Practice
Non-finite verbs: types and examples
To travel light, Maya packed one small bag. Planning took longer than packing, and the printed list helped her remember the essentials. The underlined ideas can all come from verbs, but none of them is the main tense-carrying verb of the sentence.
Identify infinitives, gerunds, and participles, then explain the role each non-finite verb form has in a sentence.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
non-finite verb /nɒn ˈfaɪnaɪt vɜːb/
The short answer
Non-finite verbs do not carry the sentence's tense on their own. An infinitive often uses to plus a base verb, a gerund ends in ing and works like a noun, and a participle can describe a noun or help build a verb phrase.
The team hopes to finish the report today.
Why it works: Hopes is the finite present-tense verb. To finish names the action the team hopes to do.
5 more examples
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To ask a clear question takes confidence.
The infinitive phrase is the subject of takes.
Not this:Ravi
askeda clear question during the meeting. What changes: Asked is the finite past-tense verb in the main clause. -
Reading technical manuals can save time later.
The gerund phrase acts as the subject of can save.
Not this:The technician
is readingthe manual now. What changes: Is is finite and reading completes the present continuous verb phrase. -
We decided to postpone the workshop.
The infinitive names the action chosen after decided.
Not this:We
postponedthe workshop last week. What changes: Postponed is finite because it carries the past tense. -
The damaged package arrived before noon.
Damaged is a past participle describing package.
Not this:The delivery company
damagedthe package. What changes: Here damaged is the finite past-tense verb because it states the main action. -
After reviewing the contract, Elena called her advisor.
The gerund-participle phrase follows after and gives the earlier action.
Not this:Elena
reviewedthe contract before she called. What changes: Reviewed is finite in this clause because it marks the completed past action.
Read the full guide
First locate the verb that changes for time or agrees with the subject. In The team hopes to finish, hopes changes to hoped for the past and agrees with the singular noun team. To finish does neither job. That makes to finish a non-finite verb phrase.
Find the tense-carrying verb first
A complete clause needs a finite verb. It can show present or past time, or it can combine with an auxiliary such as will, has, or is. Once you find that verb, the other verb forms become easier to classify. They may add information, but they do not control the tense alone.
Nora plans to apply for the position.
Plans is finite and carries the present tense. To apply is a non-finite infinitive.
Which word would change to planned if the sentence moved into the past?
Plans would change to planned. That change shows that plans is the finite verb.
Use infinitives for an action, plan, or purpose
The full infinitive usually has to plus the base form: to learn, to call, or to explain. It often follows another verb, adjective, or noun. Infinitives can also express purpose. In I stopped to rest, to rest explains why the speaker stopped.
The analyst needs to compare the two figures.
Needs is finite. To compare names the action that the analyst needs to do.
What does to compare add after needs?
It names the action that is needed, so it is an infinitive.
Recognize gerunds in noun positions
A gerund has an ing form but works in a place where a noun could work. It can be the subject of a sentence, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition. Ask whether the phrase names an activity rather than describes a person or thing.
Checking the address prevented a delivery problem.
Checking the address is the subject of prevented. It names the activity that helped.
In We discussed moving the deadline, what thing did we discuss?
We discussed moving the deadline. The gerund phrase is the object of discussed.
Use participles to describe or build a verb phrase
Present participles usually end in ing and can describe a noun: a growing problem. Past participles often end in ed, although many are irregular: written, lost, or built. A participle can also join an auxiliary to form a continuous, perfect, or passive verb phrase.
The exhausted volunteers rested after the event.
Exhausted describes volunteers. Rested is the finite past-tense verb.
What noun does exhausted describe in the example?
It describes volunteers, so exhausted works as a participial adjective.
Read ing forms in their full context
An ing ending does not automatically mean gerund. Compare Swimming is good exercise, the swimming coach, and The coach is swimming. In the first sentence, swimming is a noun-like subject. In the second, it modifies coach. In the third, it completes the continuous verb phrase is swimming.
The smiling customer thanked the cashier.
Smiling describes customer. It is not the main verb of the sentence.
In The customer is smiling, which word carries the present tense?
Is carries present tense. Smiling joins it to form the continuous verb phrase.
Check the role before you choose a form
Some verbs are followed by an infinitive, while others are followed by a gerund. The pattern matters: decide to leave, enjoy reading, and avoid repeating. Dictionaries and learner grammars can help with a new verb pattern. Before choosing, ask whether the sentence needs an action after another verb, an activity as a noun, or a description of a noun.
They avoided making a rushed decision.
Avoided is finite. Making a rushed decision is the gerund phrase that follows avoided.
Which phrase names the activity that they avoided?
Making a rushed decision names that activity and works as a gerund phrase.
Before you go
Remember this
Find the finite verb first. Then identify the non-finite form by its job: infinitives often point to an action or purpose, gerunds work in noun positions, and participles describe nouns or help form longer verb phrases. A non-finite form can add a lot of meaning, but a complete clause still needs a finite verb.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
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Try the written questionsQuestions about "Non-finite verbs: types and examples"
What is a non-finite verb?
A non-finite verb is a verb form that does not show tense or subject agreement by itself. Infinitives, gerunds, and participles are common non-finite forms. They can name an action, describe a noun, or join another verb, while a finite verb carries the main tense in a clause.
To ask a clear question takes confidence.
How can I find the finite verb in a sentence?
Look for the verb that changes when you change the time or the subject. In Aisha plans to move, plans can change to planned, so it is finite. To move does not change for past time by itself. Finding that tense-carrying verb makes the other forms easier to identify.
Ravi asked a clear question during the meeting.
Is every ing word a gerund?
No. An ing form can do different jobs. In Cooking relaxes me, cooking is a gerund because it names an activity. In the cooking class, it describes class. In The class is cooking, it joins is to make a continuous verb phrase. Read the whole sentence before naming the form.
Reading technical manuals can save time later.
When do I use an infinitive?
Use an infinitive when a verb pattern, adjective, noun, or purpose expression calls for to plus a base verb. For example, people may decide to study, be eager to start, or save money to travel. The finite verb still carries tense: decided, was, or saved.
The technician is reading the manual now.
What is the difference between a gerund and a participle?
A gerund has an ing form and works in a noun position, as in Reading improves concentration. A participle commonly describes a noun or helps make a verb phrase, as in the reading lamp or was reading. The sentence role, rather than the ing ending alone, gives the useful answer.
We decided to postpone the workshop.