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te Verbs
Are Finite Verbs? teachers' zon
sitemap ▸ A-Z grammar terms ▸ finite verbs
play:
match the pairs (parts of spee

hundreds more games and te

read:
parts-of-speech lists

nite verb is a verb that has a subject and shows tense. Here's an
mple:

John cooks carrots.

(The finite verb is "cooks." The subject is "John." The tense of the
verb is the present tense.)
confirmatory t
This test is printable and sendabl
nite verb is always one word, from which you can determine the
se.
expand
to full page as
John was cooking carrots.
(The finite verb is "was." By looking at "was," you can tell the download
as .doc as h
tense of the verb, which is the past tense.)
send d
as homework Q

Table of Contents
asy Examples of Finite Verbs
0 0
nite Verbs versus Non-Finite Verbs
1. not attemptedTrue or false? A fin
ow to Find the Finite Verb
is a verb that has a subject and shows te

More Examples of Finite Verbs A. True

B. False
Modal Auxiliary Verbs As Finite Verbs
 ideo Lesson
Grammar- confused 2. notspelling
attempted games
&Select the sentenc
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"roasted" is a finite verb.
& m
Why Finite Verbs Are Important
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A. They roasted chestnuts.

B. They love roasted chestnuts.

3. not attemptedTrue or false? Ever

sentence needs a finite verb.

A. True

B. False

4. not attemptedSelect the finite ve

We raced to the exit only to

locked .

5. not attemptedSelect the finite ve

The spray blocks the mosquitoes

sensors .

6. not attemptedSelect the finite ve

We are thinking about leaving .

7. not attemptedSelect the finite ve

This time yesterday evening , we

ry sentence needs a finite verb. The main verb in every sentence will
loading our bags and checking
or will include a finite verb. In all the examples on this page, the
te verbs are shaded. windows and doors .

asy Examples of Finite Verbs 8. not attemptedSelect the finite ve

Are you going to the match ?

Rachel is happy.
(In this example, "is" is a finite verb. The subject is "Rachel." The 9. not attemptedSelect the finite ve

tense of the verb is the present tense.) Mosquito repellents work by hid

He painted the fence. you , not by repelling .

(In this example, "painted" is a finite verb. The subject is "He."

The tense of the verb is the past tense.) 10. not attemptedSelect the finite ve

I just want to go home now

She was varnishing the painted fence.
relax from the stress of this d
(In this example, "was" is a finite verb. The subject is "She." The
tense of the verb is the past tense.)
he last example, "varnishing" and "painted" are non-finite verbs.
Grammar- confused 11. notspelling
attempted games
&Select the sentenc
ll Monster.com
cover those shortly, but, before we do, we need to clarify
glossary the punctuation lists & m
words vocabulary
"provided" is a finite verb.
tests
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erence between main verbs and finite verbs. A. Please check the provided examples

B. She provided everything.

What Is a Main Verb?

he main verb in any sentence tells us what the subject is doing or 12. not attemptedSelect the finite ve

bout the subject's state of being. It also tells us when the verb Armed with a bottle of ketchup

ccurs (i.e., its tense, past, present, or future), and the verb's aspect
made my last stand by swingin
abitual, completed, or ongoing action). The main verb in a
bottle wildly .
ntence can be one word or a verb phrase. In these examples, the
ain verbs are in bold:
13. not attemptedSelect the second

I am happy. verb:

John wants to ask Sarah to th

I am a teacher.
but Sarah is hoping Mark asks

I play tennis.

I am playing tennis. 0 0
I was playing tennis.

I will have been playing tennis for two hours by lunch time.

hen you look at a finite verb it is conjugated to match the subject

nd tells you the tense. You can always tell the tense when you look
a finite verb. A finite verb (underlined below) is always one word.

I am happy.

I am a teacher.

I play tennis.

I am playing tennis.

I was playing tennis.

I will have been playing tennis for two hours by lunch time.

ey point: The main verb will always include, or actually be, a finite
erb. (The finite verb is always the left-most verb in a verb phrase.)

nite Verbs versus Non-Finite Verbs

te verbs contrast with non-finite verbs. There are three types of
Grammar- confused spelling &
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n-finite verb:
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) Gerunds

gerunds end "-ing." They are nouns formed from verbs.

John loves dancing.

("Loves" is the finite verb. "Dancing" is a gerund. Note that,
unlike "loves," it doesn't have a subject or show tense.)

) Infinitives

st infinitives have "to" before. An infinitive is the basic form of a

b.

John hates to sing.

("Hates" is the finite verb. "To sing" is an infinitive. Note that,
unlike "hates," it doesn't have a subject or show tense.)

) Participles

s is the tricky one. There are two types of participle: present

ticiples (ending "-ing") and past participle (usually end "-ed," "-d," "-
-en," or "-n").

ticiples can either function as adjectives (e.g., cooking oil) or follow

nite verb to help with tense (e.g., John was cooking dinner.).

John fixed the broken fence.

("Fixed" is the finite verb. "Broken" is a past participle
functioning as an adjective. Note that, unlike "fixed," it doesn't
have a subject or show tense.)

John was fixing it.

("Was" is the finite verb. "Fixing" is a present participle helping
to create the past progressive tense. Note that, unlike "was," it
doesn't have a subject of its own or give us any clue whether
we're talking about the past tense, present tense, or future
tense.)

ow to Find the Finite Verb

 best way to find a finite verb is to identify its subject and determine
Grammar- confused spelling &
games
tense. If you can do that, you're looking at a finite
Monster.com verb. Just
glossary to be punctuation lists & m
words vocabulary
tests
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ra sure, you can also eliminate everything else that looks like a verb
checking:

Is the word functioning as a noun and does it end "-ing"? If yes,

it's a gerund.

Is it preceded by "to"? If yes, it's probably an infinitive.

Is it being used as an adjective? If yes, it's probably a participle.

Does it follow an obvious finite verb (e.g., "am," "is," "was,"

"has," "have") to create a tense? If yes, it's a participle.

s walk through this example:

Johnny likes cleaning and was trying to tidy the fallen leaves.

he sentence above, the following derive from verbs: "likes,"

eaning," "was," "trying," "to tidy," and "fallen." Let's run a check over
m:

"Likes" has a subject ("Johnny") and shows tense (the present

tense), so it's a finite verb.

"Cleaning" does not have a subject or show tense. It ends "-ing,"

and it's functioning as a noun. It's a gerund, i.e., a non-finite
verb.

"Was" has a subject ("Johnny") and shows tense (the past tense),
so it's also a finite verb.

"Trying" follows "was." It is helping to form the past progressive

tense, but it does not have its own subject or show tense as a
standalone word. It's a participle, i.e., a non-finite verb.

"To tidy" does not have a subject or show tense. It has "to"
before. It's an infinitive, i.e., a non-finite verb.

"Fallen" does not have a subject or show tense. It's functioning

as an adjective. It's a participle, i.e., a non-finite verb.

Non-finite verbs are also called verbals. Read more about the
jects of verbs.Read more about tense.
oreGrammar-
Examples of Finite Verbs confused spelling &
games
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e are some more
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(#gm)examples with the finite verbs shaded. (Any non- tests

te verbs are in bold.)

You promised to save me a baked potato.

I am thinking about visiting the amusement park.

Everyone wanted to go to the amusement park, but we only

had four tickets.

The spirits were rising from their graves to feast upon the
living souls.

odal Auxiliary Verbs As Finite Verbs

nite verb is always one word. Usually, it will be a standard verb in
past tense (e.g., played, ate), a verb in the present tense (e.g., plays,
s), or an auxiliary verb in the present or past tense (namely, am, is,
was, were, has, have, had, does, do, or did).

, here's a quirk. When a sentence includes a modal auxiliary verb

., can, could, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will, would), it
he finite verb in the sentence, even though modal auxiliary verbs
n't change their forms depending on the subject or the tense. The
dal auxiliary verbs are considered finite verbs because they are the
t verbs in their verb chains and are immediately followed by bare
nitives.

You will pay for that.

("Will" is the modal auxiliary verb and the finite verb. "Pay" is the
bare infinitive.)

Alfie should have said no.

("Should" is the modal auxiliary verb and the finite verb. "Have"
is the bare infinitive. "Said" is a past participle.)

I can think whatever I like.

("Can" is the modal auxiliary verb and the finite verb. "Think" is
the bare infinitive. "Like" is a finite verb in the present tense with
the subject "I." It is common to have more than one finite verb
in a sentence. Remember that the main verb in any sentence will
always be a finite verb, so there will always be at least one.)
 d about auxiliary verbs.
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deo Lesson
e is a video summarizing finite and non-finite verbs.

video lesson

you a visual learner? Do you prefer video to text? Here is a list of all
grammar videos.

hy Finite Verbs Are Important

ou're a native English speaker, then it is highly likely that you are
liant at using finite verbs. Finite verbs cause few mistake for native
akers. However, if you're learning or teaching English, then it's
ential to learn about finite verbs because a finite verb is at the heart
every sentence, and that finite verb will need to align with the
ject and show the right tense.

er learning some basic vocabulary, that's about as important as

aking a language gets!

Good Tip
you're learning a foreign language, spend time getting really good
using "to be" and "to have."

et Really Good at "To Be" and "To Have"

most obvious finite verbs are those that come from "to be" ("am,"
" "are," "was," "were") and "to have" ("has," "have," "had").

well as English, lots of other languages use these to form their

fect tenses (for completed actions) and their progressive tenses (for
going actions).

s means that just by learning how "to be" and "to have" go (or
jugate to give it it's real name), you will be able to dive straight into
me natural-sounding talking in your new language, once you've
rned a few common participles.
ey Points
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If you need to boost your foreign language skills, learn how to

conjugate "to be" and "to have" in all three tenses. Here's why:

Firstly, "to be" and "to have" are unquestionably the

two most useful verbs in any language.

Secondly, cracking "to be" and "to have" will help you
to use the non-simple tenses.

This page was written by Craig Shrives.

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verbs?

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