Английского

CHAPTER XI
NON-FINITE VERBS (VERBIDS) 
§ 1. Verbids are the forms of the verb intermediary in many of their 
lexico-grammatical features between the verb and the non-
processual parts of speech. The mixed features of these forms are 
revealed in the principal spheres of the part-of-speech characterisa-
tion, i.e. in their meaning, structural marking, combinability, and 
syntactic functions. The processual meaning is exposed by

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them in a substantive or adjectival-adverbial interpretation: they 
render processes as peculiar kinds of substances and properties. 
They are formed by special morphemic elements which do not ex-
press either grammatical time or mood (the most specific finite 
verb categories). They can be combined with verbs like non-
processual lexemes (performing non-verbal functions in the sen-
tence), and they can be combined with non-processual lexemes like 
verbs (performing verbal functions in the sentence) . 
From these characteristics, one might call in question the very jus-
tification of including the verbids in the system of the verb. As a 
matter of fact, one can ask oneself whether it wouldn't stand to rea-
son to consider the verbids as a special lexemic class, a separate 
part of speech, rather than an inherent component of the class of 
verbs. 
On closer consideration, however, we can't but see that such an ap-
proach would be utterly ungrounded. The verbids do betray inter-
mediary features. Still, their fundamental grammatical meaning is 
processual (though modified in accord with the nature of the inter-
class reference of each verbid). Their essential syntactic functions, 
directed by this relational semantics, unquestionably reveal the 
property which may be called, in a manner of explanation, "verbal-
ity", and the statement of which is corroborated by the peculiar 
combinability character of verbid collocations, namely, by the abil-
ity of verbids to take adjuncts expressing the immediate recipients, 
attendants, and addressees of the process inherently conveyed by 
each verbid denotation. 
One might likewise ask oneself, granted the verbids are part of the 
system of the verb, whether they do not constitute within this sys-
tem a special subsystem of purely lexemic nature, i.e. form some 
sort of a specific verbal subclass. This counter-approach, though, 
would evidently be devoid of any substantiality, since a subclass of 
a lexemic class, by definition, should share the essential categorial 
structure, as well as primary syntactic functions with other sub-
classes, and in case of verbids the situation is altogether different. 
In fact, it is every verb stem (except a few defective verbs) that by 
means of morphemic change takes both finite and non-finite forms, 
the functions of the two sets being strictly differentiated: while the 
finite forms serve in the sentence only one syntactic function, 
namely, that of the finite predicate, the non-finite forms serve vari-
ous syntactic functions other than that of the finite predicate. 

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The strict, unintersecting division of functions (the functions them-
selves being of a fundamental nature in terms of the grammatical 
structure of language as a whole) clearly shows that the opposition 
between the finite and non-finite forms of the verb creates a special 
grammatical category. The differential feature of the opposition is 
constituted by the expression of verbal time and mood: while the 
time-mood grammatical signification characterises the finite verb 
in a way that it underlies its finite predicative function, the verbid 
has no immediate means of expressing time-mood categorial se-
mantics and therefore presents the weak member of the opposition. 
The category expressed by this opposition can be called the cate-
gory of "finitude" [Strang, 143; Бархударов, (2), 106]. The syntac-
tic content of the category of finitude is the expression of predica-
tion (more precisely, the expression' of verbal predication). 
As is known, the verbids, unable to express the predicative mean-
ings of time and mood, still do express the so-called "secondary" or 
"potential" predication, forming syntactic complexes directly re-
lated to certain types of subordinate clauses. Cf.: 
Have you ever had anything caught in your head? Have you ever 
had anything that was caught in your head? — He said it half un-
der his breath for the others not to hear it. — He said it half under 
his breath, so that the others couldn't hear it. 
The verbid complexes anything caught in your head, or for the 
others not to hear it, or the like, while expressing secondary predi-
cation, are not self-dependent in a predicative sense. They nor-
mally exist only as part of sentences built up by genuine, primary 
predicative constructions that have a finite verb as their core. And 
it is through the reference to the finite verb-predicate that these 
complexes set up the situations denoted by them in the correspond-
ing time and mood perspective. 
In other words, we may say that the opposition of the finite verbs 
and the verbids is based on the expression of the functions of full 
predication and semi-predication. While the finite verbs express 
predication in its genuine and complete form, the function of the 
verbids is to express semi-predication, building up semi-
predicative complexes within different sentence constructions, 
The English verbids include four forms distinctly differing

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from one another within the general verbid system: the infinitive, 
the gerund, the present participle, and the past participle. In com-
pliance with this difference, the verbid semi-predicative complexes 
are distinguished by the corresponding differential properties both 
in form and in syntactic-contextual function.