Non-Finite Verbs

Verbs upper_intermediate hard

Infinitives, gerunds and participles — forms that do not show tense.

Verbs — Verb forms, modals and non-finite verbs.

Rules

1. Forms that do not show tense or agree with the subject: infinitive (to go), gerund (going), participles (going, gone). 2. They combine with finite verbs: I want to go. 3. Gerunds act like nouns: Swimming is fun. 4. Participles act like adjectives/adverbs: the running water.

Explanation

Non-finite verbs never change for person or number: "He wants to go" and "They want to go" keep "to go" unchanged.

हिंदी में

Non-finite verb — infinitive (to go), gerund (going), participle (gone) — काल या कर्ता के अनुसार नहीं बदलती।

Examples

Common Mistakes

Practice Questions

Q1. Which of these is non-finite?

Answer: to swim

💡 The infinitive is non-finite.

Q2. Which sentence has a gerund used as the subject?

Answer: Swimming is fun.

💡 In 'Swimming is fun', the gerund 'swimming' is the subject of the sentence.

Q3. He enjoys ___ (read) stories.

Answer: reading

💡 After 'enjoy' we use the gerund (-ing form): enjoys reading.

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Related Topics in Verbs

TopicLevelWhat it covers
Main & Helping VerbselementaryMain verbs carry meaning; helping verbs build tenses and questions.
Main VerbselementaryThe main verb carries the core meaning of the verb phrase.
Helping VerbselementaryHelpers (be, have, do, will, can…) build tenses, questions and negatives.
Modal VerbsintermediateCan, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would — ability, permission, obligation, possibility.
Finite & Non-finite Verbsupper_intermediateFinite verbs show tense and agree with the subject; non-finite verbs do not.
Finite Verbsupper_intermediateFinite verbs show tense and agree with the subject.

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