Question

What are finite and infinite verbs?

Answer 1

◆Finite verb forms show tense, person and number (I go, she goes, we went, etc.):

example:

●She was waiting in the room before he came in.

●Does your brother know my brother?

●The night before he had to leave, they sat on the small sofa in the living-room and looked at old family photos.

●Aren’t you a bit late?

◆Non-finite verb forms do not show tense, person or number.

Typically they are infinitive forms with and without to (e.g. to go, go), -ing forms and -ed forms (e.g. going, gone):

●She tiptoed round the house so as not to wake anyone.

●You need to paint the whole cupboard, starting from the bottom.