfect running -

taking being taken

Perfect having ran -

having taken having been taken

Syntactical:
The gerund may combine:
a) with a noun or pronoun as direct, indirect or
prepositional object, depending on the verb it is
formed from;
b) with an adjective or a noun as a predicative;
c) with an infinitive.

Gerunds can be modified by adverbs and

prepositional phrases functioning as adverbial
modifiers.
 Nominal Features of the Gerund
 The nominal character of the gerund reveals itself syntactically,
mainly in its syntactical function, partly in its combinability.
Like a noun, it can function as subject, object, or predicative.
 Seeing you is always a pleasure. (subject)
 I remember seeing you somewhere. (object)
 I am thinking of seeing the film again. (prepositional object)
 Peter’s hobby is seeing all new films. (predicative)

When it is an attribute or an adverbial modifier, a gerund, like a

noun is preceded by a preposition.
 There is a chance of catching the train.
 Don’t forget to call me up before leaving London.
 I reached my goal in spite of there being every reason against it.
Like a noun, but unlike the other non-finites, it can combine
with a possessive pronoun and a noun in the genitive
case denoting the doer of the action expressed by the gerund.
 Excuse my interrupting you.
 I insist on John’s staying with us.

It combines with the negative pronoun no in the idiomatic

construction of the type:
 There is no getting out of it.

 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.
 Syntactic Functions of the Gerund
Repeating your accusations over and over again
doesn't make them more convincing.
No wonder he de­layed breaking the news to Uncle
Jim.
She could not give her mind to pressing wild flowers
in Pauline's botany book.
Joe felt annoyed at being shied by his room-mates.
You know what luck is? Luck is believing you're lucky.
Fancy the pleasant prospect of listening to all the
gossip they've in store for you!
He could not push against the furniture without
bringing the whole lot down.
The Gerund and The Infinitive Compared
With the verbs to like, to hate, to prefer the gerund
expresses a more general or a habitual action, the
infinitive a specific single action.

With the verbs to begin and to start either form may

generally be used, but again the gerund is preferable
when the action is more general.

The verb to remember is followed by a gerund when it

means a prior action (to recall, to keep in one’s memory
some past event), and by an infinitive when it means a
simultaneous action (the working of one’s memory).
The verb to regret is followed by the gerund to suggest
priority, whereas the infinitive suggests a simultaneous
action.

After to stop the gerund is used when it suggests the

end of the action denoted by the gerund, whereas the
infinitive is used as an adverbial of purpose.

The phrasal verb to go on with a gerund suggests the

continuation of the action, denoted by the gerund and
forms part of a compound verbal predicate; an infinitive
points out a new stage in the sequence of actions.
 The Gerund and the Verbal Noun
The Gerund
has voice and correlation distinctions;
can function as a direct object;
can have adverbs as modifiers.

The Verbal Noun

has the plural form;
functions in of-phrases;
combines with adjectival attributes;
has the article.
 The Notion of Half-Gerund
I don’t count on his / him scaring easily.
Then he was aware of Toscato’s / Toscato shaking the door
of the box. I remember them staying with us once
Fancy his / him saying so!

The possessive subject of the ing-form in the first of the

two sentences is clearly a structural adjunct of a nounal
collocation.
But the objective subject of the ing-form, by virtue of its
morphological constitution, cannot be associated with a
noun.
The ing-form with the objective subject can be understood
as a participle.
 The Present Participle
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.

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.
Verbal Features of Participle I
Morphological
Syntactical. It can combine:
a) with a noun or a pronoun as direct,
indirect or prepositional object;

b) with an adverb or a prepositional phrase

as an adverbial modifier;

c) with a noun or adjective as a predicative.

 Adjectival and Adverbial Features of
Participle I
Are manifested in its syntactical functions as
an attribute and an adverbial modifier:

Arriving at the station, she saw him at once,

leaning agains the railing.

Like an adjective, participle I forms adverbs

with the suffix -ly: laughingly, jokingly,
surprisingly, admiringly, appealingly, feelingly.
 Syntactic Functions of Participle I
The questions became more and more irritating.
She had thrust the crucifix on to the surviving
baby.
Norman stood on the pavement like a man
watching his loved one go aboard an ocean liner.
He was no longer the cocky, pugnacious boy,
always squaring up for a fight.
She went up the steps, swinging her hips and
tossing her fur with bravado.
And having read in the, papers about truth drugs,
of course Gladys would believe it absolutely.
 Participle I and the Gerund Compared
As predicative participle I gives qualitative
characteristics to the subject, thus tending
towards an adjective.

When a gerund or a participle is used as an

attribute, the difference between them lies
in the absence or presence of the preposition,
also in their relationship to the modified
noun. Participle I denotes an action that the
person or thing performs or experiences.
When used as an adverbial modifier, the
gerund is more varied in its application than
the participle because it is used with different
prepositions.
 The Past Participle
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.
Adjectival Features of Participle II
Manifest themselves in its function in the sentence,
usually that of either attribute or predicative.
 It may combine with adverbs of degree typical of
adjectives, such as very, too, slightly, so, much, more,
as in:
- I am very pleased with you.
- The children were too excited to notice the
newcomer.

Similar to adjectives and participle I, participle II

may form adverbs with the help of the suffix -ly:
fixedly, unhurriedly, admittedly.
 Verbal Features of Participle II
The verbal character of participle II is
manifested in its combinability.

Participle II of transitive verbs easily

combines with a by-object denoting the doer
of the action as in:
- Jane entered the room followed by her
brother.
Participles II of phrasal verbs retain their
composite structure: a boy brought up in a
teacher’s family.

Participles II of prepositional transitive verbs

are followed by the appropriate prepositions:
a book often asked for, the article referred to,
a man much spoken of.
Ditransitive verbs keep their second object as
in:
- That was the main question asked her at the
wedding.

Participle II may be accompanied by an

adverbial modifier expressed by adverbs or
phrases combining with verbs: a house built
two years before, man hidden in the bush, a
play well acted, a story long forgotten.
 Voice Peculiarities
The passive meaning of participle II may be of three
types:
1) denoting an action directed towards the person or
non-person expressed by the subject or object.
- Spanish is one of the foreign languages taught at our
Institute.

2) denoting a state, which is the result of an action.

- The problem is solved. The door is shut.

3) denoting a pure state.

- I felt annoyed when he refused to help me.
Participle II of i n t r a n s i t i v e verbs is
always active in meaning.

The use of these participles is restricted.

Only participles II of verbs denoting motion or

change of state can be used as attributes.
These are participles II of the verbs to arrive,
to fall, to go, to rise, to depart, to decease, to
retire, to fade, to wither, to vanish, to decay
and some others.
 Aspect Peculiarities
I n transitive terminative
verbs the passive meaning of participle II is
combined with perfectivity. Thus participle II can be
opposed to participle I in their aspectual meanings
of perfectivity/imperfectivity: taking - taken, asking
- asked, writing - written, telling – told.

Participle II of intransitive verbs or verbs used

intransitively is always perfective in meaning and
can be opposed to non-perfect participle I: rising -
risen, decaying - decayed, going - gone, arriving -
arrived, retiring –retired.
 Syntactic Functions of Participle II
Moyra's softened look gave him a new hope.
The cleverly chosen timing of the attack de­
termined the outcome of the battle.
It is a face devastated by passion.
His was a victory gained against all rules and
predictions.
Looked upon in this light, the wording of the
will didn't appear so odious.
The light is bright and inconveniently placed
for reading.
Participle II may serve as an adverbial modifier of:
time, usually with the conjunction when or until:
He is very affable when spoken to, but naturally silent.

reason:
Deprived of his wife and son by the Spanish adventure,
Jolyon found the solitude at Robin Hill intolerable.

condition, mostly with the conjunction if or unless:

I shall certainly give evidence on your behalf, if
required.
concession, with the conjunction though or
although:
Though asked in disarming sociability,
Haldone’s question was loaded.

comparison, with the conjunction as if or as

though:
“I get off the train,” he repeated as if
hypnotized.