non-finite

/ˌnɒn ˈfaɪnaɪt/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌnɑːn ˈfaɪnaɪt/ (ame, ipa)

non-finite — adjective

1. describing a verb form, such as an infinitive or a participle, that gives no inf

1.形容詞C1
釋義

describing a verb form, such as an infinitive or a participle, that gives no information about when an action happens or who does it — for example 'to swim' or 'running' — and clauses built around such forms.

例句

Christopher told the class that 'to swim' is a non-finite verb form.

non-finite + verb in a teaching context

Maeve marked 'reading the news' in her essay opening as a non-finite clause.

non-finite clause built on a participle

同義詞
  • infinite

    older technical term used by some grammarians for the same idea, but rare in modern usage

反義詞
  • finite

    describes verb forms that DO show tense, person, and number

文法句型

non-finite + verb

non-finite + clause

用法筆記

Used almost exclusively in grammar teaching and linguistic description; rare in everyday speech. Often appears attributively before 'verb', 'form', 'clause', or 'complement'.

常見錯誤

❌The verb "runs" is non-finite.
✅The verb "to run" is non-finite.
💡a finite verb like 'runs' shows tense and subject agreement; only forms like infinitives, gerunds, and participles are non-finite.