Complete English Grammar Rules_ Examples, Exceptions, Exercises, and Everything You Need to Master Proper Grammar ( PDFDrive )-117

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Verbs
Definition
Verbs	are	used	to	indicate	the	actions,	processes,	conditions,	or	states	of	beings
of	people	or	things.
Verbs	play	an	integral	role	to	the	structure	of	a	sentence.	They	constitute	the	root
of	the	predicate,	which,	along	with	the	subject	(the	“doer”	of	the	verb’s	action),
forms	a	full	clause	or	sentence—we	cannot	have	a	sentence	without	a	verb.
When	we	discuss	verbs’	role	in	the	predicate,	we	usually	divide	them	into	two
fundamental	categories:	finite	and	non-finite	verbs.
Finite	and	Non-Finite	Verbs
The	predicate	requires	at	least	one	finite	verb	to	be	considered	complete.	A
finite	verb	has	a	direct	relationship	to	the	subject	of	a	sentence	or	clause,	and
does	not	require	another	verb	in	the	sentence	in	order	to	be	grammatically
correct.	For	example:
•	“I	swim	every	day.”
•	“She	reads	many	books.”
•	“He	talked	for	several	hours.”
Each	of	the	above	is	a	finite	verb,	expressing	an	action	that	is	directly	related	to
the	subject	of	the	sentence.	Non-finite	verbs,	on	the	other	hand,	do	not	express
that	relationship	directly.
The	only	verbs	that	can	be	considered	finite	are	those	in	their	base	form	(the
infinitive	form	without	the	particle	to),	their	past	tense	form,	or	their	third-
person	singular	form.	Verb	forms	that	are	never	considered	finite	are	gerunds,
infinitives,	and	participles	(both	past	and	present).
Let’s	look	at	an	example	containing	both	a	finite	and	non-finite	verb:
•	“We	are	learning	about	the	American	Revolution	in	school.”
This	sentence	uses	the	present	continuous	verb	are	learning.	This	functions	as	a
single	unit,	with	learning	expressing	most	of	the	meaning.
However,	learning	is	a	present	participle,	which	is	considered	a	non-finite	verb;
the	finite	verb	of	the	sentence	is	actually	just	the	auxiliary	verb	are.	It	is	an
inflection	of	the	verb	be	used	for	a	first	person	plural	subject	(we).
	English Grammar
	Parts of Speech
	Verbs