5
THE NON-FINITE FORMS OF THE VERBS (VERBALS)
The verb has
finite and non-finite forms, the latter being also called verbals
or
non-predicative
forms of the verb
.
The verbals, unlike the finite forms of the verb, do
not express person, number or mood. Therefore they cannot be used as the predicate of a
sentence.
The verbals are regarded in most grammars as forms
of the verb because they
have certain features in common with the finite forms. Like the finite forms of the verb
the verbals have tense and voice distinctions, but their tense
distinctions differ greatly
from those of the finite verb.
There are three verbals in English: the
Participle
,
the
Gerund
and the
Infinitive
.
The characteristic traits of the verbals
are as follows:
1. They have a
double nature: the participle combines the characteristics of a verb
with those
of an adjective; the gerund and the infinitive combine the characteristics of a
verb with those of a noun.
2. The tense distinctions of the verbals are not absolute (like those of the finite
verb),
but relative; the form of a verbal does not show whether the action it denotes
refers to
the present, past or future; it shows only whether
the action expressed by the
verbal is simultaneous with the action expressed by the finite verb or prior to it.
3. All the verbals can form predicative constructions, i.e. constructions consisting
of two elements, nominal (noun or pronoun) and verbal (participle, gerund or infinitive);
the verbal element stands in predicate relation to the nominal element, i.e. in a
relation similar to that between the subject and the predicate of the sentence. In most
cases predicative constructions form syntactic units, serving as one part of the sentence.
Cf.
They sat down to supper, Manston still talking cheerfully
.
-
Они сели ужинать; Мэнстон продолжал весело разговаривать.
Manston still talking cheerfully
is a predicative construction with a participle: the
Достарыңызбен бөлісу: 
