Non-finite clause

In linguistics, a non-finite clause is a dependent or embedded clause whose verbal chain is non-finite; for example, using Priscian's categories for Latin verb forms, in many languages we find texts with non-finite clauses containing infinitives, participles and gerunds. According to non-functionalists, a non-finite clause serves a grammatical role – commonly that of a noun, adjective, or adverb – in a greater clause that contains it. According to functionalists, a dependent non-finite clause either represents a circumstance for some process that is going on (a place, a time, a cause, an effect, a condition, and so on) whereas an embedded one represents a qualification for something that is being represented as in I'm on a street (called Bellevue Avenue), which is a more typical alternative to I'm on a street (that is called Bellevue Avenue). In linguistics, a non-finite clause is a dependent or embedded clause whose verbal chain is non-finite; for example, using Priscian's categories for Latin verb forms, in many languages we find texts with non-finite clauses containing infinitives, participles and gerunds. According to non-functionalists, a non-finite clause serves a grammatical role – commonly that of a noun, adjective, or adverb – in a greater clause that contains it. According to functionalists, a dependent non-finite clause either represents a circumstance for some process that is going on (a place, a time, a cause, an effect, a condition, and so on) whereas an embedded one represents a qualification for something that is being represented as in I'm on a street (called Bellevue Avenue), which is a more typical alternative to I'm on a street (that is called Bellevue Avenue). A typical finite clause consists of a finite form of the verb together with its objects and other dependents (i.e. a verb phrase or predicate), along with its subject (although in certain cases the subject is not expressed). A non-finite clause is similar, except that the verb must be in a non-finite form (such as an infinitive, participle, gerund or gerundive), and it is consequently much more likely that there will be no subject expressed, i.e. that the clause will consist of a (non-finite) verb phrase on its own.